The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Ottawa - New house prices grew at an annual rate of 6 per cent in August, as the housing market continued to see strong demand from buyers, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. The August rate matched July's annual increase, and it was down only slightly from the 6.2 per cent annual rate seen in June, which was the largest 12-month gain since February 1990. "An active housing market, along with higher prices for building materials and labour, continued to push prices up across the country," Statistics Canada said. "Land prices also increased in 13 of the 21 metropolitan areas surveyed." Ottawa - Canada's unemployment rate edged down to 7.1 per cent in September ? the lowest in more than three years ? as the country generated a better-than-expected 43,200 new jobs, Statistics Canada reported Friday. The strong jobs report (along with the weaker-than-expected U.S. employment figures) led to a big gain in the Canadian dollar. The loonie was up 0.68 cents to 79.96 cents US in early trading. The Canadian Labour Congress noted the lack of growth in manufacturing jobs and called it a troubling sign. Calgary - Petro-Canada has signed a memo of understanding with Russia's Gazprom that could see it bringing in liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia to supply thirsty North American markets by 2009.
