After all, while real estate throughout the world was doubling every few years, Canadian homes were moving up relatively modestly.

While risk in the rest of the world had been eliminated through complicated instruments that everyone trusted “someone else” understood, Canada was still using the traditional loan-and-hold mortgage model…

I’m sure you see where this is going.

Canada’s banks weren’t caught up in one of the biggest global bubbles of the last few decades, and they aren’t participating in the fallout either. It’s why investors around the world are looking at Canada, and three of its banks that may be the safest in the world.

One of the few Healthy Economies

Make no mistake – with almost 80% of Canada’s exports going to the United States, the global mess has touched our “neighbor to the north” deeply. But in almost every regard, it’s doing better than the rest of the world.

* GDP actually grew last year – only 0.1%, but still, it grew

* Unemployment is a “mere” 6.1%

* As a major commodity producer, Canada is enjoying the current mini-commodity boom immensely

Indeed, it’s easy to forget, Canada is the world’s eighth-largest exporter of oil, and second only to the Saudis for proven reserves. What’s more, even as Saudi Arabia is sucking the last out of her major oil fields, Canada is only now beginning to tap the vast oil sands of Alberta.

So, as inflation hits the world markets… and inflation fears cause governments like China to convert dollar holdings into commodities like oil, gold, and copper (all of which Canada produces in spades), our northern neighbor looks to be one of the healthier economies going forward.

One of the Few Fully Functioning Financial Systems

Canadian banks bear a large responsibility for the country’s good fortune. Rather than get caught up in the hysteria that gripped almost every major financial institution the last few years, Canada’s banks kept doing business the boring, old-fashioned way.

The way that it’s proven to work.

Now, everyone wants to emulate Canada’s banks.

In October 2008 – while the rest of the world burned – the World Economic Forum deemed Canada’s banking system the safest and soundest in the world. (The U.S. system came in fat 40.)

While the top five U.S. banks lost $8.3 billion in 2008 (and continue to bleed money in 2009, no matter what their funny accounting numbers say), the top five Canadian banks made $8.2 billion (with no financial chicanery required).

In short, Canada and Canadian banks in particular, are in as good a shape as they’ve ever been. And compared to the world as a whole, the country is in the best shape of its life.

Considering how well the banks are doing and how wise it would be to hedge against another downturn in the market – which is likely to hit sometime before September if it comes – you’d be wise to put some of your money into the soundest banks in the world.

The Safest Banks in the World

Our favorites are the Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), the Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS), and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD). All three are up over 30% for the year, all three pay very hefty dividends, and all three have been rated among the safest banks in the world by Global Finance magazine.

They’d be great buys even in the best of times. But with the possibility of worse times still ahead, it only makes sense to pick a few of these up. Canadian banks can help you weather any coming storms and profit from any economic recovery on the horizon.

http://www.investmentu.com/IUEL/2009/June/canadian-banking.html

Interesting thoughts, Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO, says.

With a growing population of more than 6,200, the Cross Lake Band of Indians (CLBI) faces a substantial housing backlog. Like many communities aiming to create affordable housing, the Band has limited funds. As well, Cross Lake is 450 km (280 mi.) north of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, where winter temperatures often dip to -40°C (-40°F), so conserving energy and money are essentially the same thing.

The Band contracted White Horse Management Group to create a new subdivision on the Cross Lake reserve, partnering with Southern Comfort Mechanical, Inc, which specializes in geothermal heating.

Together, they arrived at a design that would build on a thickened-edge concrete slab interlaced with pipes to allow for geothermal heating and cooling—which is safer and saves on operating costs.

Slab-on-grade construction helps prevent flooding and avoids the use of sump pumps, which can be prone to failure. Perhaps most importantly, geothermal heating would substantially reduce the burning of fossil fuels both during construction and in the operation of the house; this attracted $4.4M in funding from Manitoba Hydro, which has been promoting green and efficient energy solutions for Manitobans.

However, curing concrete slabs in cold weather remained a challenge.

Traditional heating methods were energy-intensive and created an uneven cure. The engineers proposed an innovative solution: why not use cheaper, movable propane water heaters and run a warm glycol fluid through the slab?

Through the use of in-slab heating and construction of a cover-all enclosure, the heat would spread evenly through the slab, and contribute directly to the curing, rather than heating the surrounding air. Ultimately, the concrete slabs cured in 3–4 days, with a daily heating cost reduced to $124 from $584, and allowed construction to run continuously, translating into a savings in labour and more efficient use of equipment.

The Billy Halcrow Subdivision is an affordable group of 34 three-bedroom housing units with the usual amenities of a rural neighbourhood, such as paved roads, piped water and sewer and street lighting—and a geothermal heating and cooling system that is unique in First Nation communities in Canada. But the subdivision might not be unique for long: other communities are interested in replicating CLBI’s success, and Band representatives have been invited to give presentations about it across the West and on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.