The Bleeding of Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories— CANADA

There's heard a sickening, sucking sound; much of it originating from British Columbia’s northwest corner then reverberating through the rest of Canada. Much of it is barely audible now (comparatively- to the partially deaf), but sure to crescendo.

One, of many origins of this sucking sound is the electrical grid now being extended beyond the city of Terrace into a vast copper and gold rich hinterland. The Alaska-B.C. intertie would connect the Alaska Panhandle to the North American power grid through northern British Columbia. Positioned by the Canadian “Harper” and United States of the Americas federal governments as a green infrastructure project to combat climate change, this Alaska-driven plan is paving the way for the flooding of the Peace River Valley; and a new resource haul road through the Iskut River valley to Alaska tidewater, providing a closer and more economical route to funnel B.C. minerals and timber through U.S. ports, shifting the axis of trade away from Stewart, Kitimat (neither of which has a port to begin with) and Prince Rupert. The Northwest Transmission Line will extend the North American grid to within 35 miles of the main Alaska-B.C. border

The Bradfield Road is an Alaskan road designed to drain future resources out of B.C. at a frantic and unsustainable rate.

The goal is to "provide the energy needed for economic development in southeast Alaska resulting in jobs for Alaskans(United States of the Americas) and providing reliable, less costly alternatives to diesel generated electricity for Alaskan (United States of the Americas) communities." the Alaska-Canada Energy Coalition is a cross-border group tasked with building political support.

Also, the Canadian dollar has fallen from 94 cents US last July to 0.76 US today, making trips to Canada cheaper for U.S. visitors.

The now worthless and still falling Canadian dollar lures U.S. visitors and foreign “INVESTORS”.

AND, IT PUTS CANADA OUT OF REACH—TO AND FOR CANADIANS.

However, a weaker dollar is welcome news for large swaths of the economy that have struggled to recover from the recession – most notably manufacturers.

The big Winner-- THE ONLY WINNER-- is the Almost Non Existent...”CANADIAN” MANUFACTURING; now in a position to enjoy the “Fruits” (or at least the nuts and bolts) Of A Recovering U.S. ECONOMY.

“At least we stand a fighting chance of making some profits,” said Rob McBain, chief executive officer of Ancast Industries Ltd., a Winnipeg maker of custom cast-iron castings for forklifts and other vehicles. “Half of the company’s sales are in U.S. dollars. A lower Canadian dollar means higher profits and more money to invest and increase staff. It’s a return to normalcy after a challenging period, when the dollar hit $1.10 and his company was barely breaking even. Mr. McBain watched with angst as many fellow Canadian manufacturers went out of business.”

To some readers, listeners and observers, the currency’s recent sharp decline suggests the Bank of Canada is stealthily engineering devaluation – AS A GIFT TO BELEAGUERED MANUFACTURERS, EXPORTERS AND DOMESTIC TOURIST OPERATORS, AND A TONIC FOR AN ECONOMY THAT IS PRESENTLY IN AND FALLING EVER DEEPER INTO A DEPRESSION.

Car trips from U.S. up 5.4% in 2014, while one crossing reports 20% increase. Cross-border trips by Americans entering Canada looking for a bargain holiday are on the rise, according to Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada found that same-day car trips from the U.S. were up 5.4 per cent in the year to December 2014. Trips to Quebec were up 10 per cent and trips to Yukon up 12 per cent. By far the largest number of trips were to Ontario, with 382,504 U.S. visitors, and B.C. with 207,093.

Supposedly, the hospitality and tourist sectors, exporters and particularly manufacturers, which have been losing market share in the world, are among the major winners. So are the people who work in these industries. On the other hand, a weak dollar could stoke inflation, making life more expensive for consumers, travellers and importers.

In 2009, U.S. consumers were facing too much economic turmoil at home to attempt much holiday spending. But this year, the loonie is REALLY low and Americans have money in their pockets.

Some other industries too are already reaping the “FRUITS” of the weaker dollar.

After years of low bookings, CORPORATE big-ticket (and big-spending) conference bookings are returning to Whistler.

 According to resort owners (mostly Based in the United States of the Americas); for a town with around 8,000 hotel rooms, advance corporate bookings are vital to the resort’s economy. In 2013, conferences and meetings represented 22 per cent of total room nights in the summer, and 11 per cent in the winter. In total, meetings and conferences accounted for 81,000 room nights last year. 

I do not have any statistics to show the price range of hotel rooms in Whistler; but just to give some idea of the monies involved; rooms at the Empress Hotel Victoria British Columbia START AT $500.00 a night, plus taxes. This rate is far, far above what a CANADAIN, paying their own way –not charged to a corporate/GOVERNMENT expense account can possibly afford.

The film sector, (largely comprised of subsidiaries of United States of the Americas owned corporations) was far busier than the first half – a direct result of the lower loonie, which made it cheaper for the mainly Los Angeles based film companies to choose Canada as a location. “We’re in a very positive frame of mind in terms of business going forward this year; It makes a big difference when you’re attracting a feature film with a budget of $200-million to bring it up here when the dollar’s lower than it was.”

Such BULL SHIT bolstered confidence – a missing ingredient in much of CORPORATE/US North America , which has for the several years been reluctant to make big investments or hire in great numbers.

Some CANADIAN retailers lose, and some win. Or, so it is commonly claimed.

•  A weaker dollar only succeeds imports more expensive, which prompts ALL retailers, especially those that are REALLY CANADIAN to raise prices-- to PROTECT THEIR MARGINS.
• Canadians, Consumers, FAMILIES, SENIORS, WORKERS, TAXPAYERS are losers. Prices here rise.
•  Importing, SHIPPING, TRAVEL—ANYWHERE--will get EVEN more expensive.
• Many "unskilled"or "Semi-Skilled"Canadians can no longer AFFORD to take jobs in construction, the food industry, health care, manufacturing, tourism, or ANY OTHER LEGITIMATE FIELD. they are thus forced, by our GOVERNMENTS??? to join the "Underground".
•  First time, actually most all born CANADIANS can no longer afford family housing, especially in the Vancouver, British Columbia Area.
•  Most housing goes to foreign buyers, driving costs--to Canadians--- even higher
• Canadians, especially seniors and recent school graduates, can not afford proper dental, health care,  nutrition, or recreation.
•  The economy goes into recession because "skilled"and "professional" Canadians can no longer afford to stay-- they leave the country--in droves.
•  THE WHOLE COUNTRY SUFFERS, because "IT"(really the peoples there of); can not even afford toilet paper, And,most of the formerly paper money is now plastic.

It’s funny the way close observation can change your perception of things. It’s funny the way close observation can change your perception of things.

Whistler just had one of its busiest tourist seasons, but business owners aren’t smiling.

Some have closed entirely, and many others have reduced their business hours. Employers say worker shortages have been constant ever since restrictions to Canada’s controversial temporary foreign worker program cut off a labour stream many of them had come to rely on.  The owner of one establishment who presently employs 12 people wants to hire eight more. He believes he pays more than a similar restaurant would pay in Vancouver, especially including tips. [Employers do not pay tips. Consumers do—for exemplary service FROM, usually ONE STAFF MEMBER, although on occasion it may include more-- example the cook in a restaurant.]

Before the restrictions came into place, temporary foreign workers represented 2.5% of the ski resort's 12,500 peak-season workers.

The new rules, which were targeted at low-skilled jobs, included a cap on the number of temporary foreign workers, a steep increase in the application fee and more onerous requirements for employers to show they had looked for and failed to find qualified Canadian applicants.

It’s also become much harder to hire temporary foreign workers in regions where the unemployment rate is at 6%, or higher; which disqualifies most of B.C. the temporary foreign worker program also didn’t give employers any incentives to hire and train inexperienced employees. Instead, it gave employers a steady stream of people from developing countries that were willing to work hard for comparatively high wages and an uncertain chance to stay in Canada.

Between 2007 And 2010 The Temporary Foreign Worker Program Likely Contributed To A Significant Rise In The Unemployment Rate In B.C. And Alberta.

But the dollar story is not all good. Electrical Contacts buys many of its inputs and raw materials in the U.S., and those are now more expensive. Its prices are also becoming less attractive in countries that, like Canada, have currencies that are weakening against the U.S. dollar.

What’s REALLY Driving the Dollar Lower?

The main driver may well be the strengthening U.S. recovery and the prospect of tighter monetary conditions there.

It’s also true that the petro-dollar story that helped propel the Canadian dollar to par and beyond in recent years is a lot less compelling now. The United States of the Americas claim that thy are quickly approaching the point of “Self Sufficiency “so far as energy resources are concerned???

Prices for key commodities, including crude oil, have weakened over the past year. There is also growing unease about the longer-term fortunes of the Canadian oil patch. Pipeline bottlenecks and a string of rail spills have raised troubling questions about how new oil sands crude will get to refineries. ~~Al (Ales-Alexander) D. Girvan.