. for six years there was nothing done about the charter, said Parent, who served as a military search-and-rescue technician for three decades. Veterans already suffering financial hardship dont have time for a drawn-out review, Parent said. What we dont want to see is another long, extended review, he said, adding that the Veterans Affairs Department should use his report as a blueprint to make the required changes. Everything is there for them so, therefore, it could be expedited, Parent said. Fantino was not available for an interview Tuesday. He issued a statement saying the report was an important starting point for the upcoming review. NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair accused the Conservatives of a double standard and said the shortfalls identified in Parents report are absolutely unacceptable. We have hundreds and hundreds of veterans who are simply not being taken care of by our government, Mulcair said Tuesday on Parliament Hill. This is the same government that talks about respecting our brave men and women in uniform. Lets do more than talk . . . lets be there for them as a nation when they need us most, Mulcair said. Parent backed his findings with an actuarial analysis to pinpoint who the existing package of benefits is depriving some veterans of the financial support they require. We value respectful and thoughtful discussion.
Canada’s Dollar Drops Against Australia’s as U.S. Shuts Down
Benchmark Bonds Canadas benchmark 10-year government bond fell, pushing the yield up two basis points to 2.56 percent. The price of the 1.5 percent security maturing in June 2023 slipped 14 cents to C$90.97. Implied volatility for one-year options on the Canadian dollar versus its U.S. counterpart rose to 7.1 percent, the highest on a closing basis since Sept. 16. Implied volatility is used to set option prices and gauge the expected pace of currency swings. The average for this year is 7.39 percent. Options traders touched the most bearish level on the Canadian dollar versus its U.S. peer in three weeks. The three-month so-called 25 delta risk-reversal rate, which measures the premium charged for the right to buy the U.S. dollar against its Canadian peer versus contracts to sell, reached 1.375 percent, matching yesterdays high, the most since Sept. 6. The Canadian dollar lost 0.9 percent in the past month against nine developed-market peers tracked by the Bloomberg Correlation Weighted Index.
Investors are getting wise to Washington politics and do not expect the shutdown to last too long, said Keith Richards, portfolio manager at ValueTrend Wealth Management in Barrie, Ontario. And if the shutdown were prolonged, it might encourage the U.S. Federal Reserve to maintain its stimulus program for a longer period, which would also boost stocks, he said. “If there is a longer shutdown it would slow the economy and therefore reduce the (Fed) taper talk that’s been the prevalent fear out there,” Richards said, adding that a looming fight over raising Washington’s borrowing authority was much more dangerous. The TSX index ended up 60.25 points, or 0.47 percent, at 12,847.44, its biggest one-day gain since Sept. 18. It had opened in the red after hitting a two-week low on Monday. The materials sector was the only one of ten major groupings to slip. Goldcorp Inc and Barrick Gold Corp were the two heaviest drags on the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index, with Goldcorp off 2.7 percent at C$26.06 and Barrick falling 3 percent to C$18.60. The price of gold fell below $1,300 per ounce, to its lowest since early August, in heavy volume early on Tuesday as investors saw the U.S. standoff as likely temporary and sold safe-haven bullion. But the partial U.S. government shutdown and looming debt-ceiling battle “are all good fodder for gold, so I think it is a purchase opportunity for gold and gold miners,” said John Ing, president of Maison Placements Canada.
CANADA STOCKS-TSX gains as investors shrug off U.S. shutdown
Foreign Minister John Baird said Tuesday that he told his Egyptian counterpart that in “no uncertain terms” it is unacceptable. He said Canada’s prime minister has directed that all resources be brought to bear to secure their release. John Greyson, a filmmaker and professor, and Tarek Loubani, a physician, have been held without charges since mid-August and were ordered detained for another 45 days on the weekend. The men say they were observing an anti-government demonstration Aug. 16 when Loubani heeded a call for a doctor and began treating wounded demonstrators while Greyson recorded the unrest on video. The pair released a statement on Saturday saying they’ve been beaten and subjected to degrading treatment. “It is simply unacceptable that Canadians can be held this long with no specific charges, no specific evidence,” Baird said. Baird said he told the new Egyptian foreign minister that it was “a significant problem in our bilateral relations.” Baird said he “didn’t’ see any light at the end of the tunnel” despite holding what he called a productive meeting with his Egyptian counterpart on Friday. He said the Canadian government is taking both a political and judicial approach to securing their release. “The government, at the prime minister’s direction, has been engaged in a big way to secure the release of these two Canadians,” Baird said. “I don’t want to up the rhetoric that would impede their expeditious release. I would just say we’re having strong discussions with the Egyptian authorities on this.” Join the Discussion You are using an outdated version of Internet Explorer. Please click here to upgrade your browser in order to comment.