Should we lock the Canadian Dollar with the U.S.?

[Machjo]

Oh, and if you multiply 7 minutes a day to five days a week, you get 35 minutes a week. That's over one hour wasted over two weeks. If you're paid 25$ an hour, then you're employer has just wasted over 25$ every two weeks on currency conversion alone performed by just one staff member. That's over 50$ per month, and over 600$ every year, again, for one worker doing regular currency conversion. You can see how that quickly adds up. And you don't think that cost is either passed on to the worker in lower raises or alternatively to the client in higher costs? Trust me, it does get passed on. Now multiply 600$ per year by the number of workers in Canada having to go through this kind of process on a regular basis.

 

[Machjo]

Sorry, I may have exaggerated. Thinking about it now, it does take me much less than 15 seconds. Let's say it takes me 5 seconds. Then you could divide the costs above by 3. That's still 200$ a year wasted.

 

[Machjo]

Per worker involved in the conversion process.

 

[theconqueror]

Well, we did it again! Now what... Go after the Euro?

1 Canadian dollar = 0.99691 U.S. dollars

4/5/2010

Extending yesterday's uptrend, the Canadian dollar edged higher against the European currency on Tuesday morning in Asia.

The Canadian dollar rose to 1.3486 against the euro around 9:20 pm ET Monday, the highest level since early November 2007.

On the upside, 1.33 is seen as the next likely resistance level for the Canadian currency. At Monday's North American close, the euro-loonie pair was worth

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

The higher the Canuck buck goes, the cheaper oil, that is gas, for our cars, remains. If that's not a good reason for higher dollar, I don't know what is. And as long as oil and other commodities keep rising, we're good and getting better.

 

[Machjo]

The higher the Canuck buck goes, the cheaper oil, that is gas, for our cars, remains. If that's not a good reason for higher dollar, I don't know what is. And as long as oil and other commodities keep rising, we're good and getting better.

According to this:

Latest release from the Consumer Price Index. Friday, March 19, 2010

Prices went up last month. We are out of recession and into inflation. So we can only conclude that the rise of the Canadian dollar is only relative to that of US dollar. In actual fact, if we're experiencing inflation, then in reality the Canadian dollar itself is falling, with the US dollar simply falling even faster.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

According to this:

Latest release from the Consumer Price Index. Friday, March 19, 2010

Prices went up last month. We are out of recession and into inflation. So we can only conclude that the rise of the Canadian dollar is only relative to that of US dollar. In actual fact, if we're experiencing inflation, then in reality the Canadian dollar itself is falling, with the US dollar simply falling even faster.

Inflation often means the economy is growing, which is why interest rates are going up. We didn't have a severe recession, it was a mild one. Pundits here in Olympic Hockey Gold Medal land never droned on about the Great Recession. The GR was there, not here.

Each year we take in over 250,000 immigrants and and temp workers, and most seem to find jobs. You callin' that a recession bub?!?!

 

[VanIsle]

Well, we did it again! Now what... Go after the Euro?

1 Canadian dollar = 0.99691 U.S. dollars

4/5/2010

Extending yesterday's uptrend, the Canadian dollar edged higher against the European currency on Tuesday morning in Asia.

The Canadian dollar rose to 1.3486 against the euro around 9:20 pm ET Monday, the highest level since early November 2007.

On the upside, 1.33 is seen as the next likely resistance level for the Canadian currency. At Monday's North American close, the euro-loonie pair was worth

Looks like we may "do it" for sometime according to today's news:

OTTAWA - The high-flying loonie renewed its flight towards parity Monday, forcing firms and individuals to adjust to what many believe will become a new normal in the relative value of the two currencies.
Boosted by cycle-high prices for oil and commodities, the loonie soared to within a whisker of parity Monday, reaching as high as 99.87 cents US before closing at 99.72.
The currency has been flirting with par for more than a month, and economists believe it is now only a matter of time before the psychologically important barrier is breached.
"We're one good number away from seeing the Canadian dollar through parity," said CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld.
If it doesn't happen earlier, the trigger may be Friday's employment report for March, particularly if Statistics Canada announces a higher gain than the 25,000 consensus call.
Scotiabank economists sent a note to clients Monday predicting the dollar will appreciate "well north of parity over the spring and summer months."
RBC currency analyst Matthew Strauss also believes the loonie could stay above parity for several months, although his view is that it will dip slightly below the greenback later in the year when the U.S. starts hiking interest rates.
Regardless of which side of the line the currency trades at any given time, Strauss said Canadians should get used to a strong loonie - within five cents of parity either way - perhaps for years.
Economists say the shock for Canadians won't be as acute this time as in the fall of 2007, when the loonie rose as high as US$1.10, resulting in a flood of cross-border shoppers heading south for bargains, and a commensurate dwindling of traffic the other way.
A recent report by the Conference Board of Canada suggested that many industries, particularly multi-nationals in the manufacturing and oil and gas sectors, had globalized their operations to mitigate against a stronger Canadian currency.

 

[VanIsle]

The higher the Canuck buck goes, the cheaper oil, that is gas, for our cars, remains. If that's not a good reason for higher dollar, I don't know what is. And as long as oil and other commodities keep rising, we're good and getting better.

I don't know what you are paying for gas in Kelowna but here we are paying $1.07 a litre. I don't see anything cheap about that. The cost of food is going up so fast that even my co-workers are looking for bargins in food at WalMart. The cost of the ferries just went up. Nothing is cheap.

 

[theconqueror]

I don't know what you are paying for gas in Kelowna but here we are paying $1.07 a litre. I don't see anything cheap about that. The cost of food is going up so fast that even my co-workers are looking for bargins in food at WalMart. The cost of the ferries just went up. Nothing is cheap.

He means to inflate the dollar faster than the cost of living. And by locking the dollar with the U.S. it means to set a standard dollar value that automatically adjusts according to the U.S.

But remember, it does not touch the U.S. dollar or does it ever become, it is a forced action to use as a guide and ruler to where we want to be as a nation which can allways be reversed.

 

[El Barto]

You know this is just a ploy to pass the Americans out Canadian tire money :|

 

[theconqueror]

You know this is just a ploy to pass the Americans out Canadian tire money :|

Yes. But first it has to be worth something to pass out. If Canada is ever to be a desired nation to live in, let it be cheap living first that attracts others to want to come and live here. And in order to establish a cheap lifestyle our money has to dominate in value.

Well, at least I can rest assured knowing if I move from Canada to Mexico I will live like a millionaire set for life.

 

[Praxius]

Locking in our dollar value with the US is stupid and it can force certain businesses to deal more with the US rather then be more free to choose other countries, due to exchange issues.

We've already seen what happens to our country when we're joined to the US's hip so damn much. Putting all your eggs in one basket, as they say, is not a wise decision and because of their economic meltdown, they affected our country, our employment, out businesses more, because they all rely on the US and it's money coming in.

And as others mentioned, if their currency goes to hell, or they screw up their economy once again (which obviously can happen) they'll drag us down even further because of this stupid idea.

We shouldn't be as a large trading partner with the US in the first place. I'm not against the US in this topic, but to be clearer, I don't think we should be so reliant on any one country period as much as we are with the US.

Relying on one country, no matter how strong or big and rich they seem, is risky, plain and simple.... we should be expanding our trading with other countries around the world and we got complacent with the convenience and quick cash grab of trading with just the US who's just across the border and now think we can't trade with other countries, because of shipping costs, yet during the whole global economic crisis, news reports were flying in about various businesses here in Canada having their business from the US dried up and they survived by spreading their business to other countries.... which the nation itself should be doing.

And locking in our currency to the US's is only going to add to our dependence on what happens to the US.

Our dollar parred with the US not too long ago, in fact, surpassed the US dollar for a period of time.... it's about to happen again, and probably won't be the last time either.

Having one of the strongest dollars in the world seemed to help the US pretty nicely, why does it have to be such a horrible thing for us?

The only argument I hear is that it'll drive our US business away and hurt our local businesses because our products become more expensive for them.

Fine..... Trade with the EU, China, Australia..... South America even.... put a little effort into it and I'm sure the business is out there to cover any loss from the US. And our dollar value would probably become even stronger.

Time to take our role, not continually pass it off to everybody else and remain afraid of it.

 

[pgs]

Praxius You are free to start a company or even a bunch of companies.
You can produce or manufacture just about any product available and you are also free to sell that product anywhere in the world.
So go to it.Remember you do not have to tie yoursefl to the hip of the U.S.

 

[Praxius]

Praxius You are free to start a company or even a bunch of companies.
You can produce or manufacture just about any product available and you are also free to sell that product anywhere in the world.
So go to it.Remember you do not have to tie yoursefl to the hip of the U.S.

The point being is that business-wise, it would cost less to trade with the US compared to other nations, thus more would be inclined to rely on just the US because of this.... and if all of our businesses are relying mostly on the US, if something happens to the US or for whatever reason most of the business in the US dries up, then most of these companies end up getting the shaft and laying off all kinds of workers (as we seen especially with our auto industries in the last year or so)

What our government should be doing is working on making it easier to do business with other countries, rather then continually trying to sway our dependency on just one nation for most of our international business.

 

[taxslave]

Oh, and if you multiply 7 minutes a day to five days a week, you get 35 minutes a week. That's over one hour wasted over two weeks. If you're paid 25$ an hour, then you're employer has just wasted over 25$ every two weeks on currency conversion alone performed by just one staff member. That's over 50$ per month, and over 600$ every year, again, for one worker doing regular currency conversion. You can see how that quickly adds up. And you don't think that cost is either passed on to the worker in lower raises or alternatively to the client in higher costs? Trust me, it does get passed on. Now multiply 600$ per year by the number of workers in Canada having to go through this kind of process on a regular basis.

It would seem to me that you could get someone for a lot less than $25/hr to do a mindless job like this. Like half of that. Unless you work for the government.
I am against a common currency because it would put even more control over the Canadian economy and government into foreign hands that do not have our best interests at heart. Often I'm not sure they even have their own country's best interest at heart.

 

[theconqueror]

Locking in our dollar value with the US is stupid and it can force certain businesses to deal more with the US rather then be more free to choose other countries, due to exchange issues.

We've already seen what happens to our country when we're joined to the US's hip so damn much. Putting all your eggs in one basket, as they say, is not a wise decision and because of their economic meltdown, they affected our country, our employment, out businesses more, because they all rely on the US and it's money coming in.

Too bad the damage is allready done when the U.S. is #1 trading partner which is not wise in the first place because of the offset in exchange rates. So at least allow Canada to sell it's eggs at an equal amount that the U.S. is, so it's a fair trade and none of this premium we have to pay because the dollar is lower on the exhange.

Is that so stupid?

ps. Just offer a Buy Canada tax break if we allready don't offer.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

The higher the Canuck buck goes, the cheaper oil, that is gas, for our cars, remains. If that's not a good reason for higher dollar, I don't know what is. And as long as oil and other commodities keep rising, we're good and getting better.

Higher Canadian dollar hurts tourism, it also hurts exports. Indeed, the last time Canadian dollar was this high, there was plenty of cross border shopping, people would cross the border into USA, shop and return, paying the appropriate duties here, if any. Even with that they used to save considerable amount of money. Now there may not be much cross border shopping, seeing how much they harass you at the border.

Higher dollar really isn’t good for anything, all it does is that it enables some people to brag that their currency is very strong. You mention price of gas, has it gone down as a result of strong dollar? It hasn’t.

But in general exports becomes expensive, imports stay at the same price or even may become slightly cheaper. A strong currency has several disadvantages.

The main disadvantage of weak currency is that it can lead to inflation. But when the dollar was at 60 US cents, there was no inflation. Assuming there is no inflation, I would much prefer a weak currency to a strong currency.

 

[TenPenny]

Speaking of the dollar and cross-border shopping, I know that buying cars in the US is common here in NB - at the new border crossing, as you are leaving the US, there are specific signs for 'Vehicle Exports' directing you to the right part of the US customs to get your paperwork sorted out for cars sold into Canada.

That's a sign (pun intended) of just how common vehicle exports from the US to Canada is; in fact, when we returned from the US on Monday, we were behind two brand new GMC panel vans being imported into Canada.

 

[theconqueror]

Speaking of the dollar and cross-border shopping, I know that buying cars in the US is common here in NB - at the new border crossing, as you are leaving the US, there are specific signs for 'Vehicle Exports' directing you to the right part of the US customs to get your paperwork sorted out for cars sold into Canada.

That's a sign (pun intended) of just how common vehicle exports from the US to Canada is; in fact, when we returned from the US on Monday, we were behind two brand new GMC panel vans being imported into Canada.

What for? You still have to pay import tax don't you? Which brings the total cost back up to if you were to have bought from Canada. You also might run into problems with emmissions ect..

Unless, it's a classic car or antique that you can't find in Canada why wouldn't you buy Canadian?