Your View

It doesn't surprise me at all that Time has placed the loonie's rise ahead of more important world issues.

As an example, I offer the efforts of Canada's finest and bravest men and women and their efforts to bring peace to a country that has seen far too much strife over the past few decades.

It doesn't at all surprise me that this left-wing rag would place our oil-propped currency over the work of its people and the lives of this country's fallen heroes and their families.

B r a v o - well done. Now go stick your collectives heads back in the sand.

The rise of the dollar is due to the oil, as mentioned in many comments, but also due to metals.

China and india are consuming metals at large rates, and this will continue. We are world leaders in metal production: copper, aluminum, nickel, platinum and gold.

All of these metals are soaring on the international market, and the loonie is following this.

The loonie has strengthened greatly in the last few years against the euro and pound. Both of these currencies have risen as well, so the rise doesn't seem as great when compared to the gains against the greenback.

The only reason why we aren't leaving the US in our dust is because of free trade.

If our resources were sold at a fair value on the international market, rather than at legislated discount rates to the americans, our dollar would easily be at par with the euro.

The loonie, the U.S. dollar, Afghanistan ... no, none of them is important when weighed alongside the issue of climate change.

They are rather symptomatic - side issues demonstrating some of the other effects of human actions that are causing climate change.

Unfortunately most political behaviour springs from the reptilian brain, rather than humanity's mmore recently developed creative, rational, analytical abilities; those, we seem to use mainly to justify the behaviour driven by the more primitive impulses.

The rise of the Canadian loonie is a facade story.

The actual story should be about the collapse of the American economy and the subsequent impact on our own economy.

It's my opinion the biggest Canadian news story that I heard all year, if not many years, is the one that former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney accepted manila envelopes stuffed with cash - in one case, totaling more than $200,000.00 dollars which he then deposited in an untraceable account that wasn't claimed as income until years later, after Mulroney heard that Schreiber was arrested.

Brave young Canadian men and women have made the supreme sacrifice in some God forsaken part of the the world and the news maker of the year is the loonie....the almighty dollar taken president over our brave heroes.... need I say more about our media.

The only ones really upset by the value of the dollar is the corporate board rooms of big business saying their profits have fallen.

They don't want to market at a price appropiate to our dollar Value.

It was the Liberals under Pearson who took us off the gold standard.

At one time our bills including a 1 and 2 dollar bill said pay to the bearer on demand.

This was because for every dollar out there, there was precious metals to back it up.

After Pearson took us off the gold standard along came Pierre Trudeau and took our country into debt up to our ears, even though the liberals try to blame the conservatives.

Trudeau sold off our gold reserves to sponser his just society. Mulroney came to power his finance minister implemented some very restrictive fiscal programs and started us on the road of fiscal recovery.

Chretien kept them in place and claimed them as his own at the end.

Oh, yes Trudeau brought our bills out with the notation "this note is legal tender" all that means is if we both agree its worth ten dollars then it is for there is nothing to back it up.

Doug from Surrey poses the question -- "But does anyone else not see our dollar has risen more against the US dollar than most other currencies??"

That is precisely my point. The only reason that we've noticed the change in the value of our dollar is because the only currency we ever bother to really compare it to is the US greenback.

Compared to any other major world currency, the loonie has made only modest gains. If the loonie's rise is indicative of any government policy, it points the finger at the utter disaster that has befallen the American economy.

Again, all this partisan back-slapping and navel-gazing is besides the point. It didn't win "Most Improved Currency of 2007", it won NEWSMAKER of the year. That only means that it was the dominant topic of newspaper headlines.

Any economist worth his salt knows that the loonie is only flying in comparison to the greenback, which is in freefall the way that the Canadian dollar was only 4 years ago.

Even if the Harper government had a major role to play in the flight of the loonie (which I shall again emphasize, it has NOT), it would fly in the face of its own fiscally conservative values, namely the freedom of "invisible hand" of the market from big government intervention.

I don't agree with Roch very often.And he might be giving the Tories more credit than is their due.But I think Jason is out to lunch if he doesn't think that government policy has no impact on the value of the dollar.

It is complex,and certainly involves resource prices.But does anyone else not see our dollar has risen more against the US dollar than most other currencies?? And does anyone else think this would be the case if we were still on the old path of massively increasing debt,while allowing taxes to continue spiraling upwards??

I doubt it,myself.And I don't particularly like Mr.Harper or his style of government.I am,however,even more fearfull that we will return to "the old ways" of spending our childrens' future,and impoverishing all Canadians by taxing them to death.

But then again,Ontario did vote to return a government with exactly that formula.I guess I should not question the wisom that eminates from "the centre of the universe".I can only hope they don't impose those values on the whole country.

Roch -- "Newsmaker of the Year" does not equate with "BEST Newsmaker of the Year." The implication is that, for better AND for worse, the dollar has simply dominated our headlines.

To try and squeeze out anymore than an exchange rate from the value of our loonie is fool-hardy, as it is subject first and foremost to the whims of the market (read: price of oil).

Yes, the Canadian economy is doing very, very well in comparison to our slumping neighbour to the south. But this attempt to hand responsibility for our dollar's worth to our government is something that our government would shirk anyways: philosophically, the Tories have been quite clear about their (non)role in determining monetary policy.

Also, it is LOONIE, not LOONEY. The former, referring to a national symbol, the LOON, the latter referring to the exceller Warner Bros. cartoon from the days of yore.

For years the Canadian dollar was pegged in the $0.60+ range compared to the US dollar. We were continually reassured by Big Business et al that this was a good thing as it made our exports more affordable. Suddenly, and temporarily, it was worth $1.10 US, triggering a mass exodus of greedy Canucks to shopping points in the States getting their Christmas presents there instead of at home.

Now the news is that we are all going to have to pitch in to help the world ride to the rescue of the George Bush greenback.

Our dollar has retreated 10% recently and may go down much further soon. A crappy magazine has tried to re-elevate the sagging Loonie by declaring it unilaterally to be 'Man of the Year' in spite of the fact that its lower value was a "good thing" in the not-too-distant past.

What gives? If a relatively low value was good for us then, why is its high value now seen as an affirmation for the current Conservative (soon to be former) government policies of slash, burn and try to trample into the mud all the social advantages of being Canadian?

The truth is that the U.S. dollar still rules the world and our dollar's ascendancy will not long be tolerated by any American president.

Wait and see what happens after we help (whether we want to or not) the greenback out of its mortgage mess.

Thank you Matt, however I'm afraid you have it incorrect as well as your fellow Torontonian Jason.

If you read my comments more carefully I did not say the Looney gained versus the Euro as much as it has versus the Greenback, I indicated that the Looney had gained versus the Euro this year.

Of course not to the same degree, everyone knows USA has had its very specific difficult problems.

Thankfully now Canada has solid leadership, and a bright future.

That's why Our Looney is the Time magazine award winner!!

Actually Roch my friend I'm afraid Jason has it right and it is you who is incorrect in this case.

If you read Jason's comments more carefully you will see that he doesn't say the looney did not gain against the Euro or other currencies but that it did not gain anywhere near as much as compared to the gains made against the US dollar and he is 100% correct on this.

The reason the looney gained the very very small amount it did against the Euro is the soaring price of oil (we have more than just about anybody else) and not our oh so great leaders.

Merry Christmas to you as well, Roch. We hope you enjoyed the GST reduction this past shopping season.

2008 promises to be an even more productive and prosperous year for Canada, especially if we are blessed with the continued Liberal leadership of Stephen Dion.

It is my opinion that the rise of the loonie is a result of a war ecnonomy and the mortgage debacle in the States. It has nothing to do with fiscal moves from government. I am not even sure how one can claim that is the case except by dillusions of grandeur.

It is my opinion that the War of Terror has been carefully calculated to inflate the price of oil and Canada has prospered as a result. Look at who the backers are of the governments in the US and Canada.

An agenda of peace from right-wing governments is not even being considered because of the ripple effect it will have on artifically created economic influences, such as wars affecting the supply market for oil.

These wars create volitility in the supply market of oil; this an undeniable major influence which has created a stronger loonie, not alleged policies from government.

I ask, "who is the diplomat from Canada that is trying to broker peace a peace deal in the Middle East?" (and not a token representative sent to the the white wash PR meetings held by the White House to appear to be trying to do something).

The alleged threats of terrorism will never be wiped out completely and a war centered on that objective is doomed to fail. Diplomacy must address the core problems of why the West is an alleged target and move from there. Diplomacy by the barrel of gun only creates a larger problem for the world.

It is true however, government has succeeded in increasing the profits of oil companies, securing a complete disregard for the environment (and somehow still able to blame the Liberals, depsite that party being out of office for almost two years) and undermining the once solid social fabric of Canada.

If peace is ever brokered in the Middle East it means economic disaster for the West; especially in Alberta if the world's oil supply is returned to pre-9/11 levels because the profability of that project will become unfeasible.

Jason, unfortunately you are incorrect.

In fact, the looney has gained against the Euro aand many other international currencies this year.

That is why Time magazine selected the Canadian currency as newsmaker of the year. The US dollar wasn't newsmaker of the year, it was the strength of the Canadian economy, and solid fiscal management provided by an accountable CLEAN Canadian Government.

The looney is now respectable, as compared to previous government's efforts.

It certainly is a proud time in Canadian history. Merry Christmas, to our Conservative Government!

Roch -- you're living in dreamland if you really attribute the rise of the loonie to the "solid leadership, vision and fiscal responsibility" of the government. There are two things that are fuelling the loonie and they are:

1) Oil.
2) The decline of the US greenback against all major world currencies.

While the loonie is again on par with the greenback, the Canadian dollar has not made anything even close to similar gains against any other major currencies, including the euro or the British pound.

Time has selected our looney not just due to its unbelievable stengthening, but the meteroic rise in its strength!

Just a few short years ago under the previous government, the poor looney was languishing as low as 62 cents.... paddling around in circles with a broken foot, and half a wing.... a poor disabled looney...

BUT TODAY, thanks to solid leadership, vision and fiscal responsibility, it's not just a looney anymore, it's SUPER LOONEY!

Congratulations to the newsmaker of the year and the Loonie of the Year, none other than Angry John Baird himself...

I would have thought our armed forces in Afghanistan would be considered far more newsworthy than the flighty dollar.

Their mission has consumed far more attention over the course of a whole year than the very recent rise of the looney.

While the loonie soaring is a feel good story. I think the story of the year should be how a publicly funded broadcaster can continue to show a completely biased support of a certain political party and find any way to embarass the current governing party; whether it turns out to be factual or not. Of course this is all being done with our hard earned tax dollars.

The current news story on Chalk river, The Mulroney/Schreiber Affair, Afghanistan, Kyoto over the past decade, etc, etc the list goes on. These are the biggest stories in 2007 yet somehow the news continually and constantly is being managed to be twisted.

The loonie as top Canadian newsmaker? Are you looney?

It should be the US dollar - whose plunge was the only reason the loonie soared!

Canadians of the year should be Stephen Harper and John Baird who, in Bali, ensured that our economy will not be devastated by the unfair costs of a socialist-based, scientifically-unproven, Kyoto-like emissions 'control' farce.

I thought the troubled Kyoto Accord might have garnered the top spot by Time (Canada), especially as it got so much (negative) attention from our "New" government over the past year.

Let's face it, a year ago Canada, having helped lead the effort to fight climate change through the Kyoto Accord, was seen as a world leader on the environment.

Today, in a tribute to our government's efforts to kill the accord and obstruct progress in tackling CC, we are now seen as environmental pariahs to the world.

But having said that, I must ask why we should even fixate on a north of the (US) border parody of an award Time (USA) runs.

I tire of the cookie cutter approach to news.

Rehashing news events, even when cleaned up and called "the story of the year", is really only filler so the editors have something to separate the ads with when journalists head off on holidays.

Dion should be newsmaker of the year. Love him or hate him, his election as Liberal party leader and the aftermath has defined Canadian politics this year; and similar issues will continue to dominate politics for some time.

The loonie really has only had news coverage for the past couple of months. And now that it has dropped back from it's highs, you rarely hear anything about it anymore.

It better'd be newsmaker of the year. Every day for 2 straight months I saw the headline, "Loonie hits $_.__ US" and a Your View to go along with it. Because we constantly had to talk about how this is affecting us.

And not to say our views didn't help. The Starbucks coffee press, while it stayed at $35 US went from $45 Canadian to $40.

The is a wonderful tribute to our Government, and an honour bestowed upon Canada for its huge success over the past year both domestically and internationally, but mainly economically, and of course socially.

All that stuff revolves around the looney.

I look forward to the pictures of President Putin posing with Canada's own all-powerful looney.

When I read the headline from Your View, “Lofty loonie named Time's top Canadian newsmaker” I assumed that Harper had won.

After reading the article I realized that they were referring to the other “Lofty loonie”, our dollar coin.

I agree with the dollar coin being the winner. I wouldn’t give two cents for the other one.