Throughout the struggle that Europe faces with its financial crisis, Canada has continued to show progress and resilience in comparison to the troubles of our neighbouring countries.
And there is good news to report; the numbers reflect that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The fiscal monitor has reported that Friday, Aug. 31, there is budget deficit of $2 billion for the first three months of the 2012-13 fiscal year (April to June) compared to $4.2 billion recorded for the same period a year earlier.
Statistics Canada also reflected that Canada’s economy has grown by 1.8 in the second quarter.
But despite that strong growth, Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty has expressed some doubting concerns.
“The global economic fallout from Europe’s sovereign debt and banking crisis, and the slow recovery in the U.S. continue to hinder the Canadian economy” said Flaherty.
“The Euro area has seen virtually no growth for over the year, and some of its key economies have fallen back into recession. The U.S. recovery also continues to be sluggish”
With so many unknowns, Flaherty has advised Canadians for months now to take precautionary steps to prevent any future foreclosure scenarios and to avoid any risks that could force our economy into a downward spiral.
“At some point, interest rates are likely to rise and that means residential mortgage rates will be going up over time,” he cautioned. “I think Canadians are increasingly getting that message.”
Over the past few years, our Canadian government has made some very tough decisions, such as implementing new mortgage rules, and tightening up qualifications for mortgages, but all of these adjustments are clearly being reflected in the positive outcome of the fiscal monitor numbers.
The future can not be predicted for our country or any of our neighbouring countries. But our country has led with their strongest foot to nudge forward in tough economic times as other countries have simply stood still.
