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Canadian business leaders have come out in overwhelming support of the free trade negotiations with the European Union and say a deal with China would also be beneficial to Canada's economy.

More than 90 per cent of Canadian business executives believe Canada has benefited from existing free trade agreements (FTA), a survey of 200 senior executives by national business law firm Miller Thomson LLP showed. Canada has FTAs with the U.S. and Mexico (NAFTA), Panama, Jordan, Peru, Chile and Israel.

About 60 per cent of Canadian business leaders said free trade with the European Union should be a government priority and 37 per cent said the government needs to urgently examine Canada's trade relationship with China.

The development of offshore wind farms in Ontario would earn billions of dollars for the provincial economy and create thousands of jobs, investment opportunities and a significant amount of clean energy, a report has found.

The study, financed by wind energy company Vestas Offshore and researched by independent think-tank The Conference Board of Canada, found the emergence of the new industry would boost the Ontario economy by "a conservative estimate" of $4.8-billion to $5.5-billion a year between 2013 and 2026.

Over this time, the development would lead to a cumulative total of $10 billion in real capital investment and operations spending.

The Conference Board went on to say that development would create between 3,900 and 4,400 jobs a year during the construction phase and result in 600 permanent positions in operations and maintenance.

The estimates are based on the development of seven new offshore wind energy projects by 2026. If realized, these projects would reach a generation capacity of 2,000 megawatts (MW), an amount the Conference Board describes as conservative compared with the market potential. At present, no offshore wind farms exist in North America. However, a number of offshore farms are in the pipeline, including two in near Kingston, Ontario.

Ontario's New Democratic Party (the NDP) released Elections Ontario documents this week, showing that Ontario's Liberal Party has received thousands of dollars in donations from local utility companies over the past few years. The utilities named include Newmarket-Tay Power, Oakville Hydro, and Essex Power, among others.

Ontario's Energy Minister Brad Duguid defended the donations saying that he sees nothing wrong with the practice. He noted that public utilities that make donations to the governing party often make donations to the opposition as well. So perhaps it's not surprising that Opposition Leader Tim Hudak backed up the Liberals on this one, saying that Ontario's campaign contributions are clear and transparent and he doesn't feel the system needs to be changed.

The NDP's main complaint is that donations by public utilities are driving up already-high hydro bills, an unproven assumption at best. Perhaps the real issue isn't a matter of theoretically higher electric bills, but rather who is funding these donations. And since this practice isn't restricted to Ontario politics, it's an issue that all Canadian should be considering.

Student debts are growing higher and higher by the year and that heavy burden is changing the way Canadians live. The Canadian Council on Learning says in a new report that as post-secondary students take on larger debts to secure an education, other important life decisions are delayed or put off all together.

The average post-secondary student debt load doubled between 1990 and 2009 to reach $26,680 for university graduates and $ 13,600 for college grads. The CCL says the rise in debt-loads coincides with news that the Canada Student Loans Program has reached its maximum threshold of $15-billion. With more funds needed, the CCL says it's time the federal government introduced a new system to finance and assess the education of Canadians.

"This report points to some of the long-term consequences of incurring large debts, sometimes involving postponement of milestones of life, like having children or owning a house," says Dr. Paul Cappon, President and chief executive of CCL. "They can also impact choice of career, possibly to public detriment."

Raise your hand if you're excited about the HST! Anyone? No? Of course not. Very few people get excited about paying a new tax. As a consumer, I'm not looking forward to the price hike on July 1. And as a business owner, I'm not thrilled to be charging more. But the most annoying thing about this new tax may have been the "Beat the HST" signs that were everywhere until last week. If you live in Ontario or B.C., you noticed that this was the marketing campaign of the decade.

If you haven't been following the situation, here's what's going on. As of July 1, 2010, Ontario and B.C. will begin charging a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on most products and services. In Ontario, the HST will be 13% (5% will go to the federal government, and 8% to the province), and in B.C. it will be 12% (5% federal, 7% provincial). Right now, consumers in these provinces pay only 5% GST on services, so prices are about to go up.

Forget the recession; one look at the housing market and it's like we never had one. House prices are on the rise and they're not going to get cheaper anytime soon as buyers pile in to take advantage of low interest rates.

A recent report by Royal Bank of Canada found that buying a house became slightly less affordable at the end of 2009 and that was entirely due to higher prices because the other things that affect affordability -- mortgage costs and personal income -- were better.

The overall slip in affordability wasn't huge, we're talking a 0.3% rise in the index that tracks the affordability of a standard two-storey home, but economists expect costs to get worse as the year unfolds.

So what should you do if you're planning on buying a home?