The Canadian loonie is strong; it has achieved and retained parity with the US dollar, and may even surge ahead in the near-term.

According to estimates, the Canadian dollar will remain above par vis-à-vis the US dollar at least for the next couple of years.

Then why do Canadians pay more than their southern neighbours for almost everything?

 According to a recent BMO Capital Markets report, despite trading at a three-year relative high to the US dollar, Canadians still pay far more than Americans do for common consumer goods – a whopping 20% more.

Surprisingly, the difference in prices has actually climbed up – instead of going down. For instance, in 2009, when similar price comparisons were conducted, the difference was a mere 7%, and then, the loonie was way below the US dollar.

The BMO report published in Financial Post of April 15 attributes the rise of the Canadian loonie to Canada’s well-deserved reputation for being fiscally reticent and adopting safe policies to emerge relatively unscathed from the global financial crises of 2008-2010.

Apparently, the reason for the stronger loonie having no impact on consumer prices is that suppliers charge Canadian retailers with what is known as “country pricing.”

In effect this means that irrespective of the value of the Canadian dollar, products  are sold to Canadian retailers at a markup that in some cases may even be as high as 22%. This also means that the Canadian retailers often pay more than US consumers.

The Financial Post report offers a two-fold solution:  

· An increase in cross-border shopping. This would affect Canadian retailers and they would start seeking better country pricing from suppliers.

· Long-term strength of the Canadian loonie. This will translate into better country pricing.

Turning the corner to a better tomorrow: Ontario’s 2011 budget presented by finance minister Dwight Duncan recently highlights the achievements of the province.  The province’s economy is turning the corner and jobs are coming back. Statistics Canada data confirm that the province has recovered 91% of the jobs lost during the recession, compared to 14.5% in the United States. Nearly 84 % of the Ontario jobs recovered are full-time jobs.

The provisions of the budget were discussed at a lively debate at Mississauga’s Novotel hotel on March 30, with Liberal MPPs from the Peel region including Bob Delaney (Mississauga-Streetsville), Vic Dhillon (Brampton West), Kuldip Kular (Bramela-Gore-Malton), Amrit Mangat (Mississauga Brampton South) participating in explaining the nuances and highlighting the achievements of the McGunity government.  

Among the measures that the provincial government has initiated through the budget are:

· Stimulus package: Short-term measures to lessen the impact of recession on Ontarians through stimulus investments that created and preserved jobs and helped restore growth. As a result of the action taken to lessen the global recession’s impact, Ontario has a deficit.To overcome this challenge, the government must renew its focus on deficit reduction. The government has laid out a realistic and responsible plan to bring down the deficit. The 2011 budget builds on the gains Ontario has made in economic growth and job creation, which allow for strong schools and health care.
· Education: A well-educated workforce and public health care also strengthen Ontario’s economy and attract investment and jobs. The 2011 Budget announces funding to support more than 60,000 additional students in college and universities by 2015-16. Through its Open Ontario plan, the government will support raising the percentage of Ontarians who attain postsecondary education from 63 % to 70 % and ensure a college or university space is available for every qualified student.
· Tax Plan for Jobs and Growth: Ontario’s tax plan for jobs and growth includes tax cuts for people and reducing corporate income tax rates, is making Ontario businesses more competitive and is strengthening business investments.

Sheldon Leiba, CEO, Mississauga Board of Trade, moderated the discussion and the Q&A session.

Over the past couple of years there has been a significant development in technologies that allow for new way of communication and sharing. One such technology is Twitter. Originally intended for sharing status messages as a way to collaborate between small group of individuals, this technology has over the past few years taken over various channels and has been highly spoken about at conferences such as TED.

In the past year Twitter has taken off to be a specialized medium for organizations and individuals to share information and enlist opinions from the community on specific topics. These topics range from Cooking to Computers; Living a healthy life style to financial freedom. So much so that many organizations have started to embrace Twitter as a medium to offer Marketing, Advertising and Support/Service capabilities to their existing customers as well as capture new customers. As long as you can convey your message in 140 characters or less, the content of your message should be to the point and offer value to the person reading it. This is yet another extension to managing a brand.

If you or your organization is curious about Twitter and how you can use it to get your message out there to your community, read this article by Nate Ritter which provides you a very brief overview of the benefits and pitfalls of Twitter. Along with Twitter, Ritter also provides a starting roadmap of other social tools and technologies which can be used.

Like Twitter many of these emerging technologies were developed with a specific intention. However, as more and more users and organizations start using these technologies the extent to which they can be used, enhanced and improved becomes vast. Any organization has the power and capability to use these technologies to do something out of the ordinary. The only limitation is the imagination and willingness to push the envelope.