Now look here, Rapaire...a "democracy" in general usage of the word today does not mean a society where every single adult human being (of whatever accepted qualifications) meets in council, and there discusses and votes on every proposal that is presented in government. It means a society which democratically elects representatives for the public by voting amongst a variety of candidates. A republic, in other words...or a parliamentary system of some kind. You, sir, are egaging in mere nitpicking blathertwaddle when you say that the USA is a "republic", not a "democracy", and if you persist in same we will have to send some large fellows down there with gentle instruments of persuasion to still the thunder in your impertinent goozle. ;-)

Ebbie - Your question was answered back in one of those articles I quoted from, and I again quote from it: "The loonie has risen 22 cents this year alone against the U.S. greenback, making it the world's best-performing major currency. But it has also appreciated against the euro, Japanese yen, Brazilian real and other currencies, making goods imported from Europe, Japan and Brazil cheaper for Canadian consumers."