Go, Canada!

In her 2007 Speech from The Throne, the Governor General of Canada Michaelle Jean described Canada as
"a nation of enormous potential built through the imagination and dedication of ordinary Canadians." She also referred to Canadian society as one that is "committed to finding solutions to today's challenges. A society that is open to creation and quick to innovate.

A society that is filled with young people who have an unprecedented openness to the world."
It is also an emerging energy superpower that is taking action to make concrete improvements in environmental sustainability.

In his reply to The Speech from The Throne, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government had five core priorities for a better Canada.

"We want to strengthen Canada's sovereignty and place in the world; protect our environment and the health of our fellow Canadians; steer our economy towards long-term prosperity; modernise our federation and democratic institutions; and make our streets and communities safe again."

According to information from the Department of Finance, the Canadian economy is well diversified, and has benefited from growth from a number of sectors.

However, most of this growth in recent years has been driven by the services producing side of the economy. From January 1997 to April 2008, the service sector accounted for 33.4 per cent of the 42.5 per cent growth of the Canadian economy.
This partly reflects solid domestic income growth, which has helped fuel particularly strong expansion of the wholesale and retail trade industries. In addition, economic growth
in Canada has particularly benefited from growth of the real estate, rental and leasing industry, reflecting Canada's solid residential and non-residential markets.

As a result of that strength, the construction section has rivalled the trades in its contribution to growth since 1997, and has been the leading goods-producing engine of growth over that period.

In spite of the economic slowdown in the US and continuing turmoil in global financial markets, Canada's economic fundamentals have remained solid. Canada has the fastest employment growth among the G8 countries, with unemployment near a 33-year low. Almost 127,000 jobs were created this year alone.

According to Canadian Ambassador to the UAE Sara Hradecky, "Canada has world-class educational institutions that offer a range of general arts and sciences degrees, to technical schools for more specialised skills (such as graphic design, and aerospace engineering) to high-calibre medical schools.

It is the combination of world-class education opportunities, a growing economy, and a welcoming, peaceful but cosmopolitan society that attracts visitors and students."
Business and household financial positions in Canada are also solid, interest rates are low and public pension plans are sustainable.

Canada is on the best fiscal footing of the G8 with the largest budgetary surplus as a share of GDP and the lowest debt burden. The government also took a timely action
in the October 2007 Economic Statement to support the economy by providing permanent and sustainable broad-based tax relief to individuals and businesses. As a result of
these actions, together with previous measures, the government is injecting the equivalent of 1.4 per cent of GDP into the Canadian economy this year through tax reductions.

Although the Canadian economy is closely tied to the US, the factors behind the current American slowdown are not likely to be duplicated in Canada. Canada's financial institutions are well capitalised and its housing market remains solid.
According to the IMF's recent Financial Sector Assessment Programme update, Canada's financial system is capable of weathering substantial financial stresses. However, real GDP growth in 2008 is expected to be weaker than forecast by private sector economists at the time of the 2008 budget
(1.7 per cent).

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the US downturn is expected to continue to exert downward pressure on Canada's GDP growth through the trade and credit channels, but the economy should rebound somewhat in 2009.

The immediate challenge for the Canadian government, as OECD says in its June 2008 Policy Brief, is to design the appropriate policy stance to keep inflation on target.

Canada's fiscal situation has improved significantly since the mid-1990s, as deficits were turned into surpluses and Canada's public debt burden declined from the second highest to the lowest among G8 countries.

This, combined with lower interest rates, has reduced debt service costs substantially over the past decade.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food the Agricultural Policy Framework has been designed to make Canada the world leader in food safety, innovation and environmentally responsible production and processing of food. Canada is the world's fourth-largest exporter of agricultural products.

Top-quality grain products complement a meat-products industry founded on the highest-quality livestock.
Sustainable seafood management practices have also transformed Canada into a world leader in the fish and seafood sector.

As many as 160 products from three oceans are exported from Canada to more than 130 countries in fresh, smoked, canned or frozen form.

No fewer than 120 food-product crops are grown across Canada, from internationally identifiable fruits and vegetables, to unique sub-species such as fiddlehead greens and Saskatoon berries, to world-famous Canadian maple syrup. Canada's right ingredients for success in the highly competitive food and beverage processing industry include the ready availability of productive, skilled and reliable workers, significant cost advantages, reliable
and inexpensive access to safe and high-quality raw materials, proximity to high-density markets, and some of the world's most advanced food technologies deployed throughout the food supply chain.

The result is a globally respected industry with annual revenues of C$80 billion (about Dh275.48 billion) per year that offers the highest quality food products.

According to information from the Climate Change Division at Foreign Affairs the government has invested heavily in cleaner energy technology. Leading the way are investments for the development of renewables [biofuels and electricity — $3 billion (about Dh10.32 billion) investment], green vehicles and carbon capture and storage and nuclear energy, technologies where Canada is considered to be a world leader.
The government believes that carbon capture and storage is the key to reducing emissions associated with sustainable fossil fuel supply.

The Weyburn-Midale carbon capture and storage project in Saskatchewan is a world-leading monitoring site supported by the International Energy Agency. Moreover, the Government of Canada recently announced $250 million (about Dh860.5 million) in investments in carbon capture and storage technology. Finally, through the Turning the Corner Regulatory Framework for Industrial GHG Emissions, all oil sands facilities and coal-fired power plants that come into operation in 2012 or after will be required to meet
a stringent target based on the use of CCS
by 2018.

In addition to this Canada has spent approximately $13.2 million (about Dh45.4 million) to support various international organisations to promote the development
and deployment of environmentally friendly technologies.
Canada believes that climate change is a defining issue that is facing this generation. As a member of the G8, Canada has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 50 per cent by 2050.

In 2007 the Government of Canada announced its Turning the Corner plan. This sets out the approach for reducing greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions
from industry. As part of this plan, the government of Canada released its Regulatory Framework for Air Emissions in 2007, which set medium and long-term goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20 per cent by 2020 using 2006 emissions levels as a baseline and 60-70 per cent by 2050. In 2008 the government released its Regulatory Framework for Industrial Greenhouse Gas Emissions, which imposes short-term intensity based reduction targets.

All covered industrial sectors must reduce their emissions by 18 per cent by 2010 and a further two per cent each year after 2010 until 2020.