The housing market did get some good news from Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Bank of Montreal, ( as well as many mortgage lenders) which all lowered interest rates Monday. The five-year, fixed-rate closed mortgage is down , which means that on a discounted basis, consumers can likely lock in a rate of less than 4% for five years.More good news…The prime rate may not go up in September, & it is a buyer’s market.BEST RATES5 yr fixed   3.75%

Variable   2.05%

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Surrey, B.C. V4A 3L2
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Hi everyone,

Game on…we’re OPENING this Saturday, Nov. 14 - that’s 12 days earlier than our official opening day on Nov. 26. A series of storms have pummeled Whistler Blackcomb, dropping 70cm-100cm over the last seven days. Another 65cm of snow is expected to fall by Saturday. Our operations crews have been hard at work preparing the mountain, including our Snowmaking Team, which has more than 160+ snowguns blasting to compliment Mother Nature’s white gold.

Whistler Mountain is opening this weekend with upload via the Whistler Village Gondola. Skiing will be available via Franz’s Chair, Emerald Express and Big Red Express. Early season conditions are in effect so keep an eye out for unmarked rocks and obstacles. Please stay within the ski area boundaries and obey all mountain signage. Groomed runs are recommended.

Early season lift tickets will be $59 this weekend and with Cornucopia running Nov. 12-15, there are great accommodation deals available. Guests can also save up to 39% on lift/lodging packages by booking their trip before Nov. 15. Today on the Mountain and Ops Update will reveal more details as they become available. Until then, check out the attached photos for an inside scoop on what the conditions are like up there, courtesy of Doug Mac! These were taken on Nov. 9.

Let the season begin!

As highlighted in the previous edition of the Tax Factor (2009-02), Ontario will be harmonizing its provincial sales tax (PST) with the federal goods and services tax (GST) on July 1, 2010 for a combined harmonized sales tax (HST) rate of 13% (5% federal and 8% Ontario). On July 23, 2009, the British Columbia (B.C.) government announced its intention to also eliminate its existing PST and introduce an HST regime with the federal GST on July 1, 2010, the same day as Ontario. B.C.’s HST will be 12% (5% federal and 7% B.C.).

We have published two separate BDO Tax Bulletins to discuss the impact that the Ontario and B.C. HST will have on businesses:

• Getting Ready for Ontario Sales Tax Harmonization
• B.C. Set to Harmonize its Sales Tax with the GST

To obtain a copy of either of the above publications, contact your BDO advisor or visit the BDO Library area of www.bdo.ca.