Mr. Dodge, eight components were excluded from the calculations measuring inflation and the increase in value of the Canadian dollar: fruits and vegetables, gas, fuel-oil, natural gas, mortgage interest and the urban rate, and tobacco. Yet counterfeit products, which are now in Canada, and cheap foreign labour are also factors.
Were those two factors also excluded from calculations dealing with the dollar increase and inflation? How can Canadian manufacturers realistically manage the sharp rise in oil prices, the increase in energy costs and the overall 30 per cent appreciation of the Canadian dollar, in so little time?