SIMON GRANAT

BUSINESS EDITOR

Canadian currency to be made of plastic by next year

Where would we be without plastic? It encases our computers, cell phones and Barbie. Next year, it will help fight fraud. In 2011, polymer will go where virtually no plastic has gone before, and become the material of money.

The Bank of Canada recently announced that Canadian bills will move away from being made of a cotton material. Instead, they will use a specific polymer.

According to Julie Girard, a spokesperson for the Bank of Canada, the change will roll out in late 2011.

The Federal budget released on March 4, 2010 stated that the government will be, “taking steps to modernize Canada’s currency and protect against counterfeiting.” The feds believe that making our bills out of plastic will help to prevent counterfeiting.

The new material will make genuine notes more easily identifiable than past designs, “They will include security features that will be easily identifiable or easy to authenticate, which means that the general public, cash handlers, retailers, financial institutions, they’ll be able to tell if this is a genuine or a counterfeit note more easily and by the same token, they are going to be harder to counterfeit,” said Girard.

According to Girard, in 2009 counterfeit bills accounted for 0.004 per cent of all bills in Canadian circulation. “Right now there are 1 almost 1.5 billion authentic notes circulating in Canada…in 2009 there were 67,00 counterfeit notes,” she said.

The bank predicts that the new material is predicted to keep the cost of printing money down. Plastic money is more durable and will remain in circulation approximately 2-3 times longer than our current bill.

The first country to adopt polymer currency was Australia. Since then several countries have adopted the material. They have had success in preventing counterfeiting since they changed their currency in 1992. “Counterfeits of the polymer note series did not

surface until some 4 years later,” stated a report titled Australia’s Counterfeiting Experience, directed to Interpol’s First International Congress for Central Banks and the Police.

In Australia, counterfeit currency was reduced when polymer bills were introduced. “The reduced level of counterfeiting is a very positive result for polymer and we believe that opportunities for the “casual” or “crime of opportunity” counterfeiter have been virtually eliminated,” concluded the report.

The polymer used to create the new bills is only manufactured in Australia, but the bills themselves will be printed in Canada.

The government also plans to change the Toonie and Loonie’s composition to save on printing costs.

Other countries with plastic currency include New Zealand, Mexico, Vietnam and Australia.

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THE SILHOUETTE

Arguably, the National Football League is known for its financial viability more so than for the game itself. Success and immense size are perhaps the only words that come to mind when one thinks about the business side of the NFL. Recently, the Washington Post reported that the TV ratings for the league are the highest they have ever been in the last 20 years.

      Most business analysts look at the NFL in complete awe. Forbes has crowned it the richest sports league in the world. It is hard to argue with this statement because this year their revenue was reported around $7.5 billion (USD).

      There may be trouble ahead for this league. In the summer of 2010 the players’ collective bargaining agreement with the league runs out and there are some tell tale signs that the two sides are far away from an agreement. There have even been whispers of a dreaded lockout. Why? Money. Or, more specifically, the divergence of money.

      Certain powerful NFL owners like the affluent Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Daniel Snyder of the Washington Redskins, are forcing other owners to push for more a more competitive, less socialist revenue stream.

      The current revenue sharing structure forces successful teams, like the Cowboys to subsidize less successful teams in smaller markets by giving a part of their profits to them. Jones and a few other politically connected owners are pushing for a change to the system in which the less successful teams receive far less or even no money at all.

      There is a growing fear that the practice of subsidies is leading to fewer profits for the league and only serving to try and keep unprofitable franchises like the woefully unpopular Jacksonville Jaguars to stay afloat.

      Another change that the owners are aggressively pushing for is an 18 per cent drop in the amount of revenue received by the NFL Players’ Association. Presently, the  union receives 59.6 per cent of the leagues revenue. If successful, the proposed change would see the amount the union receives decrease to 48.8 per cent.

      The owners reason that to meet the growing cost of running an NFL they should have more access to their money. They argue that this will allow the league to grow at a faster rate. The players see things differently.

      Demaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players’ Association, believes that the players should not take such a pay cut. USA Today reported that Smith said, “[The owner’s] demand that the players take such an historic pay cut is even more disturbing given the NFL’s continuing economic growth despite the worst recession in recent history.”

      It was reported that Smith also said that the 2010 NFL season will most likely be uncapped. This means that here will be no limit on how much a team can spend on players. Clearly, the two sides are far apart as crack begin to show in what, at first glance, looks like an impenetrable armour.

      The owners hold a distinct advantage over the players simply because of how the NFL makes its money. Unlike other sport leagues, ticket revenue makes up a small part of the NFL’s overall profits.

      This is due to the fact that are only 16 NFL regular season games, compared to the 82 in the National Hockey League and 162 played by each team in Major League Baseball.

      The NFL’s real strength is based on their looks at the television ratings. Consequently the NFL has signed some lucrative deals with a variety of cable providers; many of these agreements have provisions that pay the owners even if there are no games being played.

      These generous contracts coupled with the owners already sizable fortunes means the chance of a strike or lockout will not threaten their franchise’s profitability.

      Chances are that the player’s association will bend to the owner’s because a strike or lockout will spell pose more trouble for the players. As for fans of such downtrodden teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars? Enjoy the games while you can. For if revenue sharing is replaced, your teams will follow suit.

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SILHOUETTE STAFF

If you have ever played poker or at least watched it on T.V., you know that it is almost inevitable that every player will loose a hand and some money, at one point in the game. Loss is as much a part of poker as the cards you are dealt. It is often argued that the best poker players are the ones who prudently manage their losses regardless of how many hands they have won. A winning hand of $50 keeps you in the game even if you have lost four $10 hands.

      In the game of life, losses are real and they can come hard and heavy. The fact is that nobody likes losing, especially when it comes to money. Fortunately, with every loss comes an opportunity to learn something new.

      Investors who sold their stocks at the height of the market crash quickly learned how fast things can change. Had they held their positions a little longer, they would have been able to recoup and maybe even capitalize on the market upswing. Thousands of dollars lost in panic selling will almost definitely ensure an investor proceeds with caution the next time he decides to jump in the game.

      Investment losses can also be utilized in a successful investor’s ongoing strategy. They can point out holes that exist, which an investor may have been blind to while he was enjoying his gains. Simply stated, an investment loss can often best be perceived as a reality check. Financial lost is not limited to your portfolio.

      Outside of the investment community, a loss in your personal life can be just as hard, if not worse, to take. Rationalizing and living with loss can be a very uncomfortable experience. Oftentimes, individuals take ownership of losses that they had no control over, but fail to acknowledge mistakes they could have prevented.

      For example, as students we all buy textbooks. We diligently follow the requirements in the course outline and shell out $150 – $200 for the latest edition. Three and a half months later, exams are up and we realize the professor barely used the text, instead relying on power point slides and external sources. We are left holding an expensive paperweight. If we’re lucky, the bookstore will buy it back at half the price we paid. This case illustrates that financial losses are sometimes out of our control and therefore the best response is to simply take it and move on.

      Conversely, unchecked fees and surcharges, especially from your bank, tend to add up quickly. These types of fees are the most common form of preventable loss and are also amongst the most ignored.

      With this in mind, the best way to deal with financial loss is to strategize to spend defensively, minimizing unnecessary costs and surcharges. When a loss is unavoidable you are better prepared to absorb it. If you keep this approach in mind, it will help reinforce sound fiscal habits and ensure a stable financial future.

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GOULD TRADING FLOOR 

Bell Canada (TSE: BCE) won sponsorship gold at Vancouver 2010. The telecommunications giant was exclusive sponsor for all communications for the event. In doing so they created a virtual monopoly on voice, data and communication services for the games. This gave Bell the ability to cash in on their investment in the success that was the 2010 winter games.

      During the two-week long games Bell provided over 90 million minutes of mobile voice traffic, 30 million megabytes of mobile data, and 65 million text messages. With all the added service, it’s expected that the company will get a boost to their bottom line, while adding to their national brand reputation and identity in the international marketplace.  Bell also used this opportunity to showcase their new smartphone, the OMNIA, as the official smartphone of the Olympics.

      However this exclusivity at the games came at a cost. Bell beat out the likes of Rogers and Telus by paying $200 million for the rights to the games. $90 million of this was cash paid to the Vancouver Organizing Committee. The rest of the fee comes in the form of services and promotional martial to market the games. Even given the high price tag, Bell got itself a bargain. They hosted an increase in network usage, making this the most tech savvy games to date, going above 225 per cent above the capacity Bell had previously carried at the Beijing Olympics. Bell will benefit from this sponsorship well after the closing ceremonies. The recognition and marketing goldmine that Bell received will give them a leg up and a head start as we begin 2010.

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BUSINESS EDITOR

Forget Godzilla. Expect investors in the Canadian Manufacturing sector to panic and flee into the streets in fear any moment: the Canadian dollar is up.

      Whether you love or hate our iconic national symbol, the strong Canadian dollar could spell trouble for our economy, particularly our exports. The fact that people are not running in fear when they hear the news, makes me shake in my boots.

      Recently currency has been the hot topic in the business world. The Canadian dollar has hit a seven week high to closing at $97.04 American on Monday. Naturally many investors and patriotic Canadians are happy with the news. I’m not.

      The Loonie has grown because of investor confidence in our financial sector, and the strength of the Canadian economy. It was reported in the recent budget that Canada is ahead of any other G7 nation for paying down our national deficit. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that he predicted that our debt would drop to $1.8 billion by 2014. Last year we reached a record $53.8 billion in the red. Excuse me if I don’t wave the flag upon hearing the news.

      The recent decline of the Australian Dollar has also meant relative gains for the Loonie. Formerly the commodity currency, the Australian Dollar has declined on forecasts that China will import fewer raw materials in upcoming years, a vital asset for the Australian economy.

      Apart from national pride, the strength of the Loonie really has little benefit to the Canadian economy, unless you are planning a vacation to Europe. The increase in value is only a pat on the back to the Canadian economy, a thumbs up from the international finance community as if to say, “well done.”

      Valuation of our currency will hurt our still ailing manufacturing sector. Since the Loonie has increased relative to the Australian Dollar, the Euro, the British Pound and the American Dollar, manufacturing industries will likely see a decline as the price of our goods increase abroad.

      This could not have come at a worse time. While we may be looking at the end of the recession, many other countries are not. As a result, many countries who are still trying to find the light at the end of the financial tunnel have adopted protectionist economic policies. Perhaps the most damning example is the “Buy American” campaign.

      With many economies looking to buy domestic, an increase in the Loonie will mean an increase in the price of exports.

      The inevitable decline in the manufacturing sector will likely keep unemployment high, and the demand for full time jobs low. This could pose bigger problems and perhaps even cool the Canadian economic recovery.

      To stop this one of two things need happen. First, the Canadian economy should take a cue from China and attempt to devalue the currency.

      Second, investors should stop being bearish. Since the outset of the economic recession in 2007, the Canadian economy has been a relatively safe bet for investors. I think because of this many have lost their faith, and possible sanity, in the strength imbedded in some foreign markets.

      By many measures the US economy is still the largest in the world. All things considered, while they may not be out of the woods yet, the American economy is showing signs of recovery. Investors should keep in mind that the Yanks were arguably hit the hardest by the recession, and while it may take some time, their economy will most probably return to where it once was.

      It may sound odd but, investing in the American economy may be the most patriotic thing you do this year.

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SIL ANALYST

The fourth quarter saw an increase of 1.2 per cent in the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Key highlights were increases in domestic demand and consumer spending. Increases this quarters were seen in manufacturing and construction. Further, oil and gas rebounded. This amounts to a 2.1 per cent increase in the goods-producing industries.

      Increases were seen in wholesale trade and real estate agent work. The public sector continued to grow, so did finance and insurance. These service-producing sectors saw a total of 0.8 per cent increase.

      The increases in overall GDP were seen in exports, personal expenditures, gross fixed capital investments, and government current expenditures, in order of highest relative increase. GDP experienced decrease in imports and inventories.

      The major contributor to the increases was consumer spending. Spending increased 0.9 per cent, with a 2.6 per cent increase in consumer spending in durable goods – mainly in motor vehicles and household furniture.

      There was clear strengthening in Housing Demand. The third consecutive gain in the housing was seen this quarter as investment in residential structures increased 6.5 per cent. A further 7.1 per cent was seen as in increase in new housing construction.

      Prices are up and purchasing power has increased this quarter in Canada. Overall, consumers saw an increase of 1.1 per cent this quarter. That majority of increases were in motor fuels, and energy exports. On the other hand, decreases were experienced in personal travel and industrial machinery. Purchasing power in Canada increased 2.1 per cent.

      Notably, inventories in Canada are down. The average stock to sale in Canada was 68 days compared to 70 in the previous quarter report. It is important to note that inventory decreases in a growing economy are positive. GDP can be artificially positive with growing inventory and this could signal premature growth, as seen in the previous GDP number for the US. On an annualized rate, real GDP grew 5.0 per cent in the four quarter, compared to a 5.9 per cent increase in the US.

      In terms of a 2009 wrap up, real GDP fell 2.6 per cent in 2009, contributing to this was a 14 per cent decrease in exports.

      This is the first time GDP has decreased since 1991, which experienced a decrease of 2.1 per cent. The economy did not see growth until the last four months of 2009 where production of goods dropped 9.2 per cent. The only positive growth in manufacturing was seen in mining, oil, and gas extraction.

      Employment insurance benefits increased 42 per cent in 2009. However labour income increased 0.1 per cent.

      Although personal savings increased 5.0 per cent in Canada this year, the national savings rate decreased 12.3 per cent.

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Peter George: I started by chairing the graduate studies department and economics committee. I guess people thought I did a good job, and from there I was offered a job as the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. Then I got the job as Dean of Social Sciences, which I did for 9 years and then I went away to be president of another organization for another 4 years. I came back as McMaster president in 1995.

Simon Granat: What does McMaster mean to you?

PG: Everything. I’ve been here for 45 years, this was my first job out of graduate school [and] it is a wonderful place. I immediately felt welcomed, challenged, and I arrived without having my PhD thesis finished, so when I arrived not only was I teaching a very heavy load, I had to finish my thesis. I got that done and it’s a wonderful place with strong values and a place that has been very good to me and given me opportunities every 5 or 7 years to do something different, so there is a variety of experience you can undertake within the school.

SG: As President what have you tried to focus on?

PG: Three things, we used to talk about McMaster in terms of its research and research intensity, and we now talk much more broadly about it, in terms of a student emphasis and student research university. I believe that any institution has to focus, ours have been multidisciplinary in nature around themes collaborations around health is one, scientific bases for manufacturing is another one, work and society, globalization, molecular medicine etc.

      Since we created them [these programs] in the late 80s, we tried consciously to coax the allocation of discretionary resources around the focuses including in-out fundraising programs.

      We had to consider, as much as it is distasteful to some people, the university has to be run more like a business. We have to do less wishful thinking and do more about efficiencies and the bottom line. We do a lot more in the way of finding alternative sources of revenue aside from the traditional sources of governmental revenue. We also do a heck of a lot more fundraising and advocacy work in order to raise money.

SG: Do you think treating the university like a business is beneficial to the university and students?

PG: There are some concerns that treating a university like a business will hurt its academic operations, the choice of academic disciplines and so forth. It does in some sense because we are more reluctant to provide smaller enrolment courses because they are not cost effective, but if they are vitally important to the discipline then they are usually allowed. We are not as hardnosed on those issues as some other universities are. [We want to] treat the university student as a customer, some people think treating the student as a customer is that you are selling degrees, we are not selling degrees. What we do is sell an opportunity to study at McMaster. We have to be more customer savvy as to attract the students, hopefully for academic reasons, to study at McMaster.

      There are a lot of people who do not like to think of the student as a customer, that we do not have to market or to brand ourselves but they are wrong. It is a much more competitive market. We have to be aware of the best practices to make sure that we stay competitive.

SM: What is your greatest accomplishment as President, and your greatest regret?

PG: I travel around the country and internationally a lot, and what people tell me in the last few years is that McMaster’s profile reputation has never been higher. That shows up in many international and national rankings. So I’m glad that we have reached that level of international and national reputation.

      Closer to home, I’m really proud of the fact we have made real progress in becoming more student focused. The single thing that I’m most proud of is probably the building of the student center and what that has meant to the student population. Especially the off campus students, if you need a central place on campus or a home away from home, I would regard that as the most important thing.

      What haven’t I achieved is, we haven’t been able to secure enough resources to make a significant investment in the liberal arts, I’m including the humanities, the social sciences and the fine arts. It is very hard to get traction on major investments in that area and we badly need a new building and renovation of the three existing arts buildings, so my biggest regret is not being able to have achieved that yet.

      I guess the second one is that I would have liked to bring back men’s and women’s varsity hockey, and we need an arena to do that. We built a stadium but we haven’t built an arena, yet.

SG: Is there anything else you would like to say to McMaster Students?

PG: I think that we have lots of great student leaders and student participants in the community who do volunteer work. So I would have to say that I’m bullish on McMaster students and the future of McMaster students.

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SIL ANALYST

The focus of the Canadian Budget for 2010 is to lead the world in providing jobs and growing the economy. Certainly, this focus is not a surprise considering the state of jobs in Canada over the last few months. The Canadian unemployment rate currently sits at 8.3 per cent reported, Statistics Canada.

      This year the Federal Government has decided to speak directly to student jobs. “Budget 2010 invests in measures that will directly protect jobs. This includes extension to work-share and investments in training and skills development for youths,” says the March 4 report.

      “The Government is providing almost $1.0 billion in 2010-11 to enhance training opportunities for all Canadian workers. This includes additional support to the provinces and territories to expand training and skills development. It also includes helping youth to gain work experience and necessary skills and offering more opportunities to Aboriginal Canadians,” said the report.

      The section on Building Skills for Youth will focus on helping young people land jobs through support in education and better work programs. 

      First, “the Government is looking to for a $30 million increase in funding for the Career Focus component of the Youth Employment Strategy.” The hope is that this move will, “provide the additional support to Canadian employers and organizations willing to offer valuable career related work experience,” said the report. The government hopes that this will spur internships for college and university graduates in green sectors.

      Young entrepreneurs will be supported in the 2010 budget through a $10 million increase to the Canadian Youth business foundation. This organization is tasked to provide young entrepreneurs with mentors, learning’s resources and start-up financing. The report outlines the Skills Link program. This portion of the Government’s plan looks to address, “youth at risk.” $30 million is promised to help “persons with disabilities, single parents, Aboriginal Canadians, recent immigrants, those living in rural and remote areas, and those who have not completed high school,” said the report. The plan is designed to provide skills, knowledge and work experience to help young Canadians succeed and join the labour market.

      The report outlines the Government’s plan to integrate job development with post secondary education.  The key highlights of the report are, $342 million per year to support education and career building.

      $2.2 billion in grants, scholarships and loan programs will be offered to offset the cost of education; $100 million allocated for the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant and $40 million per year for the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant program.

      The Government is looking to build interest in apprenticeship programs further with $80 million in tax credits to be provided through the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit program. This program will credit $2,000 per apprentice, per year.

      Finally, $20 million of funding will be provided to the Economic Action Plan to enhance student employment under the Canada Summer Jobs Program and the Federal Student Work Experience Program.

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My Nonno (Grandfather in Italian) has always had a garden in his backyard. It’s really a source of pride for him, especially his tomato plants. Pasta sauce always tasted better at Nonno’s house, which could only be because of his garden. When my Nonno could no longer take care of the garden, he split it up between my two uncles, one of whom was his son, and one who had married into the family. This, from what I understand, is when the argument started.

Since then it has been a bitter battle over who has the better part of the small garden, as tomatoes would grow better on one side than the other. Crop after crop the argument grew, and it boiled over to a point where it was no longer about tomatoes or their spot in the garden; it was about something else, something none of my family can really understand.

The argument erupted at an Easter dinner some time ago. Now, at every family dinner, I only get to see either one uncle or the other as the uncles both continue to fight. And all the while, the garden remains empty. Neither of the two can grow anything in such hostility.

My cousins have started to fight with my other cousins now. In defence of each of their fathers, they continue what their elders have started, disregarding the original cause, and basing their hatred of the other on what their father told them of the other.

Now, my own sister has now gotten involved. She sided with one of my cousins and, indirectly, one uncle. She keeps pestering me that I should side with her, despite not having a stake in the garden. She says it’s not about the garden, and I ask her what it’s about. Long-windedly, she tells me. It’s what about what my one uncle has done to the other. She is so young; she forgets the garden. She must not remember the taste of the pasta sauce made from the fruits of the garden.

I stay out of this argument because I am not a part of it. There are not my tomatoes, it’s not my garden, and I like both of my uncles.

I love my entire family, I really do. I don’t want to not talk to my cousins because my uncles are fighting. Some of those cousins weren’t even born when the garden was split up.  And yet I find myself seeing only one set of cousins this Easter dinner, and not seeing one Aunt all together.

Twenty or fifty years from now, my Nonno will have passed away, and maybe my uncles too. I’m afraid that even though we will never go back to my Nonno’s house – the house with the garden – the fight that started over a small tomato strip will continue to grow, even in my new home.

In that future Easter dinner, fifty years from now, I want all my cousins at the table. I want my sister to talk with my other cousins once again, and share the same dish of pasta. I don’t care where the tomatoes grow anymore.

• Jeff Green

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McMaster’s first All Abilities Awareness Week came to an end Friday, Mar. 5. The goal of the series of events was to raise awareness about people with special needs and some of the issues that they face. Julie Himetera, the week’s coordinator, explained that she wanted to highlight three things in particular: “In the Pulse we have programs for people with special needs; for children and adults. We wanted to bring awareness to the upcoming Paralympics so that it doesn’t lose momentum once the Olympics are over. As well, we have two employees who are special needs Olympic athletes so this week was tying all three together. Our programs, our employees, and the fact that Paralympics are coming up.”
The week started off on Monday with a speech by Jim Primavera, a special needs athlete who was injured in a car accident but went on to coach and play sports. He spoke about All Abilities, a group of around 50 speakers who attend various events across Canada and create awareness. He was part of a panel, along with two Paralympics athletes – a swimmer and a rower. In response to audience questions, they spoke about how they acquired their disability, how it affected their lives and how they managed to change it into something positive. They explained that there is still a great deal of discrimination that people with special needs face.
The Wheelchair Challenge on Friday was one of the most popular events of the week. Students were able to drop in and shoot hoops for a chance to win tickets to the Men’s Volleyball game on Friday night. They could also take part in a game of European Handball. Himetera explained, “It seemed to really attract a lot of students. As soon as they see the gym open and they are able to do something with a different piece of equipment, that being the wheelchair…no matter how good they play basketball or any other sport, it’s a new challenge.”
On Friday, Train Wreck, a band that consists of special needs musicians, drew many students to their performance. Himetera commented, “There were a lot of people here. Students were receptive. Once they saw what was going on, they were surprised, as much as the rest of us. It’s just a matter of opening your mind and understanding that these people can still do things.”
Next year, the organizers plan to condense the events into one or two days as they found that people had difficulty attending events on various days throughout the week. Also, they have managed to obtain more sponsors who are willing to support next year’s event.
When asked whether the overall event was successful, Himetera explained that although the attendance was not quite as high as expected, the event was successful as it attracted much needed attention to what All Abilities is, in addition to gaining a lot of support from the community, both on-campus and off-campus.

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