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By Susan Merivirta, Chief Financial OfficerCorporate News

H

ere we are already one month into Year 2010.  I have to wonder what this year will bring in a financial and business sense. 

        All the indicators seem to be that interest rates will rise mid-year, but my view is that this will just cause more turmoil to Canadian businesses that are being severely impacted by the strength of the Canadian dollar.  If, in fact, interest rates do rise, I do not expect that the increase will be more than 1% in total this year.  From the meetings that I attend with the Bank of Canada economists, I know that they have a very good pipeline of information from all segments that make up the Canadian economic base.  They are very long-term players, who do not institute changes quickly or because others have made changes and expect Canada to follow suit.  If interest rates are increased by the Bank of Canada, it will be done with full awareness of its impact to both the public and business segments of our Canadian economy.

        I have been away in holidays for the past month, travelling in New Zealand and Australia.  I found both these countries much like Canada, both in standard of living and in the way the Financial Crisis has affected them.  Unemployment is high, and, if there are any new jobs, the lineup of hopeful employees is in the thousands.  One thing that stood out for me was the number of Chinese vacationers.  We have travelled the world extensively in the past ten years, and while you always see a lot of Japanese vacationers, this year the number of Chinese travelers was notable.  China was the only country that did not go into recession from the Financial Crisis.

        I had an opportunity to attend some meetings in Melbourne with Wayne and Britton.  I finally met with our business partners at Jayrow, who have supported the entry of our Canadian, Transport Canada-authorized aircraft into the Australian CASA regulatory system.  As well, I was involved in a Power-Point presentation made by Britton and Wayne to National Aerial Fire Centre personnel who have contracted the S76 Firewatch.  Coulson Group is leading the fire-fighting industry in producing on-time fire management information to aid decision making and, ultimately, reduce fire losses of people, resources and structures.  We should all be proud of our “home-growth” talent.

        We are in the process of finalizing our December month ends and then will eagerly await the Deloitte audit teams.  While 2009 wasn’t a banner year, we did survive.  I don’t expect much different in 2010.