Canada’s new free trade agreement with the European Union has opened the door for new opportunities for Canadian businesses, but has also opened the door for new threats (European businesses) to enter and hinder already established Canadian businesses.

                                 Canadian and European Free Trade Agreement

The dairy, beef, and wood industries (to name a few) could all benefit from this trade agreement. The burden would now be placed on European suppliers of these goods to compete against the Canadian suppliers, if the European suppliers prices do not drop they will be greatly affected, as the consumers will be more likely to buy the cheaper Canadian products. What the free trade agreement really did though was get rid of the biggest barrier; entry for Canadian industries into the European market. With this barrier removed it is now easier for the Canadian companies to enter into the market (tariffs increasing prices from 5% to 10+%) without the consequences that would have hurt their product before the free trade agreement. The free trade agreement has made it a fair competitive field for all the suppliers from Europe and Canada on goods. The lowest price for the best quality will normally win and succeed.

Video
Canada and European Union Free Trade Agreement

Links
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Harper+announces+agreement+principle+European+free+trade/9052562/story.html

http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml

India, with more than one billion people, which now has a significant demand for oil and gas. This demand represents a terrific opportunity for Canada’s oil and gas industry. Canada has never been able to achieve top-twenty status as an oil and gas supplier to India, a horrendous situation given that India ranks #4 for oil and gas consumption. This new found interest for Canada’s oil and gas could not only significantly benefit the Canadian economy, but could also lead to increased competition for Canadian oil and gas exports.

India and Canada Economic Relations.

For the Canadian oil and gas industry, India represents a perfect opportunity, a large consumer that is not only willing to purchase these resources but also willing to aid with the construction of a pipeline. This is comparable to another large consumer, the USA, who is willing to buy Canadian oil and gas but not willing to help build and fund the Keystone Pipeline Project. Not only will India’s interest likely cause the USA to rethink their stance on the Keystone Pipeline Project, but also increase competition for Canadian oil and gas which could potentially lead to an overall increase in total profits to Canada based on the export of these resources.

Videos
Energy East Pipeline Project

Links

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2013/09/17/obama-signals-cracks-in-the-proposed-keystone-pipeline/

http://www.transcanada.com/energy-east-pipeline.html

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4136422-envoy-says-india-wants-more-canadian-oil-and-gas-as-uranium-deal-inked/

http://globalnews.ca/news/878685/after-nuclear-agreement-india-sets-sights-on-canadian-oil-and-gas/

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/09/24/india-finally-makes-a-move-on-canadian-energy-assets/?__lsa=ed16-c57a

The shutdown in Washington has been grabbing media headlines throughout the world for the past few days. The question is how will it affect businesses and the economic market?

Businesses effected by Government Shutdown

The US Federal Government employs over 800,000 “non-essential” workers, which are being sent home during the lockdown, this group which makes up only a quarter of a percent of all Americans; however, this is still a very large number when considering the influence these consumers have on the market. Now they will be “tightening their wallets” because they are not receiving their paychecks from the government. Although the government signed a bill on October 5^th, stating these employees will be paid, they will only receive their pay once the government reopens, and this date is still a mystery. This will lead to these government employees not spending money at local restaurants, stores or other businesses, which will result in loss of sales and revenue for these businesses. This could lead to these businesses having to lay-off workers and in some instances even close their businesses if the shutdown continues for too long. For each day that the government is shutdown it is estimated that Washington DC will lose $200 million in economic activities.

Videos
Effects of Government Shutdown
Local Businesses Effected

Links
http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2013/10/01/how-will-the-government-shutdown-impact-your-business/

http://globalnews.ca/news/876912/us-businesses-worry-about-a-prolonged-shutdown/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/30/absolutely-everything-you-need-to-know-about-how-the-government-shutdown-will-work/

The potential opportunity that the marijuana industry represents to Canada is a topic that the government and citizens of Canada should closely examine. Presently 37,359 citizens in Canada are legally approved by Health Canada to use medicinal marijuana. This number is projected to rise to 450,000 by 2024. The increase in the number of marijuana users in Canada provides colossal potential for significant revenue generation, some estimates putting this at $1.3 billion by the year 2024.

The Marijuana Industry in Canada

These estimates, conducted by Federal projections, are one of the reasons the expansion of the medicinal marijuana industry is so tempting. By expanding the growth and production of medicinal marijuana, officials are also hoping this will help to drop the demand for marijuana on the black market. This expansion will help to decrease the price of marijuana to $7.60/gram from $10.00/gram, which is the current selling rate of marijuana on the black market. This decrease in price of legalized marijuana will result in increased demand for legal marijuana thereby decreasing the demand for illegal marijuana. The RCMP is hoping that this marijuana policy will lower the 50,000 annual drug arrests which occur in Canada due to marijuana use. They also hope it will lower the $500 million a year spent fighting the drug trade.

Video:
The Marijuana Industry in America

Sources Cited

http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/licences-to-grow-marijuana-at-home-soon-to-go-up-in-smoke-1.1476011

http://globalnews.ca/news/870996/birth-of-a-billion-dollar-marijuana-industry/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/1-3b-medical-marijuana-free-market-coming-to-canada-1.1872652

http://medicalmarijuana.ca/news/0/65

http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20041122_93410_93410

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/legal-marijuana-how-could-it-work-1.1391130