Home » Posts tagged 'cbc' (Page 2)

Tag Archives: cbc

Alberta expected to lead all provinces in economic growth this year

Retail sales activity is expected to cool this year and next, the Conference Board of Canada says.

Retail sales activity is expected to cool this year and next, the Conference Board of Canada says. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)

“The plunge in energy investment is expected to slow and we should finally see a resurgence in non-energy investment,” the Conference Board said.

“Canadian exports are also expected to fare a little better as the U.S. economy picks up speed and the Canadian dollar remains weak,” the group said, but added that exports levels will still remain low by historical standards.

Federal stimulus spending is expected to give a boost to national economic growth, although provincial belt-tightening is forecast to offset some of that.

Looking ahead to 2018, “dismal” business investment levels and slowing labour force growth mean it is unlikely there will be any acceleration in GDP growth, they said.

Retail sector seen cooling

The group said that consumer spending has been a “bright spot” in the economy, seeing increases in recent years despite weak job growth in some provinces and soft wage gain.

“However, the ability to sustain these increases will be limited by the run-up in household debt over the last several years,” they said.

The Conference Board sees retail sales growth cooling from 3.8 per cent in 2016 to 2.9 per cent this year and down to 1.9 per cent in 2018.

The soft economic growth expected for this year and next mean the Bank of Canada is expected to hold off boosting interest rates until 2018.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Questions Remain As Shifting Narrative, Conflicting Testimony Indicates Cover Up in Quebec Terror Incident

February 4, 2017

Questions Remain As Shifting Narrative, Conflicting Testimony Indicates Cover Up in Quebec Terror Incident

Witness statements and reports which conflict with the Canadian government’s account of what occurred during the tragic January 29th, 2017 Quebec terror attack at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City raise questions about what actually happened the night of the tragedy. The evidence indicates that contrary to the official narrative, there was more than one gunman and multiple weapons were captured in the possession of arrestees. Media outlets also were so eager to claim the incident was caused by white supremacists that they were fooled into reporting false information from parody news accounts on twitter.

I. Multiple Media Sources Cited Witness Statements Claiming There Were Multiple Gunmen, Number Of Weapons Seized Inconsistent With “Lone Wolf” Narrative

The Canadian government’s claims that the Quebec shooting was a “lone wolf” incident is not consistent with multiple media reports and witness statements that there were at least two gunmen participating in the incident. Canadian news source Le Soleil reported that “at least one gunman” participated in the attack. A witness told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that they saw two masked gunmen enter the building, shout the Takbir (Islamic phrase “Allahu akbar” which means “God is great” in Arabic) and open fire on worshippers. The Sun also ran a statement from a 22 year old student named Abdi, who was reading the Koran with his friends at the time of the attack. Abdi similarly said he was convinced he had seen two attackers and that they shouted the Takbir before opening fire. Reuters also ran an additional report citing another witness statement which said that three attackers had taken part in the incident.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

TransCanada formally seeks NAFTA damages in Keystone XL rejection

June 26, 2016

TransCanada formally seeks NAFTA damages in Keystone XL rejection

Keystone XL was designed to link existing pipeline networks in Canada and the U.S.

(Evelyne Asselin/CBC)

TransCanada submitted a notice for an arbitration claim in January and had then tried to negotiate with the U.S. government to “reach an amicable settlement,” the company said in files posted on the pipeline’s website.

“Unfortunately, the parties were unable to settle the dispute.”

TransCanada said it then filed its formal arbitration request under North American Free Trade Agreement provisions, seeking to recover what it says are costs and damages.

The Keystone XL was designed to link existing pipeline networks in Canada and the United States to bring crude from Alberta and North Dakota to refineries in Illinois and, eventually, the Gulf of Mexico coast.

Obama rejected the cross-border crude oil pipeline last November, seven years after it was first proposed, saying it would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to the U.S. economy.

TransCanada is suing the United States in federal court in a separate legal action, seeking to reverse the pipeline’s rejection.

NAFTA, whose arbitration provisions allow companies to challenge governments before international panels, has been a target of recent anti-free-trade sentiments in the United States.

The heads of NAFTA members, Canada, the United States and Mexico, are expected to meet in Ottawa for a North American leaders’ Summit on June 29.

Canada was supposed to host the meeting early last year but cancelled it amid tension between then Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Obama over the Keystone XL pipeline.

TransCanada and the U.S. Department of Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

ANALYSIS: Brexit vote a sign U.K. ‘longing for a time and place that never was’

June 25, 2016

ANALYSIS: Brexit vote a sign U.K. ‘longing for a time and place that never was’

‘Free movement of people is a major point of European integration,’ says political scientist

European Union leaders said Friday that the U.K. should begin the process of leaving the EU as soon as possible. It's expected that some countries will take a tough approach in negotiations over new trade deals, which will take at least two years to complete.

European Union leaders said Friday that the U.K. should begin the process of leaving the EU as soon as possible. It’s expected that some countries will take a tough approach in negotiations over new trade deals, which will take at least two years to complete. (Neil Hall/Reuters)

If it’s difficult to understand why the United Kingdom would vote to leave the European Union, spawning deep uncertainty about what happens next on any number of fronts, look no further than immigration.

The Brexit result was, in large part, a reaction to growing anxieties over migration to the U.K., realistic or not.

Immigration was a top priority for voters in the Leave camp, according to pre-referendum polling, and Leave leaders like the U.K. Independence Party’s Nigel Farage and former London mayor and likely next prime minister Boris Johnson have been clear on their position that “taking back control” of the U.K.’s borders is critical to future economic health.

It was a deliberate strategy to target migrants and the nostalgic whims of Britons “longing for a time and place that never was,” said Geoff Smith, professor emeritus of history at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

A pro-European Union protester holds a sign near the Palace of Westminster in London on Friday, protesting Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

A pro-European Union protester holds a sign near the Palace of Westminster in London on Friday, protesting Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. (Marc-André Cossette/CBC)

“There’s an unhappiness with the status quo and the tendency has been to blame it on migrants,” Smith said. “They became a scapegoat, and it worked.”

Part of that scapegoating has been to point the finger at migrants for the U.K.’s slow and disappointing recovery from the financial crisis of 2008, as well as for disappearing public services, especially in places outside of major urban centres.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Ottawa sets up working group to monitor housing market

June 23, 2016

Ottawa sets up working group to monitor housing market

Finance Minister Bill Morneau says he will work with cities and provinces to get more and better data

Policymakers are looking at all the tools at their disposal to take care of the housing market.

Policymakers are looking at all the tools at their disposal to take care of the housing market. (David Donnelly/CBC)

“The working group will review the broad range of policy levers that affect both supply and demand for housing, the issue of affordability, and the stability of the housing market,” Morneau said in a speech to the Economic Club in Toronto on Thursday.

Morneau said that while he worked with his provincial counterparts on Canada Pension Plan issues, the housing market was also a major topic of conversation in Vancouver at their meeting Monday evening.

“Housing prices have surged by 15 per cent in Toronto, and 17 per cent in Vancouver in the last year alone,” Morneau said. “People want to know what’s going on.”

Managing the housing market to ensure new buyers can still get in without harming existing owners is an “extremely complex problem,” Morneau said, made even more so by the fact that no level of government has complete control over the issue.

“We want to make sure housing stays affordable for Canadian families but we also want to make sure the market stays stable, that it’s not vulnerable to economic shocks,” he told the CBC’s Peter Armstrong in an interview set to air on The Exchange at 7 p.m. eastern time.

“It’s important to understand that while the federal government has some levers it can pull, we don’t have all of them,” Morneau said.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Cops, spies and journalists: Top Mountie Bob Paulson speaks out

May 18, 2016

Cops, spies and journalists: Top Mountie Bob Paulson speaks out

Spying by officers was not approved, RCMP commissioner says – so officers kept asking

In a broad and candid statement to CBC News, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson explains why

In a broad and candid statement to CBC News, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson explains why (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

The RCMP commissioner decided to handle this one himself — and with good reason. As Canada’s top cop, Bob Paulson knew it wasn’t going to look good, and that he, personally, had been in the thick of it.

So, instead of punting the question to a communications officer, the head of the RCMP sat down on Tuesday night and tapped out his own version of a tangled story about illicit spying by his officers.

Yes, he said, the Mounties put two journalists under surveillance. And no, they did not have his approval — which was required. Three times, he’d turned them down. But they’d already done it anyway.

Who’s the leaker?

The tale begins with disclosures made in June of 2007 by Joel-Denis Bellavance, a highly-regarded reporter for the Montreal newspaper, La Presse. These indicated that CSIS had intelligence — or claimed to have it — about a bomb plot involving Adil Charkaoui, a suspected Al Qaeda sleeper agent.

A briefing note prepared late last year reveals that RCMP officers conducted unauthorized physical surveillance of journalists Gilles Toupin, left, and Joel-Denis Bellavance in an attempt to discover the source of a leaked CSIS document. (Twitter photos)

One question bothered CSIS: how did Bellavance get that secret document?

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Canadian housing market hits $508,097 average price in April as sales rise to record

May 16, 2016

Canadian housing market hits $508,097 average price in April as sales rise to record

Average Canadian house price up 13% in April, but wide regional variances remain

Canada's housing market hit new all-time records both for the average price and the number of homes sold in April.

Canada’s housing market hit new all-time records both for the average price and the number of homes sold in April. (Associated Press)

The Canadian Real Estate Association says the average house price increased by more than 13 per cent in the year ended in April.

CREA has said for several months in a row that the average price is skewed higher by the hot and large markets of Toronto and Vancouver. Stripping those two cities out, the national average drops to $369,222 and the year-over-year gain is reduced to 8.7 per cent, CREA said.

CREA says the average figure is misleading, so it calculates something it calls the Aggregate Composite MLS House Price Index, and contends it’s a fairer representation of the real market, by blending together all housing types.

Even on that more normalizing scale, the CREA index rose 10.3 per cent in April, its biggest gain in almost six years stretching back to May 2010.

Here are the eye-popping numbers for some areas in and around Toronto and Vancouver:

The Greater Vancouver Area’s index increased by 25.3 per cent
The nearby Fraser Valley increased by 25.6 per cent
Prices in the GTA were up by 12.6 per cent
Victoria was up 12 per cent
Vancouver Island prices were up by 8.2 per cent.

By way of contrast, prices declined by 3.5 per cent and 2.4 per cent in Calgary and Saskatoon, respectively, which are smaller declines than those posted by these markets in March.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

House flipping tax could curb speculative foreign money, CIBC says

May 14, 2016

House flipping tax could curb speculative foreign money, CIBC says

Tax on home flippers may be helpful, but most foreign investors are likely legitimate, Benjamin Tal says

Canada lacks concrete data on the level of foreign investment in the country's housing market, experts say.

Canada lacks concrete data on the level of foreign investment in the country’s housing market, experts say. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg)

In a report Friday, Tal delved into a topic that is currently a major focus of policymakers: the impact of foreign investment on Canadian home prices.

There is a perception in some quarters that a major cause of high house prices in Canadian cities such as Toronto and Vancouver is foreign investors. Specifically, it has been alleged that foreign money is flooding into real estate in those two places, and pushing prices out of reach for those who actually live there.

Unfortunately, hard data on foreign money is hard to come by, as Canada does not yet reliably track such information — although recent steps from B.C. to track residency info of buyers is a step in that direction.

Canada’s national housing agency, the CMHC, says it is trying to collect more information on the topic, and Statistics Canada was earmarked half a million dollars in the recent federal budget to beef up its data collection on the housing market.

In the report, Tal draws a distinct line between foreign money where the buyer has an actual foothold in Canada, and speculative investments where the buyer has no incentive other than a financial interest.

The first is the more common type of foreign investment, Tal said after speaking with a group of real estate brokers who deal exclusively with foreign buyers. And moreover — it’s nothing to worry about.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Venezuela at risk of unravelling as economic, energy turmoil deepens

May 2, 2016

Venezuela at risk of unravelling as economic, energy turmoil deepens

Violent protests follow decision to ration energy, cut work week for public employeesSo much is riding on the onset of the rainy season in Venezuela, where people across the drought-stricken country lined up on April 28, 2016, to buy food. So far, Caracas is being spared from energy-saving blackouts but its suburbs are increasingly being left in the dark. (Marco Bello/Reuters)

A devastating drought has brought Venezuela, already facing economic and energy crises amid simmering political unrest, to the brink and threatens the future of the oil-rich nation.

“Simply put, a natural disaster is making a man-made disaster much worse,” said Donald Kingsbury, a professor of political science and Latin American studies at the University of Toronto.

The “man-made disaster,” in this case, is a heavily petroleum-dependent, state-run economy gutted by the precipitous drop in crude oil prices.

Inflation will reach 720 per cent some time this year, the International Monetary Fund estimates, and the economy will contract another 10 per cent. Food staples and essential medicines are increasingly scarce. The costs of basic goods and services has skyrocketed. Incomes, for those lucky enough to still have one, are stagnant.

Further, crime rates have reached troubling levels. Venezuela now boasts the world’s second-highest per capita homicide rate after Honduras.

A man holds a picture of Venezuela’s late president Hugo Chavez, whose time in power still looms large over the country’s politics. (Ariana Cubillos/Reuters)

“People are fed up, from all over the political and social spectrum. At this point, it may not take much for things to erupt,” said Kingsbury.

The worst drought to hit Venezuela in almost half a century could be the catalyst, he said.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

CMHC says many major housing markets showing signs of overvaluation

April 27, 2016

CMHC says many major housing markets showing signs of overvaluation

Nine of the 15 largest Canadian housing markets are showing some signs of overvaluation, the CMHC said.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said in its quarterly Housing Market Assessment Wednesday that a majority of Canada’s large housing markets are showing either “moderate” or “strong” evidence of being overvalued.

The housing agency looks at housing markets to gauge their health based on four factors:

overheating — when demand is significantly and persistently outpacing supply
overvalued — when prices are higher than they should be based on economic fundamentals
accelerating — when house prices are increasing faster than household costs of living are
overbuilding — when supply of new homes significantly outpaces demand.

The agency rates each market on a colour coded scale where green means there is little evidence of that factor, yellow means there is moderate evidence of it and red means there is strong evidence of it.

Read the CMHC’s report here

On the overvaluation front, the CMHC says there is moderate or strong evidence of that happening in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, Hamilton, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City.

Four of those cities — Toronto, Quebec City, Vancouver and Saskatoon — now show “strong” signs of overvaluation.

The first two were singled out in the agency’s last report on housing in January. But the latter two were only recently given their red warning on overvaluation.

In Vancouver’s case, the housing agency said “Single-detached home prices are now observed to be at levels higher than those consistent with financial, economic and demographic fundamentals.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

NEB approves Enbridge Line 3 pipeline replacement

April 25, 2016

NEB approves Enbridge Line 3 pipeline replacement

Conditions include consultation with First Nations

Enbridge is proposing to replace its Line 3 pipeline from Hardisty, Alta., to Superior, Wis. If approved, it will approximately double the amount of oil shipped daily.

Enbridge is proposing to replace its Line 3 pipeline from Hardisty, Alta., to Superior, Wis. If approved, it will approximately double the amount of oil shipped daily. (Canadian Press)

The federal government must now make a decision on the project.

Enbridge wants to spend $7.5 billion to replace its Line 3 pipeline, which stretches 1,660 kilometres from Hardisty, Alta., to Superior, Wis.

The pipeline is currently operating at about half capacity after the company voluntarily reduced pressure because of reliability concerns.

“The Enbridge Line 3 project is in the Canadian public interest and is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects,” said Robert Steedman, the NEB’s chief environmental officer.

As part of the NEB’s decision, Enbridge must develop a plan for Aboriginal groups to participate in monitoring construction.

Several groups oppose the pipeline project, including First Nations and environmental groups in Manitoba and Minnesota. The company has already delayed its expected completion date from 2017 to 2019 because of the regulatory process in Minnesota.

“The hearing panel believes there is an important opportunity at this juncture for Enbridge to renew, and in some cases, improve its relationship with Aboriginal groups,” said Steedman.

The project will be subject to the federal government’s new environmental assessment process, which was announced in January.

The upgrade would allow the line to pump a maximum of 760,000 barrels per day, up from the 390,000 barrels it is currently able to move.

Line 3 already has presidential approval, but the replacement project must undergo separate permitting processes in the U.S. before construction can begin.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

5 things George Orwell understood

April 24, 2016

5 things George Orwell understood

Famed author implores us to be vigilant, and to keep the faiths of decency, tolerance and humanity

George Orwell at the BBC in 1941. The insights of his books and many other writings still resonate today.

George Orwell at the BBC in 1941. The insights of his books and many other writings still resonate today. (Penguin Books India)

Related Stories

“Big Brother is watching you” is George Orwell’s most famous line from his most famous book. But there’s so much more to the man who gave us terms like “doublethink,” “thoughtcrime” and “newspeak”; Orwell reminds us there’s a connection between clarity of language and truth.

That’s why he implores us to be vigilant, to be on guard for freedom, and to keep the faith: the triple faiths of decency, tolerance and humanity.

I’ve long been fascinated by Orwell and, in the summer of 1983, when it was still possible to meet people who knew him — from his first days to his final hours — I spent two hectic months in England, Scotland and Spain recording 75 interviews.

I made a total of 50 hours’ worth of recordings which, taken together, give a detailed and nuanced picture of a man who was one of the most influential writers of our time.

I included some — but by no means all — of this unique archive in George Orwell, a Radio Biography which aired on CBC Radio 1 on Jan. 1, 1984. Recently I went back into those original recordings, to bring out insights that had never been aired before, and created a new three-hour series for CBC Radio’s Ideas called The Orwell Tapes.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

House affordability improving in some parts of Canada, National Bank says

April 20, 2016

House affordability improving in some parts of Canada, National Bank says

Mortgage rates probably won't be dramatically changed by the Bank of Canada's benchmark overnight rate, economists say.

Mortgage rates probably won’t be dramatically changed by the Bank of Canada’s benchmark overnight rate, economists say. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Six of 10 markets surveyed showed improvement in affordability, the bank said, with the biggest improvements seen in Calgary, Montreal and Ottawa-Gatineau.

Pockets of affordability emerge

The bank’s gauge of affordability is the percentage of income required for a monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home, assuming a 25-year amortization and a five-year term.

In Calgary, which has been hit hard by the dramatic drop in oil prices, the the mortgage payment stood at 28.2 per cent of income for the first quarter of this year. That was off by 0.7 percentage points from the last quarter of 2015, and down by 2.2 percentage points from the first three months of last year, the bank said.

‘Montreal homes have become the most affordable in a decade’– National Bank

In Montreal, the first quarter drop was 0.5 percentage points from the end of last year, the same decline seen in the Ottawa-Gatineau area.

“Montreal homes have become the most affordable in a decade,” National Bank economists Matthieu Arsenau and Kyle Dahms said in their report.

They also said Calgary’s percentage of income needed for a monthly payment is now at a record low.

Nationally, the portion of income increased by 0.1 percentage points to 31 per cent in the first three months of the year, the bank said. That followed a increase of 0.8 percentage points in the last three months of 2015.

Meanwhile, Vancouver and Toronto continue to see soaring prices, and eroding afforability, the bank said.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Stéphane Dion approves export permits for $11B in LAVs to be sent to Saudi Arabia

April 14, 2016

Stéphane Dion approves export permits for $11B in LAVs to be sent to Saudi Arabia

Documents say past sales have not been linked to violations of civil or political rights in the kingdom

Documents obtained by CBC News are shedding light on the strategy the federal government is using to justify the sale of light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia.

The newly revealed documents from Global Affairs Canada confirm that Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion has signed off on export permits to ship $11 billion worth of the $15-billion vehicle sale to the desert kingdom.

These documents also say that it’s rare for a foreign affairs minister to personally sign off on export permits, but that this is an exception because the deal is so high profile — and worth so much money.

The deal with Saudi Arabia was struck by Stephen Harper’s government, and when it was announced the Conservatives used the opportunity to tout the thousands of jobs it would create and sustain in southern Ontario.

But since the sale of vehicles by General Dynamics Land Systems was announced, questions have emerged over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

Saudi rights violations noted

The documents acknowledge these concerns noting; “the reported high number of executions, suppression of political opposition, the application of corporal punishment, suppression of freedom of expression, arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment of detainees, limitations of freedom of religion, discrimination against women and the mistreatment of migrant workers.”

The document goes on to say that Canadian officials “engage regularly with Saudi officials” when required to raise human rights issues of concern while at the same time describing Canada’s military alliance with the kingdom as having been “cemented” during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

“Saudi Arabia is a key military ally supporting international efforts to counter ISIS in Iraq and Syria as well as countering instability in Yemen,” the documents says.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Bank of Canada keeps benchmark interest rate at 0.5%

April 13, 2016

Bank of Canada keeps benchmark interest rate at 0.5%

Central bank’s rate has impact on rates offered by commercial banks for loans and savings accounts

The Bank of Canada, lead by governor Stephen Poloz, kept its benchmark lending rate at 0.5 per cent on Wednesday.

The Bank of Canada, lead by governor Stephen Poloz, kept its benchmark lending rate at 0.5 per cent on Wednesday. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

The Bank of Canada’s rate, known as its target for the overnight rate, affects what Canadian borrowers and savers are offered from commercial banks on their loans and investments.

BANK OF CANADA KEY OVERNIGHT RATE Broadly speaking, the bank cuts rates when it wants to stimulate the economy, and hikes rates when it wants to pump the brakes on inflation.

After standing on the sidelines for years, the bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark rate twice last year in an attempt to stimulate a Canadian economy waylaid by low oil prices.

Since then, the economy has showed signed of improvement, however, as the cheap loonie has helped manufacturers and exporters, and oil prices have stabilized around the $40 level in recent months.

In January, Canada’s gross domestic product grew by its biggest amount in more than two years, official data showed last month. That helps explain the new cautiously optimistic outlook from the central bank’s decision-makers.

BANK OF CANADA ECONOMIC OUTLOOK “It does appear that the positive forces at work in the economy are starting to outweigh those that are negative,” the bank said in its statement Wednesday. “First-quarter GDP growth appears to have been unexpectedly strong.”

The Canadian dollar reacted positively to the news, erasing earlier losses of about a third of a cent to trade hands virtually unchanged on the day, at 78.35 cents US.

While keeping rates steady for now, the bank hiked its forecast of how it expects the economy to perform this year.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Tag Archives: cbc

Content

Post categories

Economic Links

Energy/Resource Links

Environmental Links

Geopolitical Links

Liberty Links

News Links

Other Links

Survival Skills

Post Archives by Category

Post navigation

Latest Posts