Photo Credit: Seeker401

Magna International, (TSX:MG.A) in joint partnership with the National Research Council, is opening a new $7.2M research and development facility in Concord, Ontario with the help of the federal government. This facility will focus on the development of lightweight, low cost, environmentally friendly, safer and more durable car parts for future cars designed with reduced fuel consumption needs in mind. The Magna-NRC Composite Centre of Excellence will be fitted with state of the art moulding equipment for thermoplastic compounds such as direct long fibre and sheet moulding compound.

Bob Brownlee, President of Magna Exteriors and Interiors, stated that “the Magna-NRC Composite Centre of Excellence will help reinforce Magna’s position as a supplier of lightweight, cost-effective composite solutions to the global automotive market.” Although this may not create a substantial amount of new jobs, Canadian Auto Workers union economist Jim Stanford says “It’s very important for Canada to develop our made-in-Canada expertise in the auto industry. For too long we relied on foreign companies to bring the technology, the machinery and the products to us and then we would manufacture them.” Soon the world will be looking to Canada for automotive parts and the technology to build them. Global fuel concerns make this project an exciting endeavor. Reduced weight equates to reduced consumption.
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Photo Credit: CBC

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Première Dalton Mcguinty seems to feel that during this recession- the biggest global economic recession in 80 years – it is necessary to review Canadian assets and look at the possibility of selling off certain properties such as Hydro One, the OLG and Racetracks, and the Liquor Control Board. Two banks, CIBC World Markets and Goldman Sachs Group, are reviewing these assets in addition to others, to determine whether selling these off would indeed be beneficial in slimming down the $24.7 billion deficit which Tory MPP Peter Shurman explains was of the Premiers own making. A final decision has yet to be made but the proposal is on the table.

Critics point out that the government would be able to book revenue only to the extent that the sale price exceeds the book value of the asset, making this option less attractive when viewed in the proper context. NDP leader Andrea Horwath said: “It’s quick cash but you wind up paying through the nose everyday. This government is reaching into the past for a tired old idea that doesn’t work.” She explained that selling off public assets is a disastrous idea that will cost Ontario in the long run. “It’s very clear that when these public assets are sold off, the public gets a bad deal,” she said. Ironically, it was just the other week when Finance Minister Dwight Duncan stood up in the Legislature and reamed the PCs for having sold off Highway 407 to a private company that can now raise its toll rates at will.
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Cigarette prices keep going up and there are increasingly less places one is free to smoke. Cigarettes cannot be shown in stores and cannot be advertised. It is not an illegal habit – it is just an increasingly inconvenient one to enjoy. Even with the stigma of death being attached to each pack and the constant reminder of health repercussions to the smoker and those around them, smoking continues to be seen everywhere. However, it is not just the traditional corporate brands being enjoyed. Many of them are lesser known brands of contraband cigarettes. The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco and The Canadian Convenience Stores Association recently released a report explaining a connection between illegal cigarettes and organized crime including drug and weapons smuggling. The CCSA points to contraband cigarettes being the primary cause of difficulties felt by convenience store owners around the country.
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Nortel Pensioners

Saving money for one’s golden years, when working is no longer possible or desirable, is a goal rightfully pursued by many Canadians. One does not expect to be working their entire lives just to survive. Nobody wishes to become an imposed burden on their family or friends during their later years. Yet, a flawed system seems to point at this possibility. An eight hour work day, with one or two hours commuting time, and the recommended eight hours of sleep, plus an hour to cook and eat, leaves only five hours of downtime during a work week (excluding weekends). Continuing such a pattern until death does not reflect an ideal image for a first world country. Those preparing for the rewards of retirement, set aside funds in the hopes of realizing this dream but recent events have forced the reality of such hopes into question.

Many expect this will be accomplished through the use of pension plans in addition to the usual government savings programs, which are described to be insufficient independently, when calculating the cost of retirement. In principle, pension plans are a great way of insuring a comfortable future, however, when a plan is self insured by the company offering the plan, the invested funds are protected primarily by a promise rather than any guarantee of receiving the expected funds should the company go bankrupt. The recent discussions on Oct 26, 2009, available on CPAC, regarding National Pensions and Retirement Income Security, demonstrated the difficult situation many Nortel employees are finding themselves in where large portions of their investments were lost. The fact of the matter is that during bankruptcy, the banks receive preferred creditor status over employees contributing portions of their salaries and years of service to a company.
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