Recession? It's over

I'm not kidding. The recession is over. Now I realize some of you may be saying, "Hey, who gave Stockwell Day the right to say the recession is over?"

Strictly speaking, nobody gave me the right to say a recession had started, let alone declare it was finished. There is actually a technical definition which says if a certain number of measurable economic indicators are not met over a certain period of time, then, presto, we're in a recession!

However, if those same economic goal posts are reached over a certain period of time then somebody can declare just as categorically that the recession has ended. In Canada's case that 'somebody' happens to be the Governor of the Bank of Canada.

Last week, after poring over all the numbers he was able to declare, not on a whim but based on economic fact that the nasty 'R' word no longer applied to Canada. Does that mean we're all in clover now and we can just let the good times roll? Well, if you lost your job over the last year you're probably not feeling a whole lot different today than you were the day before the Governor spoke.

But the fact is, the economy is picking up. People and businesses are investing in greater numbers. The job rate in some areas is improving, and real estate numbers are moving up from coast to coast.

Analysts around the world continue to say good things about Canada. We have the most stable banking system in the world with the lowest taxes among the world's major economies and are best positioned to come out of the global recession.

Many of the programs we put in place have also been credited with helping Canadians to weather the storm. Improved Employment Insurance benefits, upgraded programs for skills and education development, a stimulus program worth billions of dollars to accelerate needed infrastructure projects, tax rebates for renovations and incentives for home buyers, tax free savings accounts and community trust funds for rural areas hit by the downturn are just some of the governments initiatives designed to assist.

It's not easy at this point to put an exact dollar amount on precisely how much these actions lifted our economy through this recession. However the fact that our economy responded is undeniable.

Plus, many individual retirement savings plans and investment portfolios are starting to regain value. That's what I predicted some months ago in this column when the downturn was upon us. It hasn't been without its pain. I've mentioned the unemployment numbers.

Also, we had to take on a deficit, albeit a temporary one, to make this all happen. However, desperate times require bold actions. We took those actions and thankfully got results.

Please don't think I'm saying the challenges are over. They're not.

We need to continue to be aggressive on a number of fronts, especially as some major economies (the USA for one) are still in reduction mode. That's why I represented Canada this week at the Annual Asia Pacific Conference in Singapore. We are a member of a group of 21 economies which have a Pacific coastline. This Association of countries represent 42% of the world's population and 52% of the world's economic output.

I brought them the message about the advantages of doing business in Canada. I also met with decision makers from the Port of Singapore. This is the largest port in the world, shipping millions of containers all over the world. We told the people who direct those ships our Asia Pacific Gateway story and how there are significant advantages to shipping to and from our ports in Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

Along with a number of representatives from Canadian companies, we also knocked on doors of opportunity for Canadian businesses, workers and universities.

We furthered Canada's economic hopes in our meetings with Trade Ministers from huge economies like China's to smaller ones like Vietnam and Brunei.

As the drum beat of economic growth picks up around the world we'll continue to do all we can to keep Canada at the front of the parade.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.