Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Friday, June 29, 2012

Canada GDP: April Saw 0.3 Per Cent Rise Mostly On Mining And Oil, StatsCan Says

OTTAWA - Canada's economy had a second month of growth in April, building momentum with a 0.3 per cent increase in gross domestic product compared with March, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

Canada's economy took a step backwards in February — when output was affected by a number of production shutdowns — but resumed growth in March, when the GDP advanced by 0.1 per cent.

Emanuella Enenajor, an economist at CIBC World Markets, said April's increase was in line with her estimates and slightly better than the consensus estimate — but not robust.

"Growth in April was primarily driven by resources, after temporary disruptions to production. Beyond the bounce back in those temporary factors, and a surge in wholesale, underlying growth was relatively muted," Enenajor wrote in a research note.

"Today’s data are in line with our outlook for 2.5 per cent growth in Q2."

The second quarter, which began April 1, officially ends June 30 but Statistics Canada won't be scheduled to release its report for the three-month period until Aug. 31.

There have been a number of factors that have slowed Canada's recovery from the deep recession that ended in mid-2009.

Among the chief concerns has been the lingering European debt crisis that has been a drag on other regions of the global economy, including in Asia and North America — all important markets for Canadian exports.

Statistics Canada reported Friday that most of the April increase came in mining and oil and gas extraction and, to a lesser extent, wholesale trade.

Transportation services as well as the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector also increased.

Retail trade, manufacturing, accommodation and food services and the public sector declined.

Mining and oil and gas extraction rose 2.7 per cent in April after declines of 2.0 per cent in February and 1.1 per cent in March.

Wholesale trade was up 1.2 per cent in April, a fifth consecutive monthly increase.

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: CP

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