OTTAWA SAID BACKING DOWN ON BANKING CENTRES
The Canadian federal government is
backing down on its plans to give Vancouver and Montreal
special status as international banking centres, Ontario's
minister of financial institutions Monte Kwinter said.
    He told journalists that little concrete activity had taken
place since the announcement in February 1986 that the two
cities would gain a special status, while Toronto, despite its
position as Canada's main financial centre, would not.
    "They (the federal government) have sent a confusing signal
to world financial markets," Kwinter said. "It was done for
political reasons and it's going to backfire on them."
 REUTER
