What was it? A year ago? Two?

It wasn't all that long ago when the Canadian dollar had amazingly topped the U.S. Dollar in value in what was, for many, a shocking occurrence. Sure, it only lasted maybe a few days – or was it a whole week? – but the satisfaction of knowing that our loonie was somehow worth more than an American “single” for even a day was an unbelievable feeling.

Bursting with pride, many Canadians jokingly took advantage of their American friends and relatives by insisting upon Canadian currency for the settling of minor bets. Even more overwhelmingly than normal, a number of Canucks headed south to take advantage of the potential savings brought on by their stronger currency.

In a report released earlier today by The Canadian Press, it would appear as if the possibility of this recuring may not be too far off. The Bank of Canada has predicted that by the end of the year, the value of the Canadian dollar may find itself on par with its American counterpart.

The loonie's recent growth has lead economists to this conclusion. Says the report: “The loonie has appreciated more than two cents during the past few trading days and many are projecting it could attain parity by the end of the year. It closed at 92.64 cents U.S. yesterday, after briefly hitting 93.44.”

Bank governor Mark Carney warns Canadians about premature plans to take a trip to the United States for the purpose of shopping, suggesting that such action may put the strength of the economic recovery in jeopardy.

Avrim Lazar of the Forest Products Association of Canada had this to say: “We export more than two-thirds of what we make, so any sign of recovery will be undermined by the dollar going up. Mr. Carney is right to be concerned and he's right to look at all tools at his disposal.”

Of course, it is important to remember that while the loonie seems to be strengthening, it is not quite equal to the American dollar as of yet. And perhaps, it never will. Canadians should caution themselves against unnecessary spending and keep in mind that there is still work to be done to overcome the financial crisis facing the nation.

However, if the loonie, does once again topple the U.S. “single”, it would be nice to rub it in the faces of the Yanks just one more time.

For students all across Canada, today marked the first day back at school. Returning to the classroom is often an occasion that can be both exciting and depressing at the same time. For many, the challenge of a new school year brings about hope and determination. For others, it simply means more headaches.

There are a lot of Canadians, however, who wish that finding a job was as easy as showing up for the first day of school. Many would love it if today marked their first day at a new job. While the “end” of the recession has been declared by some, numerous citizens who are still seeking employment continue to beg to differ.

According to Business Reporter, Rita Trichur in today's edition of The Toronto Star, it will still be some time before most of this nation's unemployed are back on the job. At least, that seems to be the case for Ontarians who are out of work. Trichur reports that the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey finds that, “the outlook for Ontario's hard-hit labour market remains relatively dim.”

Even though the survey did determine that Canadian employers are “cautiously optimistic” about their hiring prospects in the fourth quarter of 2009, Ontario seems to be continuing its trend of declining hiring intentions among employers. With only a 2 per cent net employment outlook, Ontario ranks the lowest among all provinces in Canada.

Trichur also divulges some startling statistics: “Overall, employment in Ontario has declined by 207,000 since the labour market peaked last October. The province's unemployment rate exceeded the national average of 8.7 per cent in August.”

Trichur does note, however, that the sectors shown to have the greatest intentions of hiring in Ontario include the wholesale and retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate and education.

Manpower's survey, she reports, also found that the best places in Ontario to get a job this fall include Cornwall, Barrie, Kingston, Thunder Bay and Kitchener/Cambridge while the areas that are most likely to produce more job cuts include Mississauga, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Brantford.

As far as Toronto goes, the survey concluded that the city is bracing for a “conservative hiring climate” with a fourth quarter net employment outlook of 1 per cent.

As previously mentioned, Synergy Merchant Services is one of those few Toronto-based companies that is still presently offering employment opportunities. Perhaps, the next survey conducted by Manpower then, will showcase Ontario's job growth potential in a more optimistic light.

For some, today is a day that is met with a degree of sorrow, as school starts tomorrow for students all over Canada. For others, today is a day to rejoice! It’s Labour Day, and for most workers across the country, that means an additional day off work.

Of course, the subject of being “off work” may be a touchy one for the large number of Canadians who are without employment at this time due to the recession. However, hard working citizens all throughout the nation should still find ways to enjoy their days today. And why not? You deserve an extra day free of labour!

But do you know who we owe this long weekend to? According to Wikipedia.org, “The origins of Labour Day in Canada can be traced back to April 14, 1872 when a parade was staged in support of the Toronto Typographical Union's strike for a 58-hour work-week. The Toronto Trades Assembly (TTA) called its 27 unions to demonstrate in support of the Typographical Union who had been on strike since March 25.”

Many of these unions organized marches and demonstrations in support of having Parliament pass a law to shorten the work week. This lead to a number of arrests of union leaders even though laws making union activity illegal were outdated at this time and were even already abolished in places like Great Britain. These arrests were protested by another demonstration on September 3.

By June of the following year, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald passed the Trade Union Act to prevent anti-union laws. It wasn’t until July 23, 1894, however, that Canadian Prime Minister John Thompson made Labour Day an official holiday to be held in September, perhaps commemorating the demonstration of the arrests.

Today, Labour Day is celebrated through parades, picnics and sometimes fireworks displays and public art events. For most Canadians, it is highly regarded as the Monday of the last long weekend of the summer. For students, it is literally the last day of summer as school often starts the next day.

Just make sure you don’t wear white to school! For some reason, an old adage considers it taboo to wear white after Labour Day. As Wikipedia tells us, “The explanations for this tradition range from the fact that white clothes are worse protection against cold weather in the winter to the fact that the rule was intended as a status symbol for new members of the middle class in the late 19th century and early 20th century.”

So, no matter what you do or what you wear, be sure to enjoy Labour Day today. You’ve earned it Canada!

In case you haven't yet heard the news, Synergy Merchant Services is hiring! For those of you seeking serious career opportunities, we strongly suggest you take a look at our “Synergy Offers New Career Opportunities” blog from last week. As mentioned, we are accepting serious applicants by phone appointment only. Please call 416-512-1366, extension 555 and leave a message to join our team!

Apparently, Synergy isn't the only company offering new opportunities during this recession. According to an article released by Julian Beltrame of The Canadian Press earlier today, the Canadian economy created over 27,000 new jobs in the month of August. This stunning new development, says Beltrame, has actually boosted the Canadian dollar by more than 1.5 cents raising its value at over 92 cents U.S.

Economists note that a recovery of the nation's economy coming this early is significant even though the majority of new jobs offered were part-time positions. This news should come as a major upside for Canadians who have lost their jobs over the past several months. The perspective that there could not possibly be an end to the recession without the reclaiming of jobs and developing of new employment opportunities is a popular one.

The rise in new jobs has also been coupled with a growth in consumer confidence, rising to its highest level in two years this past August, according to another report released earlier today by the Harris Decima polling firm.

Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets was quoted as saying: “It just reinforces the view that the recession has ended and that we're in the early stages of a recovery.”

Canadians have heard this before though. Any premature declaration of the recession being “over” is sure to not sit well with those citizens who are still in the midst of looking for employment.

Of course, skepticism remains rampant. As Beltrame writes, “Economists noted that the Statistics Canada monthly jobs survey is notoriously volatile and that the details of the August report are not so impressive as the headline numbers.”

There are many more Canadians, of course, still looking for work. The recession may not be over yet, but hopefully the end is now reasonably in sight. In more ways than one, more work will need to be done.

And Synergy is happy to do its part.

For over 35 years, members of The Canadian Federation of Independent Business have enjoyed the security and confidence in knowing that CFIB will represent them at various levels of government to ensure the rights of small and medium-sized businesses across Canada.

In addition, CFIB has often been a respected source of information about the Canadian economy, serving as the barometer by which financial success is measured. As a result, the aptly named Business Barometer

“It won't hurt, I promise.” Sound familiar? These words have most likely been heard by every child in the world who has ever had a bandage ripped off by one of their parents. The end result, of course, is usually…pain.

These words may not necessarily be spoken by representatives at your local bank branch, but it is possible they could have had them in their minds as they discussed with you your recent attempt to secure a small business loan. You know, the one that statistics have shown is not likely to be approved?

Well, before one can even discuss the approval process, one must first come to understand the procedure involved in even applying for that much-needed extra capital to help your business grow. Generally, when dealing with traditional financial institutions, the long list of requirements does indeed “hurt”.

Many business owners that we have developed relationships with here at Synergy Merchant Services are still adrenaline-fuelled when revealing the harrowing tasks expected of them when going to the bank to borrow money. Collateral is the most popular requirement asked of a business owner. Liens are sometimes needed to be placed on their homes and/or businesses in order to secure funds. And then, of course, there is the dreaded credit check, that places a knock on your credit score whether you are approved for the money or not.

When Synergy mouths (or at least insinuates) the words, “It won't hurt, I promise”, we really mean it. The steps involved in getting yourself a quote for a merchant cash advance are quick, simple and painless. No collateral is necessary at all. The same can be said for liens or checking your credit.

All that is required to determine how much your small or medium-sized business can be approved for is a review of some of your monthly merchant statements. A quick look at these statements help for our funding specialists to confirm your average monthly volume of credit and debit transactions in order to determine how much money you will be approved for.

Once you are provided with this quote, you will also become immediately aware of how much the advance will cost you and what percentage of your future sales will be used to repay the cash advance. That's it.

No waiting in line. No having to wait days for an answer. No risk on your part at all! Now what could be the harm in that?

For the past few months, the Synergy Merchant Services Blog has kept on top of news about the global recession with specific attention of how it has affected Canadians here at home. Both businesses and consumers alike have had to tighten their spending habits in an effort to survive the nation's economic downturn. Some have managed better than others.

Yesterday, it was reported that a study found Quebec to be the province that is home to parents who will be spending the most money on their children's back-to-school needs this month. Today, it appears as if there is evidence as to why citizens of Quebec are seemingly able to spend more than the rest of their Canadian counterparts.

According to Andy Blatchford of The Associated Press: “A new report says Quebec is — despite its economic challenges — emerging from the global recession in better shape than other big provinces like Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.”

Blatchford writes that TD Bank Financial Group has concluded that there are a number of reasons why the province of Quebec has been able to battle through the recession better than any other province in Canada. The report indicates that Quebec's stable housing market is one of the top factors for its stability while experiencing Canada's financial crisis.

In addition, Quebec's ability to rely more on strong goods-producing industries such as aerospace and pharmaceuticals in lieu of the struggling automotive sector has helped for the province's steady performance. As well, TD notices that Quebec utilized the billions it invested in infrastructure projects that were underway when the recession struck to benefit its overall financial status.

According to TD economists, Quebec has also relied far less on resources when compared to Canada's western provinces.

Says TD chief economist Don Drummond: “A return to growth later this year will mark the end of a relatively short and weak recession in Quebec compared to the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s.”

It is hopeful that the rest of Canada will follow Quebec's lead in helping the entire nation find a more comfortable, and eventually prosperous financial situation in the very near future. That is, of course, if Quebec still wishes to be part of Canada.