Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is concerned that having the Canadian dollar trading at near par with the American dollar plus any measures taken by the Bank of Canada to curb inflation will hurt the Ontario economy. He singled out interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada as being one of the counter-inflationary measures that will take its toll on the Ontario economy.
McGuinty is right.
But when was the last time anyone heard a representative of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador pointing out that a high dollar and counter-inflationary measures will hurt the provincial economy in Canada's eastern-most province?
Anyone?
Anyone?
Buehler?
Buehler?
No one has said a peep about it.
The high exchange rate for the Canadian dollar is one of the factors contributing to Fishery Products International's financial problems. It also affects the profitability of other fisheries and just about any of the goods and services our trading economy produces. In short, a high dollar hurts our economy.
The oil sector will dumps wads of cash into provincial coffers but other sectors of the economy like mining, forestry, and manufacturing will have to cope with the impacts of reduced exports and/or higher costs.
Of course, Dalton McGuinty is linking his concern about the dollar with his demand for greater transfers from Ottawa. But still, since Premier Danny Williams has skipped his trip to the offshore conference in Houston supposedly to deal with the fishery, he might actually start talking about the wider economic issues affecting that industry.