The value of Canadian building permits issued in December totalled $6.8 billion in December, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday, up by 11.1 per cent from November.

Statistics Canada says exports rose 4.5 per cent in December and imports edged up 0.8 per cent, pushing the country's trade surplus with the rest of the world to $2.7 billion from $1.2 billion in November.

Statistics Canada says Canadians were deep into debt in 2009, and that was just a year into a record period of low interest rates.