Canadian Dollar Drops To Lowest in Four Days as Crude Oil Declines. Bloomberg.com. Online at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=ahfsbyRA1cRI The global economy is in a determined state of recession. Poor policy in the United States and throughout the globalizing world community have reverberated through all entangled nations. The impact on currencies in North America in particular has been decidedly negative. As the Bloomberg article from June of 2009 indicates, "Canada's currency plunged to the lowest level in four days as commodities including crude oil, the nation's biggest export, dropped amid a surge in demand by investors for safer assets." (Kruger & Founier, 1) One can infer from the article that this decline parallels a drop of similar proportions throughout the year in American currency, reflected the ripple effect of continental trade agreements in the face of major U.S. recession.

Recent events including the declaration of Japanese finance ministers of a renewed confidence in American debt has caused a rally in the value of the long-flagging U.S. dollar. By outcome and related to OPEC's recent increase in crude production -- a chief export for Canada and therefore a major source of commodity value -- the value of the loonie has declined relative to most major world currencies. This, Kruder & Fournier report, is consistent with a trend which bottomed the loonie at its lowest value in March of 2009.

The point-of-view of the article reports expectations of some recovery relative to recent declines, but is also frank about negative economic expectations in relation to recent events. Most particularly in this case, the decline in the value of crude oil and, consequently the dollar, may lead to further economic retraction for a Canada that is carrying a record C$50 billion deficit.

MacIntyre, N. (2009). City council rejects back-yard hen proposal....

Hamilton Spectator.
The article published in May 2009 in the Hamilton Spectator takes a humorous perspective on in issue which invokes consideration of the rather serious matter of ecological sustainability. In the city of Waterloo, the city council debated the issue this spring in the interests of allowing for the voicing both of advocacy and opposition to the allowance for back-yard chicken coops. The main purpose of the article was to report the debate at the city council at the ultimate outcome which was to reject the request for legalization of this practice, which its supporters view as a great and forward-thinking food source.

The article does open up to broader key questions however, most particularly in terms of the gains and losses to a township in this sort of ban. Its opponents were mostly "residents worried chickens would be noisy, smelly and attract unwanted pests." (MacIntyre, A4) In spite of this view, the article denotes that other contexts such as Vancouver, New York, Seattle and Portland have all allowed for chicken coops, siding with those who perceive this to be an efficient, healthy and safe food source. This points to the key question as to whether objecting fears are justified or imagined and, likewise, as to whether proposed gains such as sustainability and affordability are achieved. Most importantly, the article indicates that there are contexts where this has been allowed.

This leads us to the inference that a more scientific investigation could be undertaken to determine the answers to the key questions cited above, especially those demonstrating fear of the practice. The article's point-of-view is fairly neutral, though flecked with puns about chickens and the matter of its subjects' courage on the subject. Perhaps here we actually could stretch to the inference that the article intends to question the council's ban in acquiescence to residential fears.