The other side of Canada’s deficit coin
For every transaction in the economy, there is someone on the other side: someone who is paying money always has someone on the other side receiving it. Last Wednesday’s economic and fiscal snapshot revealed a historic $343-billion deficit, 15 times higher than where the federal deficit stood at the end of last year. This came […]
Opposition MPs decry lack of transparency around government’s COVID-19 advertising spending
Opposition MPs from the Conservatives, the NDP and the Bloc Québécois condemned the government’s spending plan for advertising related to the COVID-19 pandemic last week, following the allocation of an additional $48-million for the ad campaign in the most recent round of supplementary estimates. The government has already spent tens of millions on communications and […]
Pandemic forcing big changes in Canada, not all of them bad
OTTAWA—The Paris runway just featured virtual models. The good news was that they looked a little heavier than usual because the camera has a tendency to add a few pounds. The bad news is that this may not be the only year for COVID haute couture. With the unrelenting rise in Americans testing positive for […]
Government must help businesses, not just households, to sustain economic recovery
What should the federal government be doing to help the private sector sustain its recovery, rather than sustain its mere survival for another quarter or two? Without a recovery of the business sector, there will be no ongoing growth in Canada. Ensuring firms survive only to be swamped by too much accumulated debt just postpones […]
Too soon to say if StatsCan will bring in more racialized researchers, says official; ‘we’re just building those relationships’
Canada’s statistics agency is working with an expert advisory committee to better collect race-based data, but it is too early to say whether it will hire more racialized on-the-ground statisticians and researchers to help, says one official. Marc Lachance, acting director of health, justice, diversity, and populations with Statistics Canada, acknowledged in an interview last week […]
Remote working brings a new set of challenges
“Presenteeism,” in general, refers to being physically present at work but functionally absent. It results in suboptimal productivity. The reasons vary. You are unwell; you have reason to be absent but you are at work because you have a deadline to meet, you have expectations to fulfill, you fear being “out of sight and out […]
MPs back more modest option for Parliament visitors’ centre as Centre Block renos roll on
A House Board of Internal Economy’s subcommittee overseeing the decade-long project to renovate Centre Block says the government should opt for a more modest and less costly option for the next phase of the Visitors’ Welcome Centre. In a Friday briefing before the Board of Internal Economy, or BOIE, Conservative MP Bruce Stanton (Simcoe North, […]
Canada ‘ill-prepared’ for potential coronavirus second wave, says Senate committee
Canada is “ill-prepared” for the anticipated second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of the vulnerabilities exposed at its peak still unaddressed, according to a new Senate committee report. The Senate Social Affairs and Science Committee’s interim report released Thursday highlighted numerous areas in which governments have much groundwork left to cover in mitigating […]
Unfazed by the deficit hawks, Morneau uses ‘snapshot’ to preview environmental, social justice priorities
OTTAWA—Finance Minister Bill Morneau delivered the bill for the federal government’s COVID-19 response, including a $343-billion deficit, but brushed aside demands for a blueprint to rein in the huge debt caused by the pandemic. Morneau’s 168-page fiscal release, which was more like a family album than a snapshot, will disappoint some Canadians because it was […]
Feds’ fiscal snapshot puts deficit at more than $340-billion, with promise of an update in fall
Finance Minister Bill Morneau unveiled a plan on Wednesday for managing the unprecedented levels of spending aimed at buffering the economic shock of the pandemic, projecting a deficit of more than $300-billion and promising another update in the fall. In a 168-page document released as much of the country is steadily adjusting to the new […]
