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Good news report from Canada

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2 August 2008

15 July was the 15th day of the first month of the 3rd year of Canadian national consciousness rising to invincibility, as indicated by the following press reports:

15 July 2008

The Financial Post on existing home prices in June (15 July 2008) Canadian home prices fell in June but the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said it is likely a one-month blip and not a sign of things to come. The group said the average sale price in the country's top 25 markets last month was C$341,096. That's down 0.4% from a year ago, when the average sale price was C$342,615. Gregory Klump, chief economist with CREA, said the June numbers were a poor indicator of where the market is headed because they have been affected by the fact that the Alberta market has finally cooled off. Mr Klump called Alberta's housing numbers in 2007 'a mathematical artifact' that is skewing the results in 2008 because everything is being compared to that record year. Many in the real estate community maintain that record prices and sales in 2007 have created an impossible yardstick for the industry. 'This is going to be our third best year ever,' said Michael Kalles, president of Harvey Kalles Real Estate Limited in Toronto. Doug Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Nesbitt Burn, suggested that the June numbers are a bit of an aberration. 'I'd love to make hay with it but it really exaggerates the weakness in prices,' he said, noting only four Canadian centres out of 25 are experiencing declining prices.

From Globe and Mail reports on this: Doug Porter said he was tracking prices in the 'middle ground' cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa, which still have fairly robust economic fundamentals but haven't been supercharged by the commodities boom. Prices in those cities all rose moderately year-over-year in June, up 3.7 per cent in Toronto, 4 per cent in Montreal, and 6.8 per cent in Ottawa.

From a Toronto Star report on this: CREA does not believe this is the beginning of a longer-term trend, and is still forecasting prices to be up nationally overall by the end of 2008.

From a Canadian Press report on this: Gregory Klump said that the slight decline in average price comparisons reflects the impact of the surge in average prices experienced last year in Calgary and Edmonton. 'But that said, in the next couple of months we'll be back in positive territory because the Calgary and Edmonton markets have stabilized.' In the Maritimes, on the other hand, 'things are quite strong', said Klump. In Ontario, prices are also going up, he said.

From a Canadian Economic Press report on this: Canada's median city reported a 6.8% year-over-year price increase in June, and no fewer than 11 of the 25 cities recorded double-digit price gains, Doug Porter said. New monthly records for residential average prices were set in a number of major markets in June, including Saskatoon, Kitchener-Waterloo, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Gatineau, Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Saguenay, Saint John, and St John's, Newfoundland, CREA reported. Nationally, prices in the first half of 2008 hit a new record, up 3.2% over the same period last year to C$340,390.

The Financial Post - New vehicle sales rebound in May, Statscan says (15 July 2008) Passenger cars fuelled a rise in sales of new vehicles for the first time in three months in May, Statistics Canada reported. Canadians drove 145,224 brand new vehicles off the lot to lift sales by 1.1% for the month. 'Shifting consumer preferences away from trucks to passenger cars has been the main factor in determining the direction of new motor vehicle sales in Canada so far this year,' Statscan said. With the price of gas relatively unchanged from May, the trend toward greater fuel efficiency will likely carry into June, the agency said.

From a Canadian Press report on this: Sales of new passenger cars in May climbed 4.3 per cent from the previous month to 78,988 units. The May 2008 sales are a 7.3 per cent jump from sales of new passenger cars in May 2007. Sales of new trucks, minivans, and sport-utility vehicles in May fell 2.3 per cent from the previous month to 66,236 units.

From a Canadian Economic Press report on this: On a provincial basis, sales were up in six provinces in May. The largest increase was in Nova Scotia, which saw a 12.4% increase in sales month-over-month and a 23.5% increase year-over-year. More modest increases were observed in Alberta, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, British Columbia, and Manitoba.

Reuters - U.S., Canadian workers can expect pay hikes: survey (15 July 2008) Most Canadian and U.S. workers can expect their paychecks to get a little fatter next year. Employers in those countries expect to increase their pay budgets by 3.9 per cent in 2009, in line with this year's increase, according to a preliminary study by WorldatWork, a trade association for human resources professionals. The survey found that, on average, 91 per cent of employees can expect raises this year, with high performers seeing their pay rise 5 per cent or more. Very few companies plan no raises at all. The survey of more than 2,700 organizations with 13.6 million workers was conducted in April.

The National Post on Ontario's new electronics recycling program (11 July 2008) Ontario is set to add a green levy to televisions and computers sold in the province as a way to offset the cost of recycling electronic equipment that is commonly dumped when outdated. 'The goal is to ensure that this material does not end up in our landfill site,' said Environment Minister John Gerretsen. 'The main reason for this is because there are hazardous materials involved; we're talking lead and mercury and other materials.' The levies, C$10 for televisions and about C$13 for computers, will be billed to Ontario producers and importers beginning on 1 April 2009. The programme's income, expected to be about C$62 million in the first year, will go to Waste Diversion Ontario, a corporation that operates waste-diversion programmes for the government, in order to fund the collection and recycling of outdated and unwanted electronics. Executive Director Glenda Gies said they will implement pick-up programmes and expand the number of drop-off locations, from the current 167 to about 650 locations across the province.

From a <>Canadian Press report on this: Between homeowners and businesses, Ontario discards about 90,000 tonnes of waste from computers, printers, and televisions each year. The province says that number could grow to 123,000 tonnes in five years. Only about 27 per cent of that waste is recycled; it is hoped that the recycling rate will increase to more than 60 per cent within five years.

From Toronto Star reports on this: The fees could drop in future years if the cost to recycle the products decreases because manufacturers have removed lead or mercury components. Waste Diversion Ontario has the authority to create variable fees so that manufacturers who take out mercury components, for example, making their products easier and cheaper to recycle, will pay lower recycling fees than those that don't.

The Financial Post - B.C. natives secure China lumber talks (15 July 2008) A delegation of British Columbia First Nations returned from a trip through China bearing four agreements to pursue further talks with Asian lumber and mining companies. Already, conversations have begun that may lead to Chinese companies building sawmills in BC, or First Nations sending logs to China for manufacture into furniture, which can then be shipped back to Aboriginal artists to carve with traditional themes. Among the more notable achievements, trade representatives with the BC First Nations Forestry Council signed a letter of intent with Qingdao Liangmu, the largest forestry remanufacturing company in China's Shandong province. The trip's success was 'way beyond our expectations', said the delegation's leader. 'I think everything that we can provide, they'll take,' said Ed John, Grand Chief of the Tt'azrcn Nation. BC First Nations have access to vast amounts of timber. Since 2003, the BC government has handed out harvesting rights to 33.2 million cubic metres of wood—about half the province's entire annual harvest—to nearly 160 First Nations. But only about seven million cubic metres were harvested.

These are a few of the news reports reflecting Canada's rising invincibility from the growing Yogic Flying groups across Canada and the Invincible America Assembly at Maharishi University of Management and Maharishi Vedic City, USA.

For further information on creating invincibility for your nation, please visit: www.globalgoodnews.com/invincibility.

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For information about Maharishi's seven-point programme to create a healthy, happy, prosperous society, and a peaceful world, please visit: Global Financial Capital of New York.

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