Canada’s finance minister has described the country’s out-of-control housing prices as an “intergenerational injustice”, as political leaders struggle to rein in a spiralling affordability crisis.
Chrystia Freeland, who also serves as Canada’s deputy prime minister, said the issue is her top domestic concern.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a speech over the weekend calling for Canadians to stand up for war-torn Ukraine warned against what he called “excessive populism and overnationalism.”
After years of chronic neglect and underfunding, and in the more immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was obvious that more money was going to be spent on defence. Senior Liberals, from the PM on down, had been hinting as much for weeks. First there was the F-35 announcement, and now Thursday’s news: a further $8 billion on defence immediately. More might come.
Canada’s Liberals find themselves in a bind ahead of this week’s budget: the economy has recovered from the pandemic, yet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged billions in new stimulus, a political poker chip that could further torch runaway inflation.
Canada’s significant economic challenges are a result of misguided government policy, and can’t be solely blamed on recent crises.
A trucker shortage worsened by the Trudeau government’s cross-border vaccine mandate is expected to triple by next year, and an interprovincial mandate “would be just catastrophic,” a livestock industry leader has warned.
As Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland puts the finishing touches on her 2022-23 budget to be unveiled Thursday, she should focus on a report predicting Canada’s economic growth is poised to be dead last among advanced countries for four decades.
Ottawa allocated $300-million at the beginning of the pandemic for the construction of 15 mobile hospitals, but only four 100-bed units have been completed and they are sitting in storage despite the strain on hospitals caused by Omicron across the country.
Recent calls for Ottawa to scrap its planned April 1 carbon price hike could easily be viewed as opportunistic attempts from opponents to turn back the clock on government fossil-fuel measures. Or cynical appeals to segments of the electorate who question the value of carbon taxation. Or self-serving lobbying from business interests who have a knee-jerk objection to any tax increase.
Which all could be true. But delaying the increase could also be a very good, very practical idea – one that even the supporters of the federal carbon tax should embrace.
A state, a nation, can be lulled into weakness by keeping its army idle during peacetime. You must be prepared to fight for peace.
Canada has ignored his warning and the more recent concerns raised by those who fear our military has been neglected.
According to the poll, the majority of Canadians think the cost of living will continue to go up. It also showed that 86% of respondents say they believe inflation will increase, while 84% expect gas prices to rise.
Canadian inflation continues to surpass the Bank of Canada’s expectations and that likely amplifies the risk of a 50bps or larger hike at the April meeting. Momentum and breadth are both very high with further pressure ahead as Canadian monetary policy is far behind the curve.
Canada’s diplomatic mission has resorted to immature online trolling of the Russian. Rather than hold the Trudeau government accountable, the legacy media cheer on these embarrassing efforts.
“Tax dodgers, including Russian oligarchs linked to Vladimir Putin, know that Canada is actually weak on financial crime, and our financial transparency laws haven’t kept pace with changes in global finance,” DT Cochrane, an economist with Canadians for Tax Fairness, said in a release.
Justin Trudeau famously claimed when he took office that Canada was back, but his attention to global affairs has been pitiful: five ministers in six years, the latest one inarguably the least qualified. He has been preoccupied with optics, and it’s arguable he no longer carries any standing to lead.
