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Goodbye loonie, hello 'amero?'

Last Updated: Tuesday, October 5, 1999 | 9:48 AM ET

CBC News

A common North American currency would bring about lower long-term interestrates, greater price stability and improved trade, says a new report from the FraserInstitute.

The study calls for a North American Monetary Union that includes Canada, the United States,and Mexico.It proposes a common currency, called the "amero," which would have its own distinctiveemblem on one side and national symbols on the other.The study's author, Herbert Grubel argues that flexible exchange rates have not brought Canadathe benefits promised by its advocates.Instead, he says, they have reduced labour market flexibility and delayed Canada's adjustment todeclining world prices for natural resources."This system has contributed to Canada's high and excessive reliance on the production of natural resources," says Grubel, a senior fellow at the institute."A monetary union will ensure that we move to the high-tech and other profitable and expandingindustries at a more optimal pace, and Canadians' productivity and living standards will increasecorrespondingly."

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The study says Canada's cultural sovereignty and political independence would not be affected by monetary union, arguing that monetary union would not inhibit Canada's ability to pursue itsown tax, spending, social, regulatory and foreign policies.

Consider a continental currency, Jarislowsky says

Renowned money manager says Canada should peg loonie to greenback or adopta common dollar

STEVEN CHASE November 23, 2007OTTAWA -- Canada should replace its dollar with a North American currency, or peg it to theU.S. greenback, to avoid the exchange rate shifts the loonie has experienced, renowned moneymanager Stephen Jarislowsky told a parliamentary committee yesterday."In a country like Canada we cannot permit ourselves to have a dollar that goes through thesekind of gyrations," Mr. Jarislowsky told MPs on the Commons finance committee. " I think wehave to really seriously start thinking of the model of a continental currency just like Europe."MPs on the finance committee are probing the consequences of the strengthened loonie - whichhas risen more than 20 per cent against the U.S. greenback this year.Mr. Jarislowsky, a former Canfor Corp. director, said the loonie's rise to above par with the U.S.dollar is destroying manufacturing and could devastate the forest sector. "We don't have a single mill in Canada which isn't losing cash at the current exchange ratedespite the fact we invested hundreds of millions in dollars into new equipment when we had themoney," said Mr. Jarislowsky, chairman of Montreal investment firm Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd."I believe that if we stay at the present levels the entire forest products industry practically isgoing to be in liquidation-bankruptcy and there's going to be an enormous loss of employment."He scorned suggestions that now is a great time to invest in new equipment because the stronger loonie can buy more."Very often we are being told that this is a wonderful time to invest but if you are going to go bankrupt anyhow, and if the dollar keeps shooting further up, I would say it would be throwinggood money after bad," he said.You may as well go bankrupt and try to save as much of your money by pulling it out of there before you go bankrupt rather than putting additional capital into the company."

Mr. Jarislowsky said Canada could either aim for a common North American currency or peg theloonie to the U.S. greenback at about 80 cents (U.S.), allowing it to float within a small band."There could be a 5 per cent margin on either side and this would make sense for the Canadiandollar which in my opinion should be worth about 80 cents [U.S.] so it should go up 5 per cent or down 5 per cent from that benchmark."Mr. Jarislowsky noted that other countries such as China peg their currency.However the federal Finance Department is cool to such ideas. It resolutely opposes the notion in briefing notes prepared for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and obtained by The Globe and Mailunder access to information law earlier this year. Finance officials told Mr. Flaherty that acommon currency would mean an erosion of sovereignty for Canada.They say it would ultimately mean Canada abandoning an independent monetary policy andtherefore its ability to directly influence economic conditions within its borders."A North American common currency would undoubtedly mean for Canada the adoption of theU.S. dollar and U.S. monetary policy," Finance officials say in the briefings. "Canada wouldhave to give up its control of domestic inflation and interest rates."Finance also believes that alternatives to a common currency, such as pegging the loonie to thegreenback, are even worse ideas, notes show.Separately, tourism officials warned MPs that the stronger loonie will only worsen the outlook for their sector."In five years, we have seen the number of inbound customers from the United States drop by anastounding 34 per cent," Tourism Industry Association of Canada vice-president Christopher Jones said in a statement prepared for the finance

PREMEDITATED MERGER

Billionaire to Canada: Time for amero is now

Wants euro-style currency to avoid exchange problems

Posted: November 27, 20071:00 a.m. Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi

Stephen Jarislowsky, a billionaire money manager and investor the Canadiannewspaper Globe and Mail bills as theCanadian Warren Buffet,has told aparliamentary committee Canada and the United States both should