The New Brunswick government released its provincial budget today in the Legislature.
Among some of the highlights:
2007-2008 surplus of $18 million
2008-2009 projected surplus of $19 million
2008 projected 1.8% growth of provincial real GDP
Post secondary tuition freeze thanks to an increase of $12 million to post secondary institutions
$63.5 million or 7.2% additional funding for K-12 education
Health [...]
Today, the Canadian federal government (have they finally dropped the ridiculous “new government” moniker?) introduced their annual budget for fiscal 2008-2009 (April 1, 2008 - March 31, 2009).
Among the major highlights:
Tax free savings account which allows individuals to invest up to $5000 per year (with carry forward of unused room) and receive tax free growth [...]
Vulnurability of the East Coast
In one of my earlier posts, I pointed out the often overlooked fact that although Canada is a huge exporter of oil, it also imports a very large amount of crude from overseas as well. In fact all of Eastern Canada relies in imported crude oil for heating oil, diesel, [...]
I have written a little bit about Canada and its trade with China especially with respect to food.
Last Friday, a study detailing Canada’s trade with China was released by Statistics Canada. The study reveals that China has moved into the rank of Canada’s second largest trading partner after having surpassed Japan and the U.K. [...]
Last week Statistics Canada released its Labour Force Survey for the month of November. As I have done in previous months, I will look at some of the numbers and try to spot some trends especially when it comes to the province of New Brunswick and the Fredericton region in particular.
The headline numbers in this [...]
Last Friday, Statistics Canada released their latest Labour Force Information update. The headline results appear quite rosy.
Nationally, 63000 jobs were created and the unemployment rate fell to a 33 year low of 5.8%. One highlighted detail is that most of the employment gains were in the health care and social assistance fields - [...]
After waxing about Canadian apple juice not really being Canadian, I was quite pleased to see CBC’s Marketplace tonight discussing the same issue on a larger scale. The program examined some food products which are labeled as “Product of Canada” and attempts to trace where the main ingredients actually come from. The [...]
Following on from my earlier post about Open Farm Day, I did a bit more digging about the apple market and in particular importation of Chinese apple juice concentrate. I found an article ‘Made in Canada’ - via China on the Globe and Mail which discusses the issue (along with other food imports from [...]
Statistics Canada released the latest employment figures for the month of September 2007 last Friday.
As I suggested last month, this month’s report would include numbers from a few large layoffs such as the UPM mill in Miramichi. Despite this, the provincial economy only lost 100 jobs in the month. This number does mask the fact [...]
Yesterday, for the third year in a row, the family and I went out to enjoy New Brunswick Open Farm Day. This annual event allows members of the public to tour farms throughout New Brunswick and hopefully get a better appreciation for the agricultural sector. Farms range from dairy operations to fruit orchards [...]
