Strong Dollar Provides Ego Boost, but Comes with Challenges

(Barbara Yaffe — Vancouver Sun)

Oversized coin needs to be dealt with through increased productivity and international investment, Conference Board of Canada says

Canadians had better develop a game plan for a more muscular Canadian dollar that is going to be around “for a long time to come.”

That was the message Thursday from the Conference Board of Canada which issued a special briefing paper on the challenges posed by a Canadian dollar that this week began running neck and neck with the American greenback.

A stronger dollar clearly is a mixed blessing. […]

The Conference Board argued that Canada must deploy two specific interrelated strategies in response to the rising Canadian dollar.

Businesses must:

- Boost productivity through investment in equipment and machinery, skills upgrading and trade enhancement.

- Increasingly become international players -- inserting themselves into global supply chains through investment or the sharing of resources.

Read more here.