Good news for travellers (I hope)

tell it to the many Ontarians who are unemployed or about to be

How about telling it to all the health authorities across the country who now have a much more competitive work environment. Manufacturing is so 20th century. Get with it.

Lemme see, the countries that have done very well in the last half century are manufacturers.......Germany, Japan, USA.... more recently China , India, Korea.... all done on making things, not call centers......

Are you seriously contending that the number of health sector jobs drives our economy?

An economy predicated on McService jobs or inefficient government makework is in very deep shit.

And none of the countries you mention, except China and Japan, did it by subsidizing their manufacturing on the backs of their own consumers. If a company can't be competitive by innovation, efficiency, superior quality, etc. then they are best left to the dust pile of history. Chrysler, GM and Ford being excellent examples. A strong currency is one indicator of a healthy economy.Strong Canadian companies are now taking advantage of the dollar and expanding abroad, and that's good for Canada.

Obviously somebody is a civil servant.

The closest I've ever come to working for any govt. was in my youth when they were silly enough to pay me UI. And I actually create very well paying jobs TP, what do you do?

The health authorities are not much more competative with the strengthing dollar, it is helping but the two largest reasons why there is the inequality is taxation and the actual rates of pay being offered.
How is a stronger dollar helping Canadian companies expanding abroad? If said companies are producing their products in Canada and selling them abroad, their products are becoming more expensive in the non-native countries and thus are not as competative or attractive to the market. If by expansion, you mean the companies are outsourcing their production to 'cheaper' countries, the Canadian workforce is losing jobs while the company makes more money. In this example the expanding companies will spend their new found wealth moving into new countries and thus not spending the money domestically, thus it is a double hit on the ecomony.
I believe in the open market but by no means is the strengthing Canadian dollar a benfeit to Canada based on how we have shaped our economy for the past 50 years. Was it the right decision to develope our economy based on the large buying power of our southern neighbour? It work for quite some time but the winds of change are blowing.

The strong CDN dollar is also affecting the fly-in fishing camp business in the northern half of Saskatchewan as they're not the cheap destination they once were to Americans.

Back when we had a "third world currency" (as some on this branch were calling it a few years ago) they were doing great.

tell it to the many Ontarians who are unemployed or about to be

If people in Ontario or anywhere else are worried about losing their jobs due to the rising C$ they can ask their employers for a pay cut.

A weak currency is an involuntary pay cut, and taxation of savings, for everyone.

Shortsail - hedging will definately help in the short term for those businesses that are large enough to have the excess capital to be afford to. What happens if the Cdn$ keeps raising though? The return offered from hedging will not cover the decreasing profits the company's receive abroad for their products.

I also am still curious as to how the strengthing Cdn$ is helping Cdn companies expand abroad that you mention in #13? (see #16)