Mid-Week Post

Your before-the-school-year begins post ...

 

I think we know the cause:

The federal government will establish a working group to examine low economic productivity and a stagnating standard of living, Treasury Board President Anita Anand has announced.

Anand said she was immediately striking the working group, but details were scarce on its composition, timetables, and objectives. The working group will have the expertise to evaluate productivity issues in the private and public sectors and have representatives from across the country, she said Aug. 27, speaking from the margins of the Liberal cabinet retreat in Halifax. Unions will also be engaged.

“We know that Canada has strong economic markers, a triple-A credit rating, the lowest net debt to GDP ratio in the G7, historically low unemployment,” said Anand. “At the same time, we know that there is more work to do on GDP per capita, or productivity.”

Ottawa has been using the net debt-to-GDP ratio measure to tout the strength of the Canadian economy. Canada ranks first in the G7 with 14.6 percent, while the U.S. is at 100.7 percent and the UK at 99.6 percent, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.

When calculating gross government debt as a percentage of GDP, however, Canada falls behind both the UK and Germany. It also ranks 16th from the bottom among world countries.

GDP per capita is typically used to measure the standard of living. IMF data shows Canada was in a virtual tie with the U.S. from 2008 to 2013, reaching approximately US$53,000. After 2013 there was decoupling, with per-person GDP falling and stagnating in Canada while the U.S. mostly kept its upward trajectory.

Canada’s current GDP per capita stands at US$54,870 whereas the U.S. is at $85,370. Euro area member countries followed a similar trajectory as Canada, with its average per-person GDP currently at US$45,830.

 

 

It was never about a virus and we all know it:

Canada was “not as prepared as it could have been” for the pandemic, says a Public Health Agency report. The first-ever admission of failure followed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s boast that Canada was among the best prepared nations on earth: “The Public Health Agency was not as prepared as it could have been.”

 

It was not a matter of preparation (something Canada refuses point-blank to do); it was a deliberate act to destroy an economy and demoralise a population.

That is why a convoy showed up at Parliament Hill. What choice did anyone have?

Also - is that why people were beaten and an elderly woman trampled with a horse?:

Supporters of the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest outside Parliament included current and former Mounties, says a newly-disclosed RCMP memo. The document said then-Commissioner Brenda Lucki tried to find Convoy sympathizers within the force: “Past and current members participated in or potentially supported the protests.”

 

 

It's just money:

A parliamentary battle is brewing between the House of Commons and Auditor General Karen Hogan, who has so far refused to comply with an order demanding she hand over documents relating to her scathing audit of the so-called “green slush fund.”

Parliament’s halls may be sleepy during the quiet summer months, but drama has been building between the House of Commons, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and, to a lesser degree, the RCMP over a motion adopted by MPs nearly three months ago.

 

It's all a matter of transparency.

**

A Kenyan phone company that received millions from Canadian taxpayers lost more money again last year, new financial records show. A federal agency bought $43.4 million worth of shares in M-Kopa Holdings Ltd. of Nairobi in the name of international development: ‘These are good quality jobs in East Africa.’

**

The Department of Foreign Affairs’ New York realtor yesterday testified an existing Park Avenue diplomatic residence was a wonderful penthouse that remains “move-in ready.” The department had cited a need for renovations as justification for buying a new $8.8 million Central Park condo for Consul Tom Clark: “It’s just very interesting to me that this residence was not good enough.”

 

 

Do you know who understands English medical terms? Canadians:

In September, Dr. Grunfeld and ACCES Employment, a Toronto not-for-profit agency that helps newcomers find jobs, will launch Health English Language Pro, or HELP. The program will pair Canadian physician volunteers with internationally trained MDs looking for work in the health sector, whether as doctors or other professionals. An eight-week pilot phase involving four pairs wrapped up in the spring.

“It’s a really unique niche,” Dr. Grunfeld said. “I’m thinking of it as something valuable for the volunteer, just like it’s valuable for the newcomer. I’m thinking of it as a partnership.”

 

So, what does this do for Canadian medical students who are squeezed out of the country? 

But we already know who killed 332 people, why they did it and how Canada failed to stop it, avenge it or prevent anything like it ever happening again.

It's time to stop wasting time and money with pointless virtue-signalling:

Nearly two decades after a second public inquiry found that Sikh extremists living in Canada orchestrated the bombing of Air India, a Liberal MP is sponsoring a petition calling on his government to order a “fresh inquiry.”

 

If the Canadian government really cared, it would deport en masse supporters of the mythical state of Khalistan.

October 7th will be here sooner than one thinks:

The Israel Defense Forces launched a large-scale counter-terrorism operation in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas of northern Samaria overnight Tuesday, involving hundreds of troops and air support.

Nine Palestinians were killed, according to the IDF — three armed terrorists who posed a threat to security forces in Jenin in an aerial strike, two armed terrorists in clashes with Judea and Samaria Border Guard forces and another four in a drone strike in the Far’a camp in Tubas.

We Don't Have to Trade With China

It's cheated enough!:

Liberal MP Leah Taylor Roy (Aurora-Oak Ridges, Ont.) yesterday had no comment on an affidavit alleging Communist Party agents were hired as Elections Canada poll workers in her riding in the 2021 campaign. Taylor Roy was honoured as a “new local star” at a Chinese Canadian banquet nine days before the election was called: “The name that was given to her is Li Ya Tai Le which has a combined meaning of ‘everything goes smoothly and well.'”

** 

The greatest impact on the policies of the Trudeau government, unquestionably, has been the Liberals’ personal and business relationships with China’s political leadership in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the governing Liberals continue to evade inquiries and obfuscate the facts surrounding their involvement with the CCP. It appears with the Trudeau government Canadians will never know of the ties that bind us to China and the undue influence applied by the CCP.

In previous Niagara Independent columns over the last couple of years this author has referred to a top ten list of critical issues that scrupulously tie the Trudeau Liberals with the CCP – issues that have had and continue to have a significant impact on Canada’s reputation within the international community. 

This includes a cover up of the virus research in the Winnipeg lab and link to the genesis of COVID-19; CCP ties to Liberal business network, anchored by Power Corporation; cover up of fraud and interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections; Beijing money flowing into the Trudeau Foundation (and Liberals’ riding associations); permitting CCP police stations and agents to operate in Canada; failure to respond to forced labour and human rights violations of the Uyghurs; “mishandling” of foreign intelligence as forwarded by CSIS (which endangered MPs and families); federal investment in China – CCP and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; avoidance of establishing a foreign agent registry; and deteriorating national defense leaving arctic territories unprotected to Chinese encroachment.

**

Canada has a “serious problem” when it comes to foreign interference by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to a new study that investigated the regime’s harassment and intimidation of Chinese-Canadians on Canadian soil.

The research, based on a survey conducted by think tank SecondStreet.org, highlighted that most respondents believed they were targeted for their beliefs—specifically, whether they practised the Falun Gong spiritual faith or Christianity, expressed support for Hong Kong, or simply spoke out in favour of democracy.

“Chinese-Canadians shouldn’t have to worry about their homeland’s tyrannical regime while in Canada,” said Dom Lucyk, report author and SecondStreet.org’s communications director, in an Aug. 26 news release.

 

 

Your Craven, Greedy, Duplicitous, Incompetent Government and You

The destruction of the country is in process:

Government House Leader Karina Gould said Tuesday she's confident the NDP supply-and-confidence agreement that keeps the Liberal government in power will hold until its expected end date in June 2025.

That agreement, first signed in March 2022, allows the government to carry on without fear of falling on a confidence vote. If the two parties abide by the deal, there would be no federal election until next summer at the earliest.

Canada's fixed-date election law dictates that a vote will happen in October of next year — but the prime minister could call one earlier than that if he wanted.

"I'm fairly confident that agreement is a good agreement, it's a strong agreement and we'll get to the end of June," Gould told reporters at the cabinet retreat in Halifax, where ministers have gathered to craft their strategy for the year ahead.

"We signed the agreement until the end of June — that's something that has been signed and agreed to, so I'm going to be working on that premise," she said.

 

(Sidebar: this Karina Gould.) 

And why would the government tell the elderly that they need to stay in those houses with "too many rooms"?:

Parliament should pay Canadians over 65 to stay in their homes, say cabinet advisors. A National Seniors Council expert panel did not estimate the cost of its proposed Age At Home Benefit but said it should not be income tested: “The federal government should think about the economic cost of inaction.”

Let it all out:

One of Canada’s most heavily-subsidized weeklies yesterday did not comment after publishing an article critical of Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre’s proposal to abolish subsidies. The Hill Times did not disclose its own six-figure funding or the fact the reporter who wrote the story had worked as a $750-a day federal consultant: ‘He is challenging poor, underpaid local journalists.’

 

The slave trade benefit the employers who pay as little as they can get away with and the Liberals who plan on replacing the "old-stock" voters with newer and more gullible ones:

Business groups are raising concerns about Ottawa’s decision to restrict the number of temporary foreign workers coming to Canada, warning that certain industries that are struggling to find workers could be adversely affected.

On Monday, Ottawa announced that employers will not be able to bring in foreign workers through the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) in regions where the unemployment rate is six per cent or higher from Sept. 26 onwards.

The low-wage stream includes cleaners, hotel attendants, food servers and administrative assistants and the move is expected to affect the retail, restaurant and hospitality sectors the most.

The government will make exceptions for food security sectors, such as agriculture, food processing and fish processing, as well as construction and healthcare.

Some business groups, though, are worried that sectors such as tourism and the restaurant industry, which are still facing labour shortages, could be dealt another blow by the move.

“We agree that the unemployment rate has been growing,” said Diana Palmerin-Velasco, a senior director at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, a group that represents 200,000 businesses. “The issue is that those statistics do not look the same across the country. For sure, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are very likely to be saturated, but that doesn’t mean it is the same in Sudbury or Thunder Bay.”

She reiterated the need for the government to engage with employers and hear their concerns.

Dan Kelly, who heads the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), which represents more than 97,000 small businesses, said the announcement was worrisome and would take a toll on small businesses. He added that the move seemed political.

“The government is in a difficult position,” he said. “They are having to satisfy the politics of this with the economic realities and those are two things often difficult to square.”

On Monday, Trudeau said that “severe labour shortages” in the aftermath of the pandemic led the government to expand the temporary foreign workers program to help businesses through a tough time.

 

What a f---ing liar.

Justin locked down the country and destroyed businesses.

Canadians weren't allowed out of their homes but foreign workers could take their places and then stay in the country just in time for the next election.

Also:

Cabinet this fall for the first time will detail the true number of foreigners let into the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday. It follows a May 21 report by the Senate social affairs committee that complained actual counts were misrepresented in Parliament: “We are meeting the moment.”

And:

The decision to reform the TFWP is long overdue. Businesses will now be encouraged to invest in productivity improvements, but it is crucial to monitor how these changes will impact the entire food supply chain, including the food service sector. The road ahead will not be without challenges.

Oh, they don't care:

Unfortunately, as a country we have become blasé about government incompetence. We have reached the point that we shrug it off as just Ottawa being Ottawa, whether it’s the unintentional honours done to a Waffen SS veteran, the obvious lack of due diligence in public appointments such as those this year to the Senate and the Canadian Human Rights Commission or the chilling possibility that a recent immigrant believed to have ISIS links who had acquired citizenship was apprehended while — allegedly — preparing to launch a mass casualty attack in this country.

Of course, we want Ottawa to do better. But we do not expect them to and are not surprised when they don't.

Enjoy the decline:

Credit delinquencies are on the rise as Canadians’ debt climbed to $2.5 trillion in the second quarter, says a report out today.

The latest Market Pulse from Equifax Canada shows credit card holders on average carried over a balance of $4,300, the highest level since 2007.

Outstanding balances on credit cards hit $122 billion, up almost 14 per cent from the same time last year, and the high cost of living and rising unemployment rate are contributing to an increase in missed payments, said Equifax.

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One in 23 consumers missed a payment on at least one credit product in the second quarter, up from one in 25 last year. The non-mortgage delinquency rate rose 23.4 per cent to 1.4 per cent, pushing past the peak in 2020 to levels not seen since 2011.

Albertans had the highest delinquency rate in Canada at 2.18 per cent, said another report out today from TransUnion Canada.

This province also saw the highest rise in delinquency, followed by Ontario.

 **

An average family of four will pay nearly $18,000 for health care services this year, according to a new study.

 The Price of Public Health Care Insurance, 2024 by the Fraser Institute said health-care expenses will cost families an estimated $17,713 in 2024.

 “Canadians pay a substantial amount of money for health care through a variety of taxes—even if we don’t pay directly for medical services,” said Nadeem Esmail, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the study.

**

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has called for gas tax cuts in Alberta after it released its Gas Tax Honesty Report (GTHR). 

CTF Alberta Director Kris Sims said the province used to lead Canada in low fuel taxes, but that award now goes to Manitoba. 

“The Alberta government needs to cut taxes for all Albertans like it promised to do in the election,” said Sims in a press release. 

The CTF showed in the GTHR how much tax drivers are paying per litre of gas and diesel across Canada.

Albertans pay 48 cents in tax per litre of gas and 46 cents in tax per litre of diesel with federal and provincial fuel taxes combined. Manitobans pay 34 cents per litre in tax.

The federal carbon tax costs Albertans more than 17 cents per litre of gas and 21 cents per litre of diesel. That cost is set to increase every year until 2030 when the carbon tax will hit 37 cents per litre of gas and 45 cents per litre of diesel.

Filling up a minivan with gas in Alberta costs $36 in total taxes, and a pickup truck will cost about $55. Meanwhile, filling up the tanks on a big rig diesel truck costs truckers about $400 extra in taxes.

The Ontario government has cut the fuel tax by 5.5 cents per litre, and the Newfoundland and Labrador government extended its fuel tax cut for the entire year.

“Albertans used to have a big advantage because our provincial fuel tax was fully suspended for a year, but those days are gone and now we are paying the full freight,” said Sims. 

“Albertans need a tax cut at the pumps, and we need the [Justin] Trudeau carbon tax scrapped.”

 

 

Some people are special:

The Canadian government awarded billions of dollars in contracts earmarked for Indigenous enterprises without always requiring bidders to prove that they were First Nations, Métis, or Inuit, a Global News investigation has found. 

A program that now helps Indigenous businesses land more than $1.6 billion in contract awards annually, the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB), used to rely largely on an honour system, said Anispiragas Piragasanathar, a spokesman representing federal departments.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), which currently vets applicants, and the departments that preceded it going back to 1996, did not always demand status cards or other documents from vendors until 2022, according to Piragasanathar’s statement.

“In years past,” he explained, “businesses were required to sign an attestation” that they were Indigenous. They also faced the possibility of an audit, he said.

In 2022, ISC tightened the requirements by demanding documentation from new applicants, Piragasanathar said. He did not explain why.

The Trudeau government has directed billions of dollars to Indigenous businesses over the past two years, but never addressed the PSIB’s underlying problems, according to a collaborative investigation between Global News and researchers at First Nations University of Canada. (Learn more about how the investigation unfolded.)

The program has recently come under fire from federal MPs for negligent auditing practices that potentially allow non-Indigenous businesses to exploit the system at the expense of Indigenous enterprises — and their communities.

 

Was It Something He Said and Did?

Justin can't help himself.

He was groomed for the role of dauphin. He was installed in the highest office of the land, an office from which he cannot be easily ejected (so, no democracy). He has heard nothing but adulation for his unaccomplished and unexamined life. 

His failures have become tiresome at the moment. He is confident that he can buy back the votes he needs to leech off of the Canadian taxpayer, or at least replace the current crop.

The country shall see:

“And we believe that using that strong economy to support Canadians in responsible ways is the best way to build the future. That’s what we’re focused on. We’re not focused on culture wars, on complaining that everything is broken, going off on strange tangents that, quite frankly, Canadians are scratching their heads about.”

He was referring to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has seen success in the polls by making the case to Canadians that Trudeau has left people poorer and less safe than they were a decade ago.

Poilievre has said this retreat is just a “reward” for cabinet ministers who have made Canada worse off.

 

Indeed!:

• The federal government continues to rationalize its debt-financed spending based on international comparisons showing Canada with the lowest level of debt in the G7.
• Of the two broad measures of debt, gross debt includes most forms of debt while net debt is a narrower measure that accounts for financial assets held by governments.
• By using net debt as a share of the economy (GDP), Canada ranks 5th lowest of 32 countries and lowest amongst the G7. By using gross debt as a share of the economy, Canada falls to 26th of 32 countries and 3rd lowest in the G7.

**

The unemployment rate in Canada was 6.4% in July of 2024,remaining unchanged from the January 2022-high in the previous month and below expectations of 6.5%. While it was better than market forecasts, the result still suggested that Canada’s labor market continued to show the softening that was forecasted by the BoC’s Governing Council in their latest rate cuts. Net employment fell by 2,800 to 20,513,600, a second straight decline, and contrasting sharply with expectations of a 22,500 increase. Still, the number of unemployed fell by 8,600 to 1,398,500 in the period. This aligned with a 0.3 percentage-point drop in the labor force participation rate to an over-two-year low of 65%, the lowest sine 1998 when excluding pandemic shocks, and preventing a rise in the jobless rate. The unemployment rate rose for young men (1.3pp to 16%), remained loosely unchanged for young women (12.3%), and fell slightly for both core-aged men (-0.3pp to 5.3%) and core-aged women (-0.2pp to 4.9%).

 

 Need I go on?

 

What Justin will never counter is the fact that Pierre Poilievre is right: the country is definitely economically broken and no amount of distraction will change that.