Updated: Mon Oct. 06 2008 9:45:19 PM

CTV.ca News Staff

The Toronto stock market closed down nearly 573 points Monday, after getting battered and bruised in early-day trading.

At one point, the S&P/TSX composite index was down almost 1,200 points. But by the end of the day, it finished at 10,230.43, a loss of 572.92 points.

"This is triggered by what has become very apparent -- that there is a credit crisis everywhere in the world," Sherry Cooper of BMO Capital Markets told CTV Newsnet.

"Banks in virtually every country are at risk of failure and there is little money being loaned to banks, between banks, from banks to households or to businesses."

The worldwide downturn has also led to a drop in commodity prices, a significant contributor to the health of Canadian markets.

"Canada is really an economy that depends on exports for much of its vitality, particularly on exports of natural resources," Avery Shenfeld of CIBC World Markets told CTV Newsnet. "They tend to do well when the global economy is booming but are the first to feel the pain when the global economy slumps."

Crude oil prices, which have a significant impact on the TSX, fell 1.5 cents to US$90.98 cents US, after falling below US$90 a barrel for the first time since February.

The Canadian dollar fell 1.5 cents to 90.98 cents US.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average took a 370-point dive, dipping below the 10,000 mark for the first time in four years. It finished at 9,956.

The Nasdaq composite index lost 84 points to sit at 1,863.

The slide shows investors are still concerned about the security of their money despite last week's passage of a U.S. bailout package totaling more than US$700 billion.

"I think it's worth noting that of the funds in that bailout package not a cent of it has been spent yet, so it's too soon to conclude that it hasn't worked yet," Shenfeld said.

U.S. President George W. Bush asked Americans on Monday to have patience while officials establish an action plan to distribute funds.

Bush told reporters that while he signed the bill last week, "it's going to take awhile" for the bailout program to get up and running.

The losses on the North American markets follow a dip in Asian markets spurred by growing uncertainty in the European markets. Elsewhere:

• In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index dropped 4.2 per cent to 10,475 Monday morning.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 3.4 per cent to hit 17,089.
• In other Asian trading on Monday, markets in mainland China, Australia, South Korea, India, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand all saw losses.

On Sunday, Germany announced it was launching its own financial sector rescue package worth US$69 billion that would see Hypo Real Estate pulled back from the brink of failure.

Hypo is the country's second largest lender for commercial property purchases.

Germany also announced it would guarantee all bank savings. The move came as the Swiss national bank and the Bank of England also poured money into the markets.

Don Drummond of TD Bank told CTV Newsnet on Monday afternoon that the German bailout plan signals the U.S. credit crisis is actually a worldwide problem.

"I think it's finally dawned upon investors that everybody is affected by this and nobody is immune," Drummond said.

Over the weekend, Belgium's prime minister said France had committed to taking over 75 per cent of Fortis NV, a troubled European bank.

British treasury chief Alistair Darling said he was ready to take "pretty big steps" to deal with the financial turmoil.

Comments are now closed for this story

Wes
One way or another, the recession is inevitable everywhere, even for Canada. Despite the fact that Harper and Flaherty says that the economy is strong or Dion, Layton, May want to strengthen the Canadian economy…it will not matter. It likes a server, eventually it will crash and then reboot.

Nick in Ottawa
And yet gas is still at the same price as when it hit $1.05 3 weeks ago. However, when we had a modest increase in the cost of oil to just over $100/barrel, it shot up to $1.25. Hmmmmmm

JC Kelan (Amherst, NS)
As always, maintaining consumer confidence during these times is difficult but essential. It is for this reason that the Prime Minister and Finance Minister have to tread so cautiously.

However, the opposition parties freely suggest the most dire outcomes and paint a picture of economic ruin.

They too have a responsibility. They need to reign in their doomsday scenarios that are borne of political posturing and, instead, moderate their comments in the national interest.

James
Circling the drain, circling the drain.......

TomG
So, if our glorious leaders, government and business, have no control over economic events? What is the value of their product? Why are the rich getting richer if they don't have jobs they can do? Why vote for strong leadership if the economy can't be led?

Why vote for anybody who really isn't very likable and has demonstrated a penchant for insensitivity to Ontario's economic problems? Why vote for anybody whose security and prosperity plan for the future seems to be to do little except live off of oil revenues and hope for the best?

jessbabybrighton
Agreeing with James, agreeing with James...

This is only just insanity; Canada was once at a great economy level, we weren't fighting for OTHER countries troubles, and we used to be free..

Fells like now we are only in an inprisoned joke..

Sad really..
HMMMM!

David #1
Thank political/corporate elites for greenlighting North American middle-class jobs overseas to communist China. Would there be a huge credit crunch if the "fundamentals" of our North American economies were "truly" sound?

Ever since Britain's 99 year lease of Hong Kong expire in 1997 we've seen communist China dominate capitalist markets world wide due to their gigantic cheap labour pool of 1.5 billion, no labour/environmental laws and falsely devaluated currency to attract foreign investors at an unfair advantage to the rest of the world. When capitalist Hong Kong reverted back to mainland China, Hong Kong business turned China into their huge Walmart sweat shop. "Made in China" and put millions of North Americans out of their jobs. Discusting!

Soon we have "Made in China" at cheap toxic slop prices every where so people start buying more on their credit cards at Walmart. Then enter the subprime b.s. People get a home they can't afford and then run to Home Depot and chalk up more debt for "Made in China" deals. Everyone got lured into a false sense of security believing that they would always have a job to pay the bills and any debt - even when millions of those jobs were being shipped to communist China. No one ever could have imagined the mess North America is in right now. This is "huge".

We have to do some soul searching in North America and protect our jobs and economy (what's left of it). Otherwise we without a choice might be singing the praises of Mao and Lenin and creating a whole new communist world "Made in North America".

Paul in BC
The Conservatives continue to say all is well in the economy at the same time the EU leaders and world markets around the world are obviously saying otherwise. Canadians lost trust in Harper after he insisted the networks give him more time to address the economy in the 2 debates and came to the televised debate with no plan, no published platform to review, all the other leaders did. Harper doesn't get it.

Harper will likely "panic" and release some sort of glossy brochure this week to try and make up for his failings to provide a platform before and during the debate.

It's too late now, Canadians have already begun to vote, the advanced polls are now open.

Chris Curry
Wrong, Tom G

Harper's government has been making investments in the manufacturing sector to bring it up to higher stands and create jobs that will not be outmoded. As Prime Minister, he acted and is not now panicking and devising some half-baked remedy at the problem.

He is definitely not relying on oil.

Socialists are a bunch of whining losers!
If the government is going to get credit for building the economy then who is going to do anything? Most people want and deserve credit for their own creativity, ingenuity and hard work.
Socialists will sit around the table looking at each other with spoon in hand but the government putting no food on the table.
Western capitalism has been very successful but needs to be corrected from time to time. ...

KC
China will be the big story in
2009. 30,000 factories shut down last year & logic dictates that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Their society is based largely on "slave labour" & with the largest economy, the United States, facing job losses & ever decreasing consumer demand, the Chinese Communist Party will feel these effects not only on the economic front but on the social stability front as well. The CCP promise of 10% economic growth is ridiculously optomistic & this promise to it's people will further plunge that particular country into social uprising including insurrections & violence. They want to be fed & I don't know what their gov't can do to buy enough time for a global economic bounce especially when experts don't know if this recession will last 1 year or even 5 years.

J.C.
Paul in BC,
"Harper doesn't get it"
Harper does get it and more than a year ago stated that there were rougher times ahead. It is part of his job to keep the public from panicing, and keep them reassured.
Yes we are into rougher times, but we have been through them before and we will come through this as well. I personally know what it is like as we went through the tough times in the eighties and nineties. Out of work-sold our home for less etc. Lost all and had to start over. This is not something new and appears to be cyclamatic every so many years. Don't panic, it is not the end of the world. Tighten your belts and spend wisely.
What we do not need now is any government that wants to spend spend spend as this will only deepen the problem. Please vote wisely!!

James in New Brunswick
To all the people complaining about the downfall of the Ontario and Quebec manufacturing economy, please don't blame the federal or provincial governments for bad business decisions made by the corporations.

GM, Ford, Chrysler and John Deere can manufacture whatever they choose to in their own plants. They pay a lot of people a lot of money to identify marketplace trends to help the corporations decide what will sell. The fact that these companies did not anticipate the marketplace correctly is NOT the fault of ANY government. These problems are of their own making and they need to take responsibility and stop looking for handouts. Yeah, its no fun having the plant you invested 18 years of your life close down but that is one of the reasons they pay so well, isn't it.

Now, I'd actually like to see the Governments support alternative energy and electric vehicles (like ZENN) and offer tax credits for their use. Unfortunately, that would be seen as cutting the grass of the traditional automotive sector and just won't happen.

James
And who ever we elect next week will fix this economy, you expect Dion or Layton to solve Asian and European issues? Is nice to support people who lost there high paying UNION jobs...also nice to be paying down our debt for my kids and grand kids future.

Joe Sanity
re: Socialists are a bunch of whining losers!

"Western capitalism has been very successful but needs to be corrected from time to time"

Make that monitored and regulated ALL the time. When these guys get the choice between do the right thing a make a fast buck, if unchecked they will take door number 2 every time. Especially in the future where they now know if they screw up they can pass the bill on to the taxpayer.

K in Toronto
Chris Curry: "Harper's governent has been making investments in the manufacturing sector to... create jobs..."

In another CTV article, it was reported that, "About 5,000 jobs were lost in June and 55,200 jobs in July."

So, if this is the Prime Minister acting, we should all be very afraid?

This isn't a slight against Harper because any Prime Minister would have faced this, regardless of action or inaction. But I hope it highlights the unfounded zealotry of partisan faithfuls...

JC Kelan (Amherst, NS)
K in Toronto,

This is from the August 2008 Labour Force Survey by Statistics Canada, released on September 5, 2008:

"Since the start of the year, employment has increased by 87,000 (+0.5%),...".

Simon Shaw
JC Kelan you got it right.
What do you expect our most feared PM to do. Tell everyone to liquidate their RRSP's and buy gold because the world and soon Canada will be in the midst of a devastating recession? I am not a fan of Stephen Harper. I actually fear him more than any other Canadian. Pat Roberts in the US is the only other person I fear more then than him. Stephen Harper is doing the right thing for Canada. The markets as well as our money work on faith. If you believe in the strength of the market you will go ahead and do that kitchen upgrade and fix the carpet in the living room because you have faith that more money will be coming . When we lose faith in our economy then we stop spending...and if enough of us stop spending then everything falls apart. The guy who came to fix your kitchen is out of work, the carpet guy is at home listening to the radio because his cable is cancelled and the cable man is laid of because no one can afford Ted Rogers insane cable prices anymore.

Buba
The trouble with Harper and Flaherty is that they represent the same "laissez faire" style of government that led to the American meltdown.
Our banks are strong because Paul Martin would not allow them to merge and de-regulate back in 2004-2005.
They're taking credit for his wisdom.
If Harper had been elected with a majority in 2006, he would have allowed de-regulation and we'd be in the same sorry mess as the US.

jp
Doomsday scenario.Fear fear fear. Its all a bunch of hog wash!!! Price of oil is going down housing prices are going down. food prices are going down and all the other normal stuff we buy is going down. or not!!!! Start jailing the company ceo's and speculators Make them responsible for their actions. Yah throw a few in jail and the rest will step back in line.
Just like the old Clint eastwood movie What was it called hmmmm
Hang em High lol

Carole (Rural NS)
If we lose $25.00 per hr. jobs & increase minimum wage jobs please explain to me how we are ahead.Let's face it we are in a mess. It is time to stop playing ostrich. Wake up WORLD!!!

Hank
Wake up people.
If and only if all the products at Walmart and the Dollar stores were manufactured in North America we would go broke trying to pay for them.Now we go broke because we have no jobs to pay for them.Any suggestions how to solve this problem???>

Dan Jones
We do have a strong economy, but we'll never have an economy immune to a world-wide recession. No matter who is in power these cycles are inevitable. Hopefully the Conservatives in this country will remain in power because if you think the price of everything is high now, just elect that idiot that wants a carbon tax and see what happens. How's $2.50/litre sound for gas people?

[X] Harper

Nancy
This shows why we need a stable Majority Government and not a game playing minority now. Harper right on the right track.

Wade
I guarantee they will not look at a carbon tax to fix thing, because that would be playing russian roulette.

David
Come on!

Harper government does not control world economy. Canada is doing well by comparing to many other countries that are being in a mess.

No other parties in Canada can solve economy in Canada. ONLY TRUE SOLVERS ARE CANADIANS. Liberals and NDPers have insulted our intelligence! They make me sick.

Lost Cause
Socialists are a bunch of whining losers said: Western capitalism has been very successful but needs to be corrected from time to time.


Yes, with government handouts apparently. Which is essentially the very socialism you so claim to despise.

This whole anti-socialism angle on these message boards is getting tiresome. If you really harbour such hatred for what you perceive to be the "socialist" side of Canada then why on earth do you live here? If this place feels like an oppressive communist state full of whiners then maybe you should go elsewhere.

Wally-Mart shopper
To Hank....

Agreed 100%....this is the sharp end of the stick nobody realises and/or thinks about.
Lets face it....we all think Wally-Mart is a major contributing factor in North American unemployment,with their "made in china/mexico" products.
But lets be really honest....where the heck do we all head when we need a new toaster or kettle?
It would mean an investment of billions to start up appliance factories here once more with their $20 an hour jobs....and then what would we all do......Yup! Head off to wally-mart where the toasters that are made in China are $25 cheaper !
No easy solution other than banning all Chinese imports....and that just ain't gonna happen!

Doug
Thank goodness the Liberals never followed the states and other right wing governments and deregulated the banks et al or we would be in the same mess as the states.

Adam
So Harper has a plan eh??...why didnt he use it to avoid this mess...

Ed
Harper knows exactly where things stand and what is happening, but , he is the PM and therefore has to keep a positive spin on things.The other stooges can run off at the mouth because they know they will never have to address the problems and come up with answers.

FreakAlert
People just don't get it!

We'll berate leaders for wearing a sweater but do nothing when government plays around with peoples' livelihoods and labor earnings.

Our government has given over the banks control of wealth creation and currency, in return for their generous access to the system of corruption and greed. Why should politicians get life-long pensions for supposedly serving the good of the people? What a contradiction!

Another system of monetary exchange needs to be implemented where government and banks can't control. but only a free market can - the people. ...

Sherry
Buy gold and silver .. wait a minute, there is no more silver .. that's right folks .. for the last few months it is so hard to buy silver wheras you could get it all the time from the BNS downtown Toronto. It's being bought up by the people in the know. Anyway .. tough times are ahead and the real money is gold and silver .. that paper money you have is just that ... paper.

Andy P
Of course Harper doesn't get. Yes the economy is cyclical how ever what we are seeing, the depth, is because of corruption & lack of regulation in the financial markets.

These subprime loans and mortgages. There either wasn't income verification done or some mortgage broker lied about it being done and filled in a bogus # for salary on the mortgage application.

What has Harper done to regulate the financial industry? How about mortgage brokers? NOTHING.

What has Harper done to help the economy? NOTHING. How many fulltime jobs have been lost under HARPER, 100,000s. Check the stats people most of the new jobs created in Canada are part time while the jobs lost are high paying manufacturing jobs.

Harper cut the GST because it was popular but it does nothing to help the economy. Smart tax cuts would have been income & business tax cuts. Harper cut neither of those.

How many trade missions has Harper gone on? ZERO How many new plants has Harper brought to Canada? ZERO.

Remember when Chretien and Mike Harris went on trade missions and brought back new investment & jobs into Canada?

Now about Dion's greenshift. Check Europe, nations that employed this strategy had a greater GDP jump & new jobs created than nations that didn't

To do nothing in tough economic times is suicide & Harper proposes doing nothing.

R D
OH! If we only had that $50.++ BILLION that Paul Martin stole from the E.I. fund back in the 90s and early 2000s. That would sure help.

shane prpich
looks like harper called the election a month late! Anyone that still believes this blatant economic liar is a complete moron. Bring on the wall street jumpers!

KJ in Kingston
I can definitely see a high risk of full scale panic in the stock markets world-wide. From the comments I am seeing here it is pretty obvious most people don't seem to realize the government is NOT the primary force behind economic growth. It is the consumer -- which means disposable personal income and availability of credit.

Joel W.
Joel, Montreal, QC

Lets face the facts...

- The Conservative Govt has been relying to much on Oil revenues (taxes) (high price of gas) from out west to prop up the budget.

-All the new jobs that have been created are low paying jobs. (You need 3 new jobs to make the same amount you used to make before).

- When / If the gas prices start to fall, the budget will most likely slip into defecit.

- I am in agreement with those who have already stated that the Conservative Govt has been following a hands off approach, and are relying on Oil to keep the economy propped up..

- I don't want a Government who doesn't care about anything except "easy money". I don't see the Investments in the manufacturing sector that they claim.

- The Conservative Gov't say that the economy is strong, while every report that comes out shows differently. From what I read the statistics Canada report for September will be released this week, and will show job losses.

- I can no longer support this government, and I will vote for one of the other 4 opposition parties.

Joel

Danny Dinosaur
The pro - Harper comments are right in that no government could have avoided this meltdown. And it is right that the economy is driven by confidence.
The issue is that we have a leader who is dictatorial in his style and believes he is never wrong. He has shown that he is not above controlling the press - by censoring his own staff as well as access to information. He has deliberately mislead by giving false statements. he has NOT managed spending properly and it is the most expensive government we have ever had. He punishes those who disagree with his ideologies. He wants to control everything and he surrounds himself with people who are just like him. (Except for his cabinet, in which he seems to want morons.)
we are still dependent on oil and we do have all our eggs in one basket. It has been a good basket, but it is not going to last.
We need a Prime Minister who is willing to listen and work with other ideas to provide a solution. I don't know if any fit that bill, but it is certainly not our present government.

Ray in Sask
Another reason why to vote Liberal, as much as I acknowledge prices will go up in energy costs, they will shift it to our income taxes, corporate taxes, and tax credits for those who don't pay taxes. At the same time manufacturing jobs will be created by making green technology that could be made down east to make our companies out west here more competitive. It's win for the economy in the short to medium to long run, it's a win for the environment in the long run, and it's a win for us who want a competitive market.

Clint on Vancouver Island
no matter what in these times of economic uncertinty we need a majority govenment. Can you imagine a left wing coalition govenment running our country and having to make sure that every decision arrived upon had to be a major benifit to only Quebec or Ontario. You may not like Harper but he is the best bet for a majority right now.

Do Liberals really understand Dions plans?
Carbon tax us to death with this downturn happening?

Come on Libs get serious - your leader has lost his marbles.

[X] Harper for good economic management

Ms. L.
How can ANY of you claim that Harper has a plan or that he understands what is going on?? Harper has said NOTHING. He could have said something during the debates, but he brought NOTHING to the table. He could have gotten the party leaders together and talked about it. Instead, he did NOTHING. He sits there WITHOUT a platform, expecting us to ALL vote for him, while watching our economy tank and doing NOTHING about it.

How ANY of you can vote for him is beyond me. ....

Richie
Seriously, who cares about Wall St. or Bay St.?!?!? I CERTAINLY HAVE NOT AN OUNCE OF COMPASSION FOR THESE LEECHES. They chose a risky line of work, and now after screwing the people with high oil prices, they're getting a taste of what economic hardship is. Hopefully things get much worse for them.

Stop your whining "Lost Cause"!
The socialists posting here are not living in the real world. Perhaps some of them should take a walk or drive along Edgar Industrial Dr in Red Deer. (Actually there is an "Oil Street" in at least 30 centres in Western Canada from Medicine Hat, to Calgary to Red Deer, to Edmonton, to Grande Prairie, to Ft St John.)
From Edgar Industrial Dr you can see some of the amazing modern equipment used to get oil out of the ground, from coiled tubing rigs to hydraulic fracturing equipment to cement pumper trucks. The oil and gas industry also has some amazing breakthroughs in seismic technology and pipeline monitoring systems that utilize GPS and GIS. ...

Shan
There is only one way out of this - our salaries have to be more competitive. Sorry union folks, but to keep your jobs, you have to take a pay cut so that Canadian products are more competitive in the global marketplace. No government can control our wages, so don't lay the blame at Harper or any other party. We are an export economy and when the world enters a recesion, it means less demand, and less demand means the sales prices go down and we bring in less revenue. It is basic economics 101 folks. Anyone who blames the government for this does not understand basic economic principals. Our economy has flourished the past 8 or more years and now we are in for a rough ride as the worldwide economy corrects a few imbalances.

Philip
I find it laughable that some comments here blame the Conservative government for the financial mess. Is Harper resposible for the US sub-prime mortgage mess? No! Can he alter anthing that happens in the US, Asia or Europe? No! What 'Action' do you want him to take, blow $100 Billion of taxpayer money to 'fix' things? Put the country back in a deficit situation? Cause our national debt to balloon once more? The action the conservatives have already taken by slowly reducing our national debt and lowering taxes is about all that any government could have taken and thank god they and the previous liberal government have been doing that for the last decade. At least then when some financial turnoil like what is happening now hits, it lessons the effect on us. All any government,or the rest of us for that matter can do is go along for the ride.

Phil
Lots of anti Harper stuff here. But no-one mentions that this problem has been building for the best part of a decade - during most of which time the Liberals were in power.

It is so easy to blame the incumbent for a previous government's actions - or lack thereof. It is also easy to change governments: just go out next week and VOTE with a ballot instead of a post on a blog. Better still, take a person who normally can't be bothered to vote along with you. We suffered a minority government because more than thirty percent of voters could not be bothered.

Not that Canadian politicians can do much about the world economy, whichever part forms the government, majority or minority

Steve the Pundit
So let's play devil's advocate for all who say Harper should face up to and admit "the truth" around the economy:

IF Harper were to stand up and say: "Yup, we're heading for the rocks and it ain't going to be pretty", would:

- the stock markets not have collapsed? No, in fact they would have probably dropped lower yet. Investors seek confidence; lack of confidence from the Prime Minister would further undermine the markets.

- would jobs be protected? Again, no; multinationals who might be "on the bubble" about staying or going would take Harper's hypothetical "lack of economic confidence" and would leave, taking their jobs with them.
- would consumers be reassured to go about with their day-to-day lives? Once again, no; if the guy in charge says "we're in the soup now, brace yourselves", who would spend any money at all (like it or not, over 60% of economic activity in the country comes from CONSUMER SPENDING; as in the US, people stop buying, the economy goes into recession).

Honesty, you people need to give your heads a shake. More to the point, if anyone thinks that any of these other bozos with their 30 days of meetings or carbon taxes or massive spending initiatives are going to be able to fix this quickly, they are very sadly mistaken.

Mark from Sask
The economy is about attitude. The the Leaders of some of the Parties have been ringing alarm bells about the economy for the past couple weeks and of course eventually investors will start to believe them and this is what we have to show for it.... We need to sell investors on the fact that we are strong not that we are weak.. Unfortunately the damage has been done and this is going to be a rough ride!!! Do we want leaders that are not confident in our economy??? Its like the coach of a sports team telling them they are a bunch of losers!!! most of the time they will play like a bunch of losers.... I am so mad I could put Dion, Layton and May on a free trip to Mars we they can start a Green socialist colony where no body gets ahead...

Roger T
We our Gov't is in denial that the country is in a recession which had began 8 months ago. There is no denial, we are in a recession.

Personal saving comes before the economy!

Ted
...Unfortunately, we have to get rid of the Conservatives before we can solve the 'real' problems. The choice is obvious, do we want progress, common sense and peace or do we want to live in a Conservative hell of fear, intimidation, regional division, war and the huge debt loads it will bring while making the world less and less safe. ...

Jo in Gtown
A recession is definitely on the horizon - thanks George W. There's your legacy.

Dean from Brampton
... Born and raised in this country, I and any 1 else will say what they want....If anyone can pick up and leave it's all you socialist nuts.Your time is over.All your spending and taxing has caused this.
Now it's time to roll up our sleaves and fix this problem once and for all.NO more taxes no more spending on IDIOTIC social programs that make no sense,only keep the weak and poor more dependant on government hand outs.Solutions thats what we need,Not finger pointing and grand standing....This country was built by hard working free spirited people who did not ask or depend on the government of the day to take care of them.
So get off your socialist but and stop whinning.Government can not put your house in order.
ONLY YOU CAN

KL Smith
Not sure where I found this, but:
... "We want clean air, clear water, good living conditions, the best health care in the world--yet we aren't willing to pay for anything manufactured under those restrictions."

James
What we have here is a failure to communicate. That failure comes from bankers, financial advisers, politicians, you name it. They all failed to communicate with each other and to consumers about the true nature of the financial crisis that we are in. They are also failing to be truthful about the extent to which this crisis will unfold. Some say that they are doing this to prevent a run on the market. The truth of the matter is that they are protecting their own.
We call this a free market, but in reality there is nothing free or fair about it. When times are "good" businesses want government to stay the hell out of the way. When times are bad, business want government and the taxpayers to save them. They cannot have it bothways. I say, bring on a depression, not a recession. Reboot this whole mess back to a fresh beginning. Take that $700 + billion and start rebuilding infrastructure. Build a cleaner society. This could be the beginning of a beautiful thing, unlike this bloated disaster of a world economy that we now have. ...

bunny
It will climb, and it will fall again.It's the name of the game and has been for years and years. To me, it's hardly an election issue

Mike in Ottawa
OK so all this chatter name calling and and bullying isn't helping any!!!!! In the Canada that I grew up in this would now be our signal to be innovative!! We have known "although done nothing about it" that our economy was structured around the unsustainable i.e. using up as much non-renewable resources as possible as fast as possible, & now the only logical conclusion to this has been what we see happening now.

What is required here is some cool heads looking at the problem logically, as well as before the great jump forward a fairly lengthy review of lessons learned. Then Canada moves to shift our economy. One example could be Oh let me think now, OH I know our manufacturing sectors could start looking at building things that people NEED, like say OH Energy Efficient items like cars, home heating, solar energy, etc etc etc. And by the by Canada those folks are out there we have just been ignoring them but they are out there just waiting till we get our collective heads outta the Tar Sands. Not to say there is still not a place for non-renewable but it HAS to be a balanced approach fiscally, economially & environmentally.......Holy Cow it's almost 5th Grade Science.......Let’s get to Canada or we will literally be left out in the cold cause it’s hard to buy oil or gas if you don’t have a job Brrrrrr it’s gonna be a chilly winter or three for some.....

Vahan
Stop blaming the government for this. The government is in power because we elect them. They are simply our collective voice. We are all to blame for this debacle. The U.S. citizens voted in Bush for a second term because he was able to fool enough people, even though the first 4 years were a disaster. Now Harper is trying to do the same thing here. STOP. Listen to what the politicians are saying, read and learn. Be informed. We all lived off the hog and now our arteries are clogged from the fat. Time to go on a crash diet for health's sake. We will come out of this. The 24 hour access to news is only adding to the problem. Everyone just stop for a while. Thanksgiving is around the corner and Christmas will soon follow, so no matter what the sun will rise tomorrow and set again. Take it all with a grain of salt and any other cliches you could think of. Just stop, think and vote. You are responsible for the future you provide for your children.

Paul Vancouver Island
It was quite telling this morning when the economists and bankers were meeting to discuss the decline of the Canadian economy, when the EU leaders were drafting an economic plan for Europeans, when the Americans are implementing a tough economic plan, when the markets around the world are blowing the horn about the collapse of the world economy - where was Harper?

Harper was sitting for a photo op with 3 year olds in Ontario, tinkering with his promises for an extra couple of dollars for child care. You know what immediately came to mind? Remember George W. Bush when told the Twin Towers were attacked? George was with 3 year olds too and when told about the disaster he looked stupified. Harper had that same look in his eyes this morning. It was very telling. It's not about Harper trying to instill confidence in the markets it's about a man in denial, his world his falling apart and he has no idea what to do about it. That does not instill confidence in me.

Don Eberley in Ottawa
What is significant is that the TSX briefly fell below the Dow today, for the first time in years. I suspect that we might be seeing more of this, as the American market hits bottom and starts anticipating recovery, while Canada just begins to feel the effects of the oil bubble bursting.

As for the political side of this story, our government is wise to invest in businesses from the technology and manufacturing sectors. Canada cannot compete on the world stage simply by sucking dead dinosaurs out of the ground; we need human ingenuity and productivity as well.

R/H Ontario
You got it right "
Steve the Pundit". You are absolutely right but try and get these Libs & NDPs to listen..... No chance. They will blame Harper and show their ignorance and lack of understanding of the economy. Let's vote for a Conservative Majority and shut these whiners up for at least four years.

Mary Ewen
During these tough economic times,I think the stupidest thing,any Party could do,is increase our taxes.[Carbon Tax].
Inflation is already nipping at our heels,why in the World would anybody agree to vote for tax increases at this time?

np
To partially quote the Bard. "Now is the winter of our discontent....."
We will sit tight and freeze for awhile untill a new spring and summer arrive.
For those who sit still and listen and wait. The fruits will be given.
This was an avoidable disaster. The govt. and other regulatory bodies were sleeping with their fat cats and lazy watchdogs.

Poor in Guelph
Why has no one mentioned the true cause of this mess.

GREEDY people. Hey folks you can not take it with you. When your dead your dead and all that cash is not going help keep you alive.

Wayne in Waterloo
To everyone who keeps saying that the PM has to remain optimistic about the ecomony, etc, etc so as not to spook the market, consider this.

Do you really think that the pension fund managers, mutual fund managers, stock brokers, etc. (ie the ones with control over all the money) really care what the PM says?

I don't - not if they're any good at their jobs. They look at the numbers. If the numbers say a recession is coming, they assume that a recession is coming. It doesn't matter what the PM says.

Bevan in Winnipeg
Harper's fault? I don't believe so. This US home-grown problem is now a global one. The greed and stupidity of corporate big wheels is now bearing bitter fruit. The Lehman Brothers CEO "earned" 500,000,000 bucks and was/is a major contributor to the mess. Others of his ilk are equally to blame.
I suspect there will be FBI and US federal justice department involvement soon, with plenty of jail time for all of these weasels to come.
Yes. Canada is getting sideswiped by this but the last thing we need now is political opportunists like Dion and "God help us!", Layton, to tax and spend us all into the poorhouse.

Jim
There is a lot of Haper bashing going on right now, could someone please tell me how he effects the US economy and their mortgage crisis? The economy is now a global one, ripple effects from the US are being felt all over the world and nobody is happy about that. But it's all Harpers fault, winter is coming too but I guess we will have to blame him for the impending cold weather.

Does anyone really believe that Jack Layton has the answers? Cutting tax cuts to the oil industry which will develope the tar sands and create jobs to bouy up the auto industry is folly. Since the US is our major trading partner and auto sales are down there almost 40%, who would be buying cars from us if we could get Oshawa and Windsor on its feet.

Manufacturing jobs are going off shore becasue nobody is willing to pay $40/hour for some guy with no education to bolt a wheel on a car.

Billy
Wake up people....here are some commodities you should be considering for a spot in your larder....flour, sugar, salt, coffee..

Thor
With all due respect Jim.. your reference to "uneducated" people making $40 an hour being unnacceptable.. yet these CEO's make more than Doctor's .. are you to tell me that these CEO's have more education than a Doctor? And what of the millions paid for someone to swing a hunk of wood at a ball? it doesn't take a degree or any schooling to do that. Let's be honest when we say that our economy and payscale is "not" linked to education so why do people try to make this link which is clearly not there is beyond me and is in my opinion simply a straw man argument to detract away from the reall issue.

Jess
I love to see all these people bad mouth Harper and his government, because as we all know Harper is the only person that could see into the future and know this was going to happen and he was also the only person who could have put a stop to this mess. If you can't see the sarcasim in my messsage then you are just as ignorant as the people making these comments.

derek
I'm not quite sure why conservative support is dropping slightly with economic jitters in the air. If any party can guide our country through an economic crisis, it's them. You want the liberals or ndp governing us during a bad economic spell?

James
As I retire for the day, let me leave you with these thoughts. The market will crash, but we will survive. This whole experience will only serve to make us stronger and make us fully realize that money is the root of all evil. Just like our parents and grandparents learned during the first depression, the real value of material things is a lot less than what we think. The most valuable things are our health, family and friends. We will need all of those things as we struggle through the difficult times ahead. Keep you family and friends close and bankers and politicians at arms length.

Dan
==>JC Kelan (Amherst, NS)
"As always, maintaining consumer confidence during these times is difficult but essential. It is for this reason that the Prime Minister and Finance Minister have to tread so cautiously."

Agreed, This is the point that Dion and Layton don't get.

"However, the opposition parties freely suggest the most dire outcomes and paint a picture of economic ruin."

Again, agreed, Dion and Layton don't care, all they want to do is score political points. Let's say the get in as PM, then can then turn around an play the blame game and point the finger at Harper. I for one want Harper to continue, if he is wrong and Canada's economy gets really bad and there is proof it is because of his polices then I and the rest of Canada will remove him from power. Layton and Dion's plans are way too risky for me. I work hard form my taxes and I want to convert my taxes to income.

[X]Harper

Metro Man
...Mortgage brokers are regulated and more so each year. In most provinces they have to be licensed. Any mortgage broker found guilty of fabricating documents will lose their license and thus their livelihood as a result. Not a likely scenario. Exceptions apply in all vocations.

JC
You news organizations should stop giving these "financial blow hards" a soap box. They are all speculators and have no one but their own best interest in mind. 2 months ago they were telling us to prepare for $150 crude, markets are strong, confidence is high...they make weather men look like geniuses

Jim
Thor, I beg to differ. Yes some CEO's make more money. They work in the private sector, and get paid what the market will bear. Auto workers (unions) hold the big 3 for ransom to get what they demand. Say what you will but the company answers to stock holders, not the union. Why would I pay some clown $40/hours for unskilled labour when I can pay $2/hour in Mexico or China?

mark, red deer
I propose the Conservatives should release an economic plan that is 50% better than the Liberals. They should meet for 60 DAYS with all the economic experts. I perdict a majority with Quebec and Ontario now on board.

Billy
Well stated James, It is the loss of those insights that has brought us to this crisis. People point fingers when it is "us" as a whole that went off the tracks. We will recovery with some old lessons that stand the test of all times.....

Corey in Manitoba
I would really like to see a coalition from all the provinces as well as the federal govt to get together after the election to see if the economic downturn can me marginalized. When Dion suggested it I thought it was a dumb idea, but we have to do something. The only issue I have, is that there is such hatred amongst the federal parties as well as the federal and provincial parties that there would never be any progress.

Can you imagine Harper saying that we need to control spending. Layton would have a stroke. There would be just more name calling and finger pointing.

I think the time of finger pointing is over. You can blame Bush all you want, but the fact remains that it doesn't much matter how we got into this mess now, but actions have to be taken to get us out. If we spend our way out of it like they did in the 30's, we will have a depression that will last 10 years. There needs to be a solid plan put together and not just for the next 2-4 years, but for the next 20-40 years. Politicians working for the betterment of Canada. What a concept

Frank from Scarborough
There's no doubt that the
U.S. financial crisis will impact Canada but the worst thing we can do is vote in
panicky leaders like Jack Layton or Stephane Dion. They will turn the crisis into a long-term recession.

Dusty
Let me see now - didn't Buzz know when to retire at the right time! Just who do you blame for the worldwide economic downturn? Certainly not the Government; certainly not the Corporations who are forced to downsize because their market dries up; certainly not the workers who are losing their jobs. We have all been very greedy for a long time and perhaps each and every citizen is to blame. Don't try to blame the Prime Minister or Opposition Leaders - this is global and not unique to Canada. Perhaps it is time to recall some of those telephone call center jobs back to Canada.

les veszlenyi
Is Harper still denying we're not in a recession? While the markets burn he fiddles away hoping that voters won't realize that this is happening on his watch.
Rather than following the conservative view that the goverbment has to run like a corporation, with no deficits, what we need is government spending to stimulate the economy. It worked in the past and it will work again.

Tom from montreal
Jim

thats is old school BIG C thinking my friend. there is more to a product than simply "some unskilled guy screwing on a bolt"

if you dont beleieve me, then go buy some milk from china.

*~Joe North American~*
To Shan:

The only "imbalance" the world needs to correct is communist China with all of our manufacturing jobs. The world was just fine until communist China entered the scene.

Either they (communist China)come up to our pay scale so our manufacturers can equally compete with them on a similar pay scale or ban them outright..because they're destroying us with their "imbalance" and toxic crap I might add.

Millions of manufacturing jobs have been shipped there and they are paid peanuts. We can't live on the wages they earn in North America so to make competition in the global market "fair" they need to come up to "our" standards and pay scale. Otherwise forget it...throw the protectionist barriers back up and tell the greedy corporations to go to hell.

"Made in North America"...YES!!!! What difference will the price make of a product if you and your neighbours no longer have jobs to pay for anything anyway? Cheap Walmart becomes expensive if you've lost your job overseas. Soon we'll all be unemployed...it's a domino effect.

Alex (Toronto)
Tory apologists continue to blame everyone but themselves for their made-in-Canada recession. Chretien and Martin rescued Canada from Mulroney's recession and led it to the top of the G7 in growth, but Harper has led Canada back to the bottom of the G7 in less than three years.

The US bank disaster clearly shows that modern economies need more economic regulation from government, not less. Won't get that from the Harper Tories, though.

Harper, stop dithering. Stop dithering, Harper.
Show some courage, show some leadership.

Thor
Jim, I agree with you about why would you pay someone that amount when you could go to Mexico, and what we are witnessing here is a correction of the market place on a grand scale. And if the marketplace cannot support CEO's overly inflated salaries as the companies go bankrupt .. perhaps some of those mexican CEO's with lower wages will fill the gap and it will eventually level out. What I find wrong is that it is free market while in profit mode and the CEO's and companies want the ability to undercut the "lowly uneducated" worker.. yet when they are on the spiral downward that the "lowly uneducated yokel" who pays his taxes should have his tax dollars go to bail out a CEO/ company who's salary is equal to an entire workforce.. let the CEO bail it out.,. or better yet have the CEO go run the company in one of the foreign countries with which the company has diverted it's operations.. or have him join the unemployment line. If it is a free market economy then let it rise or fall due to market demand and let it correct itself. The government should no more intervene here than when the auto industry corrects itself and ships off to Mexico or some other destination with lower cost of business. In a nutshell.. free market should have same rules for worker and company... that is rise or fall on market/consumer demand.

Thor
Jim, the private sector is just that.. private and not entitled to my tax dollars to prop it up. No more so than the "unionized auto sector". If we are a true free market economy then let it rise or fall on its own supply and demand. I don't see how the investment banker needs my tax dollars any more than the "unionized worker" who tightens the bolts on the wheel.

Dean
Figures the NDP et al would try to blame the Conservatives for the mess created by greedy U.S. bankers. Thank heaven they won't get the chance to be the gov't this time. It is a great time to invest in the market right now though. Lots of good deals. Just think how much it will be worth when the turn around comes. Can hardly wait!

Joe Schmidlap
Hello already...if you don't think the Conservatives saw this coming and wanted to sneak in a majority before things went south, you're blind. Between the depression that's coming and Bernier's testimony, they had no choice but to pull the pin early. Things just seem to be collapsing a tad too soon for Stephen and his friends.

Well done Mr. Prime MInister !
I am impressed that the Prime Minister today called the Business News Network to be interviewed to discuss the crisis in the states and the market reaction.

He was very reassuring to BNN viewers and that was a "first" for a Prime Minister in extraordinary circumstances.

Congratulations to Mr Harper for getting involved where it counts.

Thank you.

Bryan in Oshawa
Before we all point the fingers at Govt. and business, look around your 3000 sq ft house and the driveway. A korean car chineese tv.,mp3, stereo and DVD. Honda motorcycle in the Garage along with japanese snowmobile. How do you expect to keep a $35 dollar an hour job here when everything you buy is a third world import. We have to accept some of the blame

Chris Buors
The Community ReInvestments Act of 1977 passed by Jimmy Carter was the catalyst to the meltdown.

Why is that law never mentioned when Canadians speak of no regulation in American banking?

How about the The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and the Fair Lending Laws? Didn't they create incentives for Wall Street to lend money to the uncreditworthy knowing that the government as lender of last resort would always be there for them.

So much for the notion of lassie-faire eh?

Too much regulation of the economy is what troubles America and everywhere else central banks operate.

A gold standard is what is needed to keep the government from destroying the economy with fiat cash, fractional reserve banking and central planners of all sorts.

Keynesian economics underlies the whole mess.

Time to start listening to someone who makes sense.

Ludwig von Mises is that someone. The Austrian School of economics is the only one who saw all this coming and why and they are the only ones who seem to understand how we can get out of the Keynesian mess.

Ron Paul is the man Americans need to listen to

Tom from montreal
Dean

no one is blaming Harper what we are blaming him for is his reaction.

there are many underlying problems with the canadian economy, namely high personal debt, credit card companies charging us 17%, a depleted manufacturing sector. were really just an oil based economy, i.e. our growth is stemming from there.

the government needs to interact and influsence the market, correct things. not called for total government interference as the NDP wants, nor a laissez fair attitude, somewhere down the middle. this is the liberal party.

forget Dion, even if you hate the guy, the party is still the same.

KJ in Kingston
It's funny to read though all the comments here -- especially the blame-the-leader stuff - even if parliament hasn't even bee in session in at least 3 months and was deadlocked and nearly powerless when it was.... (And like it will be after this election)

The idea that political leaders are almost magical-mystical figures that can do more that minor policy adjustments - set tax levels and spend the money you've given them on various programs.

Who is silly enough to believe 30 days of discussion by Canada's federal and provincial leaders will change the direction of the US, British, German or Asian economies....? Obviously if there was anything Harper could do to prevent this scenario from unfolding during the election campaign he would have done it -- likewise all the party leaders in his place would be as powerless to make any changes. It's like government is the new national religion. These guys are just humans like you and me folks. No magic powers.

proud conservative
I am with you James. I was told on the weekend that I was a "conventional" housewife. And it is because I don't have a cell phone, mp3 player,lap top etc.I don't know how that makes me conventional since everyone and their dog seems to have one and what it has to do with being a wife.I am confused. I just don't want it. mebbe someone can explain this to me. I already voted conservative-could that be it?

R Brand
To those of you who like to malign socialism what do you have to say as the US hands out billions to wealthy people who made extemely poor decisions based entirely on greed and not good management, jeapordizing the lively hood of millions. I guess socialism is ok if it works for the rich! Try getting anyone to coughup $700 billion in one shot to feed the poor and starving. now there is a joke! But they all believe in Jesus.

Billy
To Shan, are you serious? lol lol lol.....
workers wages are to high in North America? Real income (those earning a wage)has been stagnant, or receeding since 1980. Where are you coming from?

Watch Harper panic tomorrow.
It will be too little, too late.

But Harper has no ideas except what he plagiarizes.

Don
Okay, this economy thing is pretty simple. The U.S. is the largest economy in the world with 350 million people. China is #2 with 1.3 billion people. The U.S. is China's largest customer & the U.S. is Canada's largest customer also, buying 75% of our exports. So the U.S. gets themselves in credit trouble, they have to cut back on purchases. Where? That's right from Canada & China, Canada's second largest customer. No sales=no production=job losses. Now how about an explanation in one simple sentence from all you people that say this economic turn down in Canada is Harper's fault? Give me a break. If you don't know what the fundamental's are that Harpers talking about you shouldn't be putting forward commments.

c h
its safe to say that no country is going to be hit with this crisis and no country is safe. Harper is saying we are better off than the rest of the world and i would probably guess that he would be changing his mind after today