🏠Canada saw the share of households struggling to make ends meet jump 50%

The share of households reporting difficulty handling necessary expenses was a massive 30.9% in 2022, up from 20.4% a year prior. In other words, the share grew 51.5%—while actively compensating for the breakneck population growth.

Nearly 2 in 5 (39.4%) renters struggled to make ends meet in 2022, compared to 28.8% in 2021. The share increased 36.8%.

#housing
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Eight Africa migrants arrested, driver charged with human smuggling near Manitoba-U.S. border

Mounties have charged a man with human smuggling and arrested eight African migrants near the Canada-U.S. border in Manitoba.

RCMP say officers and their U.S. counterparts became aware of a border incursion west of the port of entry at Gretna, Man., on Aug. 22.

They say the migrants were found walking north from the border, where they were picked up by a man driving a rental vehicle.

#US
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📊Nearly half of Canadians want federal election after NDP-Liberal agreement ends, poll suggests

🔹Following the announcement of the end of the NDP-Liberal confidence and supply agreement, a new national survey reveals that 47 per cent of Canadians would support calling a federal election, while only 34 per cent would prefer not to.

The Léger poll, conducted from Sept. 6 to 8, also shows the Conservative Party maintaining its lead with 45 per cent of the vote nationally, followed by the Liberal Party at 25 per cent and the New Democratic Party (NDP) at 15 per cent.

🔹More than half of Canadians, 54 per cent, said they believe that Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party will win the next federal election. In comparison, only 15 per cent think Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party will win.

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Poilievre says he will force confidence vote on Trudeau's government as soon as possible

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre issued a direct challenge on Wednesday to other opposition leaders to bring down the Liberal government at the first possible opportunity.

Poilievre held a press conference outside of the House of Commons announcing that he would introduce a vote of non-confidence as soon as possible when Parliament resumes.

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🎓Female international students targeted for prostitution by Brampton landlords: Councillor

A Brampton city councillor claims that rental ads are exploiting desperate international students, particularly girls, and prostituting them for rent.

We have this unreported population and after years of having many international students come to the city and live here, we’ve seen a proliferation of illegal basement apartments, with single-detached homes being converted into multi-unit dwellings where people rent to students.

Ads on Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji and other classified sites have increasingly included “friends with benefits” as a so-called bonus for prospective tenants.

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Trudeau stages a photo op in Surrey, BC.

Ah, the things he's willing to do for votes.

#Trudeau #BritishColumbia
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If only this would get him re-elected.

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Pierre Poilievre wants to ‘cap population growth’ to rein in housing costs

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he wants to “cap population growth” to rein in housing costs, as the Liberal minority government signals it is considering whether to reduce immigration levels.

At a news conference on Parliament Hill Wednesday, Poilievre pledged that a future Conservative government under his leadership would limit the rapid growth of Canada’s population — which has been fuelled by new immigrants in recent years — to make sure it doesn’t outpace new housing construction.

That’s not even a question of whether you support, or not, immigration. It’s a question of whether you support mathematics.

#housing #immigration
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Singh signals NDP plan to oppose carbon tax, says it puts burden on ‘backs of working people’

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh signalled his party is planning to oppose the current carbon tax on Canadian consumers, saying the party is working on an alternative climate plan ahead of the next election campaign.

Mr. Singh said the NDP’s priorities in the House of Commons will be on lowering grocery prices, increasing access to affordable housing, justice for Indigenous people, climate policy and job creation.

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Jean-Yves Duclos said that Pierre Poilievre wants an election because more Canadians are finally realizing the great value of the carbon tax.

How out of touch is he?

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📔Canada’s living standards set to worsen without productivity bump: TD report

Canada risks a further deterioration in living standards if its lacklustre performance in productivity does not improve, economists at Toronto-Dominion Bank warn in a new report.

Business sector productivity – output per hour worked, adjusted for inflation – grew by a “respectable” annual average of 1.2 per cent over the decade before the pandemic.

But since then, productivity growth has ground to a halt. The slowdown has been driven by a contraction in the goods sector, the report notes, and the decline is especially bad in the construction industry, where productivity has tumbled to levels last seen in the 1990s.

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❌Provinces decry Ottawa's plan to resettle asylum seekers across the country

Provincial leaders across Canada are taking turns criticizing the federal Liberal government's proposal to alleviate immigration pressure on Quebec and Ontario by resettling asylum seekers more equitably across the country.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said Ottawa was proposing the province take in 4,600 asylum seekers without providing financial assistance.

How many of this 4,600 that is being proposed … how many are actually, actual genuine asylum seekers? Because they haven't gone through the process.

Higgs said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government was also opposed to having more asylum seekers in her province.

We are currently supporting approximately 22 per cent — over 70,000 — of Ukrainian evacuees who arrived in Canada. We are informing the Government of Canada that until further notice, Alberta is not open to having these additional asylum seekers settled in our province.

Smith said.

#immigration
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🪖Canadian Army says new military sleeping bags not suitable for 'typical Canadian winter'

Despite the defence department spending more than $34.8 million on new sleeping bags, the Canadian Army asked late last year that hundreds of soldiers headed to a joint northern exercise in Alaska with the Americans be issued with old, 1960s-vintage bedrolls.

Troops who had used the recently issued General Purpose Sleeping Bag System (GPSBS) late last fall in a preparatory exercise found "several critical issues."

The "critical issues" discovered by the soldiers "related to lack of warmth with the new GPSBS," said the briefing note, written on Dec. 5, 2023.

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Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Ottawa 'could open up a hotel in any particular province and ship people there' amid a dispute over the distribution of asylum seekers.

There's only so far the federal government can actually be nice and say, "Please, please."

#immigration
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🇺🇦🇷🇺Trudeau "fully supports" Ukraine using long-range weaponry against Russia.

Trudeau fully supports World War III.

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🩺 B.C. signs national pharmacare deal with Ottawa, promises to expand drug coverage

British Columbia has become the first province in Canada to sign a pharmacare agreement with the federal government that would help the province fund hormone replacement therapy and diabetes expenses.

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland says B.C.’s portion of the $1.5-billion national plan is estimated to be $195 million, and under the memorandum of understanding funding could begin by April once the legislation makes it through the senate.

#healthcare #BritishColumbia
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The Ohio jokes in the comments are spot on.

💸Quebec introduces bill to rein in excessive tipping amid cost-of-living concerns

Quebec has introduced legislation to curb excessive tipping, a growing concern among consumers faced with high prices and increased demands to top up their bills.

Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, who is responsible for consumer protection, tabled a bill Thursday that would force businesses to calculate suggested tips based on the price before tax and regulate how grocery stores display the price of food.

#Quebec
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🪖Bill Blair says he’s ‘optimistic’ about Canada joining expanded AUKUS

Canada is in discussions about joining an expanded AUKUS deal between the U.S., Britain, and Australia formed to counter China’s growing military influence in the Asia Pacific region, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said.

Canada has said it wants to join a second pillar of AUKUS that will collaborate on new military technologies, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing, but has not so far revealed any details of those talks.

#US #UK #Australia
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🤝Air Canada strikes last-minute deal with pilots' union, averting strike

Air Canada has reached a tentative, last-minute deal with its pilots' union over a new four-year collective agreement, the airline said on Sunday, ending a stand-off over pay and benefits and averting a near-term strike or lockout.

The airline was preparing to progressively cancel flights over three days and to completely shut down its operations as early as Sept. 18.

The Air Line Pilots Association said the deal would mean an additional $1.9 billion in value for members over its four-year term, representing a 46% increase over the previous contract that expired in September 2023.

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