...Canada from responding to a rapidly changing economic environment. Discuss what the weaknesses are and how they have hampered Canadian competitiveness. Finally, offer your own assessment, drawing on course materials, of this argument. There are numerous economic weaknesses that the author has argued. This essay mainly focuses on these flaws and how they are hampering Canadian competitiveness. Firstly majority of the companies in Canada are foreign owned or foreign controlled. From manufacturing sector including auto, chemical, and electronics to giant retail stores such as Wal-mart, Costco, Sears, Hudson Bay, etc are all foreign owned. In automobile sector GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, etc dominates the auto industry in Canada. The automotive industry employs 158,302 people in automotive assembly and component manufacturing, and another 336,212 in distribution and aftermarket sales and service[1]. These foreign operated companies are extremely aggressive in nature, tough for domestic companies to compete and have monopoly over Canadian market. In addition they are usually productive than domestically controlled companies. Equally important it seems that foreign industry has assisted Canadian economy to become stronger and employ Canadian, however Government studies revealed that foreign enterprises had generally employed Canadian capital to expand their resource and manufacturing concerns rather than bringing new capital into the country to fund growth[2]...
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...have responded to your request regarding an analysis of the Canadian Tire Corporation and in this report you will find the information about the Company and their recent corporate activity. We have identified various points that will be useful in your decision to invest in this company. We have included information regarding Canadian Tire’s history, the products and services offered by them, and an analysis of the internal and external factors that affect the Corporation’s operations. We have also assessed the critical issues the company is currently facing along with their major implications. In order to see the direction in which the company is head, we also evaluated their vision, mission and long term objectives and strategies, followed by a sound strategy assessment. We have also analysed the company’s marketing strategy in regards to three of the products that they offer and also an overview of the marketing mix pursued by the company in general. We collected data regarding their financials of the past three fiscal years, and checked their sources of capital. Lastly, we have provided conclusions and our recommendations about the company keeping in mind the overall shape of the company’s future operations. We hope that this report guides you in your decision to invest in this company. Sincerely, Star Investors This letter would be even better if it had several paragraphs! 2012 INVESTOR ANALYSIS OF THE CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION November 27, 2012 ...
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...The Canadian Dollar The Canadian dollar has seen its ups and downs compared to the US dollar for many years. This summary will go over the trends and causes of the shifting exchange rates of the Canadian Dollar and its impact on export and import of Canadian goods. It will also go over what could possibly be done to level out the decline of the Canadian Dollar and what the expectation is for the Dollar in the next five years. 15 Year Trend between the Canadian and the US Dollar In the last 15 years the Canadian dollar has gone from being lower than lesser than UD dollar to almost equivalent and for a period higher to back to lesser than US dollar. In 2000 1 CAD was equivalent to 0.673519 USD; it continued downwards until around 2003 where it went up to 0.71 USD. From 2003 it continued to rise to a high of 0.944173 USD until 2009 where it dropped back to 0.880095. Since 2009 the yearly average has continued to rise one year and drop the next, in 2011 we had the highest exchange rate of 1 CAD to 1.011464 USD, unfortunately by 2015 it dropped to average of 0.794280 USD. (Canadian Forex, 2015). Causes of Changes in Exchange Rates There are 6 factors that influence exchange rates; difference in inflation, difference in interest rates, current amount deficits, public debt, terms of trade, and political stability and economic performance. (Bergen, 2015). Specific reasons for the drop of the Canadian dollar include the weak Canadian economy, falling oil prices, the Greek crisis...
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...Have you ever seen the back of the 5 dollor bill? Today, I’m going to tell you about a famous Canadian who was the first Canadian to walk in space. His name is Chris Hadfield. He is the main character of 5 dollor bill. First of all, let me tell you a little about his origin. He was born on August 29, 1959 in Sarnia, Ontario. and he was raised on a corn farm in southern Ontario. I chose Chris Hadfield because he is one of the Canadians I respect most of all. To me he is a symbol of courage, challenge and enthusiasm. As I explain more, you will see the reasons. Let’s talk now about Hadfield before he became famous. He had an astronaut dream at nine age when he saw "the Apollo 11 Moon landing" on television. After he graduated at Royal Military College, he learned to fly various types of aircraft in the military. Eventually, he became a military test pilot from 1989 to 1992. How Chris Hadfield became the most famous astronaut on earth? Now, I’m going to talk about three of Chris Hadfield’s accomplishments. Hadfield’s main accomplishment was being astronaut. In 1992, his dream of becoming an astronaut came true when he was selected from 5,330 applicants. Then, he was accepted into the Canadian astronaut program by the Canadian Space Agency. He first flew in space in November 1995 as a mission specialist, and he is the first Canadian astronaut to take over as Commander on the ISS in March 2013. The initials ISS stand for the International Space Station. Hadfield has spent...
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...has been a revolution in US business practices. Several factors have combined to force significant change to the US economy, and the resultant changes on company production costs/techniques and location has forced a bifurcation of the workforce and the business community. The United States has been drawn into the world economy, and as such must compete globally for sales of its goods and services. So too, the labor force, once the highest paid and most respected in the world, has been forced to compete with lower-cost labor sources worldwide. Add the economic malaise of 2007-2008, and the years 2006-2010 reflect an economic upheaval never seen before, or likely, since. This exercise tracks the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Canadian dollar over that period, and , the author believes, tracks closely the macroeconomic conditions between the two countries during the selected period of 2006-2010. This paper will show that a review of economic history, followed by a review of the exchange rates for the fund, (symbol FXC), will show a close correlation. 2006-2007 saw the end of boom economics for many Americans. Loose credit policies allowed stock and real estate prices to expand rapidly. Real estate speculators would execute options on new condominiums, only to flip those contracts to another purchaser for profit before the property was built. Several forces combined to threaten collapse of the US financial markets, from rogue traders making huge bets that threatened the...
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...Using the Accenture document on governance presented with the Alcan case, place Canadian Shield in the appropriate quadrant. According to the Accenture document, I would place Canadian Shield within the efficient, predictable operator category. The slow rate of change and need to compete on operational efficiencies characterized by most companies in this quadrant is detailed by the following quote from the case authors. “Sustainability for Canadian insurance companies greatly depended on investments in projects that increased customer service and improved operational efficiency.” This comment is aligned with the predictable operator company practices and is evidence that in order to gain a competitive advantage in the Canadian insurance industry it is vital that operational efficiencies are realized through better IT solutions at Canadian Shield and its parent company, Assurance Centrale Inc. (AC). In the key decision going forward, is this Seamus' call? If not, whose decision is it? Who should make the decision? Under what decision area(s) in the Weill & Ross governance model does this decision fall? As the leader of Information Systems at Canadian Shield, one of many subsidiaries of Assurance Centrale, Seamus Reynolds was tasked with piloting a new information system that could potentially replace the IS’s at all of Assurance Centrale’s regional offices. Five years after starting this project he was feeling the weight of the responsibility for a project that could...
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...Who is the Greatest Canadian of the Twentieth Century? Thomas Clement Douglas was born on October 20, 1904 in Falkirk, Scotland. He was often called Tommy. He and his family immigrated to Canada in 1911. They settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When Tommy was 10, he had a bone infection in his leg, osteomyelitis, which needed many operations. None of the operations helped him and his family could not afford to send him to a special doctor. He was extremely fortunate when a visiting surgeon volunteered to operate on him for free. He was also a minister and a politician. Tommy Douglas is the greatest Canadian due to the fact he achieved Medicare, became the first national leader of the NDP and fought for social programs even in the presence of strong oppositions. Tommy Douglas learnt from the experience of his sickness the importance of doctors. The sickness and how he was saved was his inspiration for the Medicare. He wanted everyone to receive the Medicare they needed, even if they did not have a great deal of money. During one of his speeches as a politician, he said, I came to believe that health services ought not to have a price-tag on them, and that people should be able to get whatever health services they required irrespective of their individual capacity to pay. This inspired him to work hard so as to make health care available to all Canadians at no cost. In 1959, Tommy announced the plan to establish a medical insurance called Medicare. He faced strong...
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...Who is the Greatest Canadian of the Twentieth Century? Thomas Clement Douglas was born on October 20, 1904 in Falkirk, Scotland. He was often called Tommy. He and his family immigrated to Canada in 1911. They settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When Tommy was 10, he had a bone infection in his leg, osteomyelitis, which needed many operations. None of the operations helped him and his family could not afford to send him to a special doctor. He was extremely fortunate when a visiting surgeon volunteered to operate on him for free. He was also a minister and a politician. Tommy Douglas is the greatest Canadian due to the fact he achieved Medicare, became the first national leader of the NDP and fought for social programs even in the presence of strong oppositions. Tommy Douglas learnt from the experience of his sickness the importance of doctors. The sickness and how he was saved was his inspiration for the Medicare. He wanted everyone to receive the Medicare they needed, even if they did not have a great deal of money. During one of his speeches as a politician, he said, I came to believe that health services ought not to have a price-tag on them, and that people should be able to get whatever health services they required irrespective of their individual capacity to pay. This inspired him to work hard so as to make health care available to all Canadians at no cost. In 1959, Tommy announced the plan to establish a medical insurance called Medicare. He faced...
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...The government of Canada failed to come to the aid of Maher Arar in the circumstance of his deportation. Firstly why did the United States government do this, then after the situation worsened why Canada didn’t intervene when we should have, and lastly what were the many consequences that arose from our collective lack of action. Maher Arar is a Syrian born Canadian citizen, he moved to Canada with his family at the age of 17. He earned a master’s degree from McGill University and worked for two high tech firms in Ottawa. In 2002 while on a flight home from Zurich, he was stopped and pulled aside for questioning at JFK airport in New York. After this he was interrogated intensely for three days by the United States government, about possible links to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, he denies all of these allegations and continued to request a lawyer these requests were all denied because he was not an American citizen. Eventually Arar was asked to sign forms without the ability to read them and no legal counsel he signed the forms indicating that he would like to return to Canada. They asked him why he had originally fled Syria, he answerd honestly that he had left to avoid mandatory military service. They continue to say that he will not be returned to Canada and that he will most likely be returned to Syria because he also has citizenship there. the Syrians are known for their torture of prisoners and their willingness to interrogate prisoners from other countries....
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...Integration to Canadian Society This paper will examine the difficulties immigrants have when they arrive in Canada with respect to assimilation of language, transferability of education in finding a job in Canada and training that exists for the newly landed immigrant. We will also touch the difficulties it poses for Canadian citizens in dealing with this influx of immigrants into our urbanized centers. Anglo Canadians have quickly become a minority and continue to become a shrinking minority. Immigrants arriving to Canada in most cases believe that they have made the right choice to leave their homeland in pursuit of a better life for themselves and their children. After all Canada has a global reputation as being one of the best countries in the world for many reasons. There is free healthcare available and educational opportunities if so desired as well as many provincial social services in place to help new immigrants transition into Canadian society. Some immigrants leave there come country because of instability within their government causing national unrest and dangerous circumstances for ordinary citizens. In other cases immigration can occur simply because they are seeking a better opportunities in life. Up until 1960’s “Canada’s immigration objective was to attract more British and American immigrants, as well as immigrants from the “preferred countries” of central and northern Europe” [4] Canada’s immigration policy after 1960 has historically been very relaxed...
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...unemployment and the rise of the Canadian dollar? Canada’s financial stability depends on the health of America’s economy, as international trade accounts for 45% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 79% of exports are to the United States. Canadian and American unemployment rates are positively correlated for that reason, as exemplified in early 2009. Canada’s unemployment rate quickly steepened as the United States’ rate gradually increased to about 10% (refer to graph 1 and 2). During this time, Canada’s growing trade surplus became a deficit in only a few months (refer to graph 3). From this data, one can determine that Canada’s exports decreased rapidly due to rising economic turmoil in the United States. The effects on the dollar seemed to positively correlate. Canada’s dollar decreased in value compared to the US dollar; however, concluding that the reason for this change was due to the U.S. unemployment rate is inaccurate. The ever-changing exchange rate of the dollar is determined by many factors. As of 2011, Canadian and American unemployment rates remain high at approximately 7.3% and 9%, respectively. In addition, a trade deficit continues to exist in Canada. Nevertheless, the Canadian dollar is gaining strength over the American dollar, which contrasts with the weakened exchange rate in 2009 when the same conditions existed (refer to graph 4). Therefore, rising U.S. unemployment can have a positive or negative affect on the Canadian dollar. I will examine how...
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...Communications The Importance of Canadian Regulation - Essay Question 1: The regulation of Canadian content on radio and television has long been a source of controversy. Some argue that the regulations serve no real purpose and have become meaningless in many respects. Others point to successful Canadian musicians and/or television shows, arguing that Canadian content regulations helped these forms of entertainment survive in a highly competitive environment. Do you believe that Canadian content regulations are necessary, and if so, what evidence can you provide to support this belief? Be specific in your answer, regardless of whether you focus on radio, television or both: if you think alternative means of support are more important, detail why this is true. Submitted By: XX Submitted To: XX Professor: XX Student Number: XX Submission Due Date: November 29, 2010 Course Code: CMST 1A03 The Importance of Canadian Regulation Question 1 – Why Is Canadian Regulation Important? In society today, one contemplates the content that is portrayed via media. The Canadian government has placed numerous conditions and restrictions that state what is authorized and what is unapproved to be shown or heard on television and radio. The only cultural medium established in Canada is broadcasting. The government has also established the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC for short form. The regulation of radio and television is crucial for...
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...The Rise of Canadian Military Professionalism in World War 1 Paul Dickson in his article “The End of the Beginning: The Canadian Corps in 1917,” attempts to answer the question of what factors were responsible for the turnaround in professionalism and capability of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the later half of the First World War. The author’s thesis is that the Canadian Corps that fought at Vimy Ridge was not the superlative force that the Canadian public thought they were. In fact, during the early period of World War I, before 1916, the Canadian Corps was still in its infancy and definitely undergoing teething troubles, even though the beginning of a firm and solid base was slowly developing. “The Canadian Corps that took Vimy Ridge was not the “elite” formation it would become in 1918, but the foundation was firmly in place.” Prior to 1916, the author explains that the key ingredients to success that are described as “good habits” and a “good organizational culture” , were not fully in place and prevented the CEF from reaching its maximum operational effectiveness. Dickson is intrigued with the CEF in that there was an element that made them unique to both their Allied and Axis counterparts allowing them to reach this “elite” plateau, as the “Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) shared many of the problems encountered by other armies on the Western Front…” . He attempts to explore this question and seek answers. Was it better equipment...
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...The Canadian Pacific Railway: tens of thousands of kilometres of track, spanning from Montréal to Vancouver. It connected the nation, supplying good jobs, profitable cargo, and boosted the Canadian economy, say many. However, there’s an evident problem: that’s just one side of the story. When one considers all the factors involved with the Canadian Pacific Railway’s (henceforth referred to as the ‘CPR’ for short) economics, it was, in reality, quite harmful for three major reasons. Firstly, the National Policy, which helped gather funds for the CPR, had elements of economic protectionism and nationalism, which, alongside its Keynesian strategy, had helped stymie the free market via demand-side economics. Secondly, there was the issue of funding....
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...Canada is a beautiful place to live because there are a variety of geographical regions. As a Canadian citizen an important question to address is what aspects of canadian society contribute to the well-being of all Canadian citizens making Canada a great country to live in? The four most important aspects of Canadian society are healthcare and medicine the natural environment, multiculturalism and the rights and freedoms of people. With the practice of healthcare and medicine, it will provide treatment for illness and injury in peoples communities. The healthcare system provides Canadian citizen with free healthcare all across Canada. The roles and responsibilities for the healthcare is that the services are shared between the provincial and...
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