FEBRUARY 1997 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

FEBRUARY 1997Edition

GROWTH

            Dun & Bradstreet surveyed 1,200 Canadian business owners and executives in December and found them upbeat about prospects for the first quarter of 1997. For the first time since 1991, sales expectations rose, partly because Christmas sales were better than most retailers expected. Expectations were also up for profits and inventories. Curiously, employment requirements remained the same. Businesses in Ontario led the country in optimism about sales, profits and inventories. Canada's most populous province tends to be the first to experience boom and bust cycles.

 

BILLS

            Businesses are paying their bills faster. Companies took an average of 51.06 days to pay their bills in the fourth quarter of 1996, more than a full day faster than in the first quarter of 1993. Companies in Western Canada paid their short-term obligations the fastest taking an average of 49.45 days while the Atlantic provinces were the slowest, at 52.58 days. By industry, the agricultural sector was the quickest at 47.46 days, while manufacturers were slowest at 52.57 days.

COMMUNICATIONS

            Canada has proposed changes to its telecommunications policy that would open the market in global market satellites to increased foreign ownership, if an international telecom agreement is reached in Geneva. In addition, Canada has also proposed easing restrictions on companies wanting the right to land underseas cables for carrying long-distance traffic in Canada. Both concessions, offered during World Trade Organization negotiations, would come in return for other countries lowering their trade barriers to telecommunications companies.

JOBS

            U.S. employment held steady near a seven-year low at 5.3 per cent in December as the economy produced 262,000 new jobs, about 70,000 more than expected. A jump in service sector employment was the biggest since last spring with 112,000 jobs added. Some experts had predicted that the 50-cent increase in the minimum wage last October would depress the hiring of low-wage workers in service industries.       

BRITISH COLUMBIA

            While B.C. is far less dependant on U.S. trade than other provinces, the Americans are still B.C's biggest export customer by far. Figures for the first 10 months of 1996 show the U.S. had 55.1 per cent of B.C.'s total export value, up from 49.2 per cent for the first 10 months of 1995. B.C. appears headed for the highest level ever of exports to the U.S., probably near $14 billion for 1996, as against $10.1 billion in 1993. The U.S. is followed in importance by Japan at 23.4 per cent. Canada and the U.S are doing more than $1 billion in trade each day, with less than one per cent subject to trade action such as lumber tariffs or Pacific salmon. Canadian exports in merchandise trade alone to the U.S. grew about eight per cent in 1996. 

TASTE

            The lowly squid, once tossed overboard for bait, has suddenly become the prize of the California coastline. Coveted by new markets in China and by yuppies at home, squid have shot past salmon to become the state's leading seafood catch by volume and value.

FURNITURE

            This industry suffered in the early days of the Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement losing half of its manufacturing capacity. Those that are left are relying on revamped designs, smart marketing and an explosion in exports to remain competitive. The Canadian furniture industry saw revenues grow 7 per cent in 1996 to $1.9 billion and exports grow 17 per cent to $800 million. Furniture makers were exporting 39.8 per cent of their production in 1995 compared to only 6.2 per cent in 1982 and exports have climbed 234 per cent since 1991.

GROWTH

            By the end of the century, the Toronto area population will be near five million according to Statistics Canada. The biggest rate of growth will come in the Vancouver metropolitan area where the population will jump by 13 per cent to 2.1 million. Montreal, the second-largest city in Canada will reach 3.4 million. The population of St. John's is expected to drop by 4 per cent, as will that of Newfoundland as a whole.

NEW CARS

            Consumers spent an average of $22,300 (before taxes) on passenger cars in October, up 7.0% from October 1995. Average spending on cars reflects consumers' choices of model and options, industry changes to features that are standard on a vehicle, and changes in vehicle prices. In October 1991, consumers spent an average of $16,700 per car; this represents a 33.7% increase over five years. Nine out of 10 cars sold in October were built in North America and fetched an average price of $21,300, up 5.7% from October 1995. The average price of cars built overseas jumped 22.2% to $29,400 with the average price of Japanese cars rising 20.3% to $25,600.

BRIBES

            A Thai cabinet minister is urging bureaucrats to take bribes because bribery is part of the Thai culture. However, the minister set two conditions: Do not demand the bribe up front and do not set any price lists.

WATER

            A Vancouver company has signed an agreement with a small Alaskan city to harvest glacial water and ship it in bulk to China where a half-litre bottle will sell for just under a dollar. Global Water Corp. will ship up to 18 billion litres of water a year from Sitka, a city of 8,900 residents, to the Chinese port city of Tianjin. The company intends to build a bottling plant within the next year in Tianjin, a city of more than nine million people about 100 kilometres from Beijing. It will then ship bottles to cities in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Global went to Alaska after the B.C. government banned the export of bulk water last year saying the province's water must be preserved for diminishing salmon stocks and an expanding human population. The Chinese government will get 25 per cent of Global's profits.

JUNK MAIL

            As of the start of the year, the government has forced Canada Post to stop delivering so-called junk mail, a multimillion dollar annual business which has cost around 10,000 mostly part-time jobs. But private distributers, including newspapers, say they will create at least that many jobs. The Canadian Daily Newspaper Association claims dailies lost $80 million in revenues since 1988 when Canada Post expanded aggressively into delivery of printed advertising. Private distributors long claimed that Canada Post was using revenue from first-class mail to subsidize advertising mail.

SKILLS

            The spread of computers in the Canadian workplace is wiping out jobs for unskilled workers. According to a study by Canadian Policy Research Networks, computers have created more jobs than they have destroyed but employers have used computer-based technology (CBT) to eliminate unskilled jobs and not given unskilled workers the training they need to move up into the new high-skill jobs. Instead, the unskilled are being pushed into other industry sectors that continue to employ large percentages of low-skill and often low-wage workers. Those sectors, like the retail trade and food services, are moving in the direction of using more computers leaving the unskilled with even fewer options.

RETAIL TRENDS

            According to the Retail Merchants' Association of B.C., while a lot of attention has been focused on the entry of so-called "Big-box" stores such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot in the market, their impact has not been as great as anticipated. Recent financial data indicates that their earnings and growth rates have not been as high in the past year suggesting that high-volume retailers may have reached maximum efficiency in the market. This presents opportunities for smaller retailers

which have continued to shave margins and will now have to look for ways of putting more emphasis on selection and customer service. A national survey in December by Deloitte & Touche asking consumers about their shopping habits showed 72.9 per cent using traditional departments stores, 71.9 shopping at specialty stores in malls, 59.7 went to discount stores and 27.5 per cent used big-box outlets.

PRIVATIZATION

            Despite a bad year for grain and a lengthy strike at General Motors, Canadian National Railways is slowly turning around, shedding fat and making money. In 1996, the company had an operating profit of $610 million and a final profit of $142 million on revenues of $4.16 billion. This compares with a loss of $1.08 billion in 1995. The company managed growth in container traffic, one of its key goals, and in traditional staples like coal, sulphur and lumber. There were only 21,600 employees at the end of 1996 compared to 36,000 in 1992 but the remaining workers are 14 per cent more productive. Labour costs were reduced by $95 million while total costs fell by $109 million to $3.5 billion.

MEXICO

            After collapsing in 1995, Mexico's economy has recovered faster than many expected, enabling it to repay its emergency loans from the U.S. three years early. In its latest report on the country, the OECD estimates that GDP grew by four per cent last year after shrinking by 6.2 per cent in 1995 and will grow by five per cent in 1997. Initially, the recovery was led by exports but in 1996 private investment began to pick up again.

INTERNET

            A survey  of 750 firms with Web sites by Tikkanen-Bradley Consulting in Toronto indicates that more than a third of Canadian companies are unhappy with the reaction to their World Wide Web sites but concludes many companies do not grasp the fundamentals of life on the Internet. More than 41 per cent don't know how many visitors their sites get in a month, and don't seem to care with 35 per cent saying they do not track usage and only 6.2 per cent using a registration form or user survey. More than 10 per cent said they spend no time maintaining their sites, and 55 per cent said they spend 10 hours or fewer a month. The investment firm of Volpe Welty & Co. predicts that $500 billion in transactions will take place on-line by the year 2000 and if this does occur, Canadians may be left wondering where their share is.

U.S. EXPORTERS

            A recent study by the Institute for International Economics suggests more small and medium-size business owners in the U.S. are understanding the importance of foreign markets. U.S. exports totalled $452 billion in 1995 with the 50 largest exporters accounting for 30 per cent of the country's merchandise exports. In the past two years, the percentage of small and medium-size exporters that receive 10 per cent or more of their revenue from exports nearly doubled to 51 per cent. This year, 8,000 companies are expected to expand their exports with help from the U.S. Commerce Department, more than twice the number from three years ago. 

PATENTS

            Last year IBM, for the fourth year running, received more American patents than any other company, the highest number ever.

SERVICE

            New Zealand Post has just celebrated a second year of record profits by delivering all hand-addressed mail free for a day.

SAFETY

            Camels which carry tourists for sunset rides along Cable Beach Road in Broom, Australia, are posing an unacceptable hazard to traffic and are having battery-operated tail lights fitted to their rear ends.

JANUARY 1997 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

JANUARY 1997 Edition

MOST PROFITABLE
            Among larger Canadian enterprises, the most profitable in 1995 were firms engaged in computer manufacturing, electronic computing and peripheral equipment servicing, and the provision of computer programming and systems analysis services. The median rate of return was 22.4%. They were followed closely by chemical fertilizer (excluding potash) and explosives manufacturers (22.3%) and industrial inorganic chemicals manufacturers (18.5%). Among smaller firms, incorporated offices of physicians, surgeons and dentists were the most profitable with a median rate of return of 25.9%. Next were sawmills and manufacturers of planing mill products with a median return of 17.4%.

LEAST PROFITABLE
            The least profitable of the larger firms included advertising agencies, contractors doing building interior and exterior structural work, and industrial and heavy engineering general contractors. The least profitable small enterprises included paper and paper products wholesalers and the paint and varnish manufacturers.

LIBRARIES
            It was once forecast that television would destroy reading in Canada, but it hasn't happened. In 1968, viewers had about 2,000 channel-hours a week to watch. Today, close to 8,000 channel-hours are broadcast each week in the larger Canadian cities. So what has happened to libraries? In 1952, library circulation across the country totalled about 25 million items borrowed. By 1974 it was more than 100 million. By 1993 it was around 200 million items, though some of the circulation was video and audio tapes. Library circulation has managed to grow about 4 per cent a year over the past forty years.

MUSIC
            Everywhere you care to look, classical music is losing its audience. While the Three Tenors will soon earn a million and a half U.S. dollars a night each in Vancouver and Toronto, such events are unusual. London's Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican play on average to half capacity and tickets for the Salzburg Festival or Amsterdam's Concertgebouw are readily available after being sold out for generations. The manager of one of America's top orchestras estimates that within the next ten years an industry of over 250 professional orchestras will shrink to barely a dozen. In Britain, it is predicted that only six of its 14 symphony orchestras will last the century.

NEWSPAPERS
            Canadians continue to buy fewer newspapers with the industry reporting a 2.2 per cent drop in circulation in 1996. The Canadian Newspaper Association, representing the country's 106 daily papers, says circulation has been hurt by rising single-copy and subscription prices as well as publishers intentionally reducing the area in which they deliver their papers. Canadian papers sold an average of 5.2 million copies a day in 1996: it was 5.3 million in 1995. The decline marks six consecutive years of lower circulation.

COMPARATIVE PRICES
            Prices for electronic products have fallen considerably over time. Here is a sample.
Cell phones:
1985                                                     $2,500
1996                                                     $200
Microwave Ovens
1972                                                     $1,000
1996                                                     $229
CD Player
1983                                                     $800
1996                                                     $199
VCR
1976                                                     $1,000
1996                                                     $239
Sony Walkman
1979                                                     $230
1996                                                     $89
Digital Watch
1976                                                     $350
1996                                                     $40

PREFABRICATED HOUSES
            Canadian companies recently brought home $195 million in contracts to supply prefabricated housing to the Japanese market. Canada cornered 46 per cent of this market last year well ahead of the second place United States with only 29 per cent. The houses are constructed in sections, predominantly of four by four wood frames, insulated and panelled and shipped out in containers with fixtures and fittings to be erected on site. The market has been notoriously difficult for many Western companies to penetrate. Japan has traditionally protected its own producers with barriers to imports but government and industry are now removing many of these barriers and imported goods are becoming popular. There's even status to owning a Canadian home, which can be supplied with furniture, carpets and drapes.

PRICE WAR
            After operating a little-noticed but legalized price cartel for many years, the world's ocean shipping lines have started rebelling against one another dropping rates for the first time in a decade. In the U.S. alone, this has already affected cargo fees on more than $450 billion in consumer goods. Over the next three years, 650 new vessels are expected to come on line and the rates are starting to reflect supply and demand. Until now, many of the major shipping companies have held rate conferences, sometimes weekly, to decide fee schedules on thousands of consumer goods categories by weight and size. The cartels control rates on as much as 60 per cent of the world's containerized ocean cargo.

COMPETITION
            According to a London Business School survey of 300 companies, too many facing competitive threat do little to defend themselves until it is too late. It was found that the biggest determinant of success was a rapid response with a targeted strategy. The report points to significant market reversals that have occurred when companies were overtaken by upstarts. Hertz Corp, for example, was once the biggest car rental company in the U.S., but it has been surpassed by Enterprise-Rent-A-Car. Rather than focusing on traditional rentals at airports, Enterprise came into the market by working with insurance companies to provide temporary replacement vehicles when a car was stolen or damaged.

BAGS
            Some U.S retailers stocked up on extra-large shopping bags for Christmas in the hopes that people would buy gifts until they were full. A New Jersey maker of plastic shopping bags states that sales of big bags were up 11 per cent from last year.

STUDY
            An Angus Reid poll shows the majority of working Canadians are also students with business and computer courses at the top of their popularity lists. Sixty-two per cent of employees questioned said they had taken at least one adult education course in the past year. Nearly a fifth reported three or more courses on top of work. But only 57 per cent reported their employers were paying for courses, usually for studies related to their current jobs. Eighteen per cent said they were taking the courses to develop skills for a new career.      In all categories, women were more likely to be studying than men.

COSTS
            A survey of senior information technology managers shows that most companies realize they spend too much on computer hardware and software but few are doing anything about it. Thirty of 47 North American executives interviewed said their company was highly committed to "asset management"--jargon for cutting costs of computer administration. Only seven executives said their organizations were halfway through completing such a program and 18 said they had just started. For companies, the stakes are high: a single desktop computer can cost more than $38,000 (U.S.) over five years after maintenance expenses and staff time are taken into account.
BIODIESEL
            This is fuel for trucks and buses made from converted restaurant grease. One potential disadvantage is that the vehicle seems to be pulling away in a cloud of French fries.

RETAIL
            A report by the Dominion Bond Rating Service Ltd. suggests that profits will remain weak among retailers in Canada until a shakedown shrinks their numbers. The combination of steeper competition--including the flood of U.S. retailers in past years--and sluggish consumer spending has led to severe price discounting. As a result, operating margins have dropped to "unsustainable low levels." Among the challenges facing retailers, the DBRS report points to: too many retailers in similar formats, like clothing: high consumer debt levels: competition from giant U.S. retailers, such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart: distribution inefficiencies and poor customer service.

DIET
            Canadians have included more fruit, vegetables and fish in their diet over the past two decades, likely the result of concerns over health and lifestyle and demand for various ethnic foods. In 1995, each Canadian ate an average of 128 kilograms of fruit, mostly fresh, compared with 97 kilograms in 1975. Per capita consumption of apples, Canada's major fruit crop, was 14 kilograms in 1995 compared with 12 kilograms two decades earlier. Consumers have also been turning to alternate tropical fruit such as kiwi, guavas, mangoes and papayas. Vegetable consumption has increased to 172 kilograms compared to 150 kilograms twenty years ago. Consumption of fish is now eight kilograms per person, mainly due to the demand for alternate sources of
low-fat protein and the diet preferences of a growing Asian population.

EDUCATION
            Full-time university enrolment increased in 1996 reaching a new record. Last fall, 576,900 full-time students enroled at Canadian universities. Undergraduate students rose to 501,300 while there were 75,600 full-time graduate students. Part-time enrolment fell for the fourth straight year. In 1996, part-time registrations dropped 8 per cent to 251,300. The population base from which most university students are drawn, the 18 to 24 age group, has decreased after peaking in the early 1980s.

HARDWARE MANUFACTURERS
            Canada's information technology sector recorded total gross output of almost $64 billion in 1995, a 65.4% increase from 1990. Growth was concentrated most heavily in software and services, whose revenues expanded by 114%, compared with an 84% increase for hardware manufacturers. Shipments by the computer and business equipment industry were the fastest growing industry segment, rising 146.0% to $7.9 billion. In contrast to the growth in output, employment in the information technology sector has weakened. It peaked at about 316,500 in 1990, but due to the recession and corporate downsizing, fell to a low of 295,000 in 1994. Employment recovered somewhat in 1995, rising 4.7% to 308,800.

VOICE-MAIL
            Some of them don't like certain voices. To a voice-mail system, some voices sound like the tones made by pushing buttons on the keypad, usually the pound key. The system assumes it has been given a command and moves on to the next step, cutting off or erasing the message. It's not just whiny, high-pitched voices that can be a problem. Weak ones may not generate enough force to be heard. The system assumes there's no input and ends the session.

HONOUR
            Last year, Barbara Bush was named "First Lady of the Century" by Outlaw Biker magazine.

TRAVEL ADVISORY
            A newspaper in Calcutta has offered these survival tips when encountering a wandering elephant. Never stand in its path and, whatever you do, avoid eye contact.

DECEMBER 1996 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

DECEMBER 1996 Edition

CHILE-CANADA

            A free trade agreement has now been signed between the two countries which gives Canada momentum in developing closer political and economic ties with Latin America. The agreement is modelled on the NAFTA and will give duty-free access to 75 per cent of Canadian exports and elimination of Chile's 11 per cent import duty on almost all remaining industrial and resource based goods over five years. Canada will have better access for agricultural goods, protection for Canadian investments and there will be mutual elimination of anti-dumping duties within a six year period. There are side agreements on labour and the environment.

STATISTICS

            The range of high‑tech equipment on the market is rapidly changing the face of communications and entertainment for the average Canadian. Every third household

now has a home computer, while new data show that one in seven has a cellular phone. In 1996, 3.6 million households, or 31.6%, have a home computer, up 365,000 from last year and triple the proportion of a decade ago. Data collected for the first time this year show that 1.6 million households, or 14.1%, have cellular phones. In terms of home entertainment, 53.4% of households have a compact disc (CD) player, more than double the proportion of just five years ago.

MICROBREWERS

            The changing tastes and loyalties of thousands of B.C. beer drinkers have shifted away from the major brewers. Microbrewers are now increasing their market share at the expense of the industry's giants and now account for between six and 10 per cent of B.C.'s annual 2.95 hectolitre market. This is the highest penetration rate of any Canadian province, about double the national average and rivals the 10 per cent market share that microbrewers now command in Washington and Oregon. In the U.S as a whole, upwards of 1000 microbrewers account for 2.5 per cent of total beer consumption. This industry is worth about $52 billion (U.S.) annually.

DAEWOO

            This giant South Korean auto maker has postponed indefinitely its planned 1997 entry into Canada but still expects a spring 1998 launch in the U.S. market. This is the second South Korean auto maker to reassess its plans for Canada. Earlier this year, Kia Motors Corp. closed a research and sales office in Toronto. Consultants have been assessing if the unique method Daewoo uses to sell cars in Britain would work in Canada. That system involves 18 big show rooms of at least 20,000 square feet where the company sells only new cars and does no service. The show rooms are complemented by another 30 or so dealerships which offer new and used cars and service. The major problem in duplicating the British strategy is Canada's vast size and thinly spread population. It is estimated that a serious effort to sell cars would require initial costs of $10 to $20 million.

DOING BUSINESS

            When it comes to business competition with the U.S., Canada wins, hands down. A business cost analysis prepared by the Royal Bank and KPMG Canada for the federal government, states that for every industry examined, all costs are lower in Canada and this will remain while the Canadian dollar stays under 87 cents against the U.S. dollar. Costs related to locations are on average 15.7 per cent lower in Canada. The advantage varies from industry to industry and ranges from 5.5 per cent for telecommunications to 10.5 per cent for software production. The survey show that even expensive cities, such as Vancouver, are less costly than their U.S. counterparts.

FAX ADVERTISING

            Rules governing facsimile advertising have been toughened in B.C., Ontario and Quebec following consumer complaints. Unsolicited advertising by fax will be allowed from 9.00am to 9.30pm Monday to Friday and 1.00am to 6.00pm Saturday and Sunday. Advertisers will also have to comply within seven days with a consumer's request not to be faxed again, down from the present 30 days. Exceptions to the new rules are emergency and public service information, account information, market or survey research and calls to businesses responding to messages or requests by subscribers.

OPPORTUNITIES

            Invitations to tender from GATT\WTO countries around the globe are now available on-line. Tenders Electronic Daily (TED), is a database developed by the European Commission. It is said to be the best available source of information on current worldwide purchasing and includes all areas subject to government spending, including supply, service and public works contracts above a certain monetary value. With an average of 30,000 documents in TED each day, there is a good chance that most companies will find one in their particular field. For a free document search and sample invitation to tender or contract award registration and subscription fees, contact Advanced Information Databases Inc, the official gateway in North America for the European Union at 1-800-890-1692.

SERVICE

            His wife thought he was mad when Mr. Simpson of Florida sent in a Jones Dairy Farm coupon for a pancake breakfast that he found in a 1935 issue of Fortune in an antique store. Four days later, a delivery truck pulled up to their home and dropped off a package containing breakfast sausage, pancake mix and a jug of pure maple syrup. The value of the breakfast package: $29.95, plus shipping.

CREDIT

            Credit cards are far more popular in America than anywhere else, with each person carrying an average of 1.4 cards. Canadians average one card each. By contrast, there is only one card for every two people in Britain and one card for every ten Germans. Only seven per cent of the French have credit cards, but those who do make the most of it, spending an average of $6,192 per card. That is more than four times the amount spent per card in America.

DEBT

            The biggest group of people behind B.C.'s personal bankruptcy numbers are between 23 and 26 and the rate is increasing faster than anywhere else in the country. The young have gone to a community college, university or technical school, though many didn't complete their programs. They ran up student loans from $3,000 to $20,000 and when they left school, the few who found jobs didn't find well-paying ones. With low or no earnings and student loan payments, many abused credit cards, further swelling their debt.

SOUTH AFRICA

            The Canadian High Commission in South Africa has launched an Internet homepage which may be found at http://www.canada.co.za. It enables visitors to access information on a wide range of topics relating to Canada and South Africa. These include political-economic and trade and tourist information. It also has links to a variety of other African sites and should be useful to any company considering trade in Africa.

REAL ESTATE

            According to a survey by AFIRE, a U.S. real estate organization,  American real estate remains the investment choice of foreign property investors. 81 per cent of AFIRE respondents said U.S. real estate was a better investment than in Europe, while 77 per cent picked the U.S. over South East Asia. 83 per cent of the 155-member group said they would increase their level of investment in the U.S. next year. AFIRE members have about $15 billion (U.S.) in capital invested in the U.S., about half of all foreign investment.

TRENDS

            A majority of people living within Vancouver's city limits speak a language other than English at home according to the city's social planning department. In the past five years, many Asian immigrants have moved into Vancouver and English speaking residents have sold their high-priced city homes and moved to the suburbs. Now, only 43.96 per cent of the children in Vancouver schools report English as the language they speak at home.

POLAND

            Canada wants Poland to become its foothold for trade expansion in Central and Eastern Europe and will likely double investment there next year. Poland is already Canada's No 1 market in the region. Six years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, there were 3-4 million non-agricultural businesses in the region, most of which were set up from scratch after communism's collapse. In some countries, such as Poland and Hungary, around 20 per cent of them existed before 1990 and Poland had over a million registered businesses in 1995.

SATELLITES

            Industry Canada is warning that hundreds of thousands of Canadians using satellite-receiving equipment to obtain U.S. services may be breaking the law and could face criminal charges. In a recent brochure on direct-to-home TV, the government made it clear for the first time that it regards the so called grey-market to be illegal. Industry watchers estimate as many as 200,000 Canadians are receiving grey market TV services. A black market also exists in the form of cards with embedded microprocessors that enable people to pull in satellite programming without paying anyone. However, the legality of DTH remains uncertain and police agencies are confused and frustrated as they try to enforce laws that are under attack in the courts. A New Brunswick court ruled recently that a search and seizure of satellite equipment by the RCMP was a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and ordered the equipment returned.

THE FUTURE

            A laboratory experiment In Wisconsin has shown that a gene in bacteria can be inserted into the cotton plant creating a polyester-like substance which may allow farmers to grow a fibre that is wrinkle-free and as warm as wool. The concept may allow the industry to come up with new and novel fibres for the textile industry. Different genes may be used to make cotton resistant to wrinkles and shrinkage and others could cause cotton fibres to lock in dyes, allowing production of more brightly coloured, fade resistant fabrics.

GAS

            Almost half of all Canadian natural gas production is exported to the United States via an extensive network of pipeline systems. Over the past decade, natural gas exports have been growing rapidly to meet the demand from U.S. utilities and residential users. In recent years, pipelines transporting gas to Canadian and U.S. customers have been operating near full capacity, especially during the peak winter months.

FILMS AND VIDEOS

            In 1994/95 there were 706 film, video and audio‑visual production companies and 154 motion picture laboratories and post‑production companies in the Canadian film and video industry. Almost 16,000 people were employed, including 3,600 full‑time, 2,300 part‑time and 10,000 freelancers. Canadian films showed increased popularity on the international market with another record performance by the film and video industry. Production revenues reached $797 million, up 8.7% from the previous year and up 37.2% from 1990/91. A factor in the expansion was growth in foreign sales, which reached $163 million, a 9.6% increase from the previous year. Exports, which accounted for a fifth of total revenues, have more than doubled over the past five years. Made‑for‑television productions accounted for most foreign sales.

CHRISTMAS

            Three is the maximum number of courses of a Christmas dinner that may be eaten in Britain without violating a 1646 law still on the books from Oliver Cromwell's Long Parliament.

            Thousands of Christmas cards depicting stolen artwork will go on sale in Britain this year. Police hope that some card recipients will recognize the masterpieces and tip them off.