OTTAWA - The national unemployment rate was 6.5 per cent in January. Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities. It cautions, however, that the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. 

Here are the jobless rates last month by city (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

_ St. John's, N.L. 7.7 per cent (7.8)

_ Halifax 5.8 per cent (5.7)

OTTAWA - Canada's national unemployment rate was 6.5 per cent in January. Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

_ Newfoundland and Labrador 9.2 per cent (10.5)

_ Prince Edward Island 7.6 per cent (7.1)

_ Nova Scotia 6.9 per cent (6.4)

OTTAWA - A quick look at Canada's January employment figures (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

Unemployment rate: 6.5 per cent (6.8)

Employment rate: 60.8 per cent (60.9)

Participation rate: 65.0 per cent (65.4)

CALGARY - Executives with crude shipper Enbridge Inc. say increased Venezuelan crude exports would not undermine its plans to send more Alberta oilsands barrels to Texas refineries.  

"The U.S. Gulf Coast is the world's best heavy refining market and Canadian crude is a meat-and-potato part of the diet there," Colin Gruending, president for liquids pipelines, told analysts on a conference call Friday. 

Refineries along the Gulf of Mexico were initially built to handle the heavy crude produced in Venezuela. But as volumes from the South American country dropped amid economic and political strife and U.S. sanctions, barrels from Canada with a similar chemical makeup have been filling the gap. 

However, less than one tenth of Canadian exports to the U.S. are bound for the Gulf Coast, with the lion's share headed to the Midwest.