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Economy

Local economic support team issues second open letter about land assembly in Wilmot Township

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A second open letter has been released by the Business and Economic Support Team of Waterloo Region (BESTWR).

This time, BESTWR suggests that Waterloo Region is at a crossroads and is calling on a “common set of facts” in the community dialogue on land assembly.

The letter outlines the anticipated growth for the community that will see Waterloo Region’s population rise to one million residents in roughly 20 years.

“There is an urgency for preparing and building for our social and economic future,” the letter reads. “This includes building thousands of homes, building a new hospital, completing the light rail transit (LRT) project, welcoming the workforce of the future, creating the jobs to sustain our economy — and doing it all with a clear eye to public safety, healthy neighbourhoods and protecting our environment.”

The letter goes on to say that the region’s growth will need the support of both senior levels of government. It outlines how regional officials will need to continue to “chart our own course.”

“An important discussion is underway on assembling land in Wilmot Township so the region has the option to consider multi-billion dollar investment opportunities that we have been missing out on for over a decade. Everyone should be welcomed to the debate and to express their views.”

The letter outlines six points about why this land assembly is needed to attract economic development for the region.

  1. Over 10 years ago, the Schneider’s plant left our community because were not coordinated in trying to save it. Nor did we have a suitable large site ready to accommodate the needs of Maple Leaf Foods which ultimately invested in Hamilton.
  2. We lost potential investments by Dr Oetker and Ferrero Rocher for the very same reason.
  3. For over a decade, the business community has been sounding the alarm that we did not have any large sites for billion-dollar investments in the region.
  4. For the last 3 years, the Waterloo Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has made this an issue of urgent concern at their open, public information sessions, and have raised this in Council Chambers as well. No secret, no surprise. All provincial MPPs, federal MPs and municipal politicians are invited to their annual Public Information Meeting. It’s advertised in the Waterloo Region Record every October, and the urgency around assembling a so-called “mega-site” and a decent inventory of additional shovel-ready sites is clearly stated in Waterloo EDC’s publicly published strategic plan on page 16.
  5. In the Regional Official Plan (Section 2.H.1.22.) the Region is clearly mandated to assemble land for purposes of investment and jobs. This plan was debated and adopted by our elected Regional Councillors.
  6. Part of the inspiration to start assembling investment-ready sites was the Province of Ontario’s Job Site Challenge, issued in 2019, which calls on us to consider how to build Waterloo Region into the economic powerhouse we’re capable of becoming. All forwardlooking communities in Ontario are embracing this challenge. Just days ago Honda announced a major new investment in Alliston, Ontario – a direct result of that community’s decision to assemble job sites.

The letter states that doing big things in spite of the comfort of the status quo is built into the community’s DNA.

“Think back to the creation of the University of Waterloo in the 1950s; welcoming Toyota to Cambridge in 1987; or the decision to build the LRT only a decade ago. All of these decisions were controversial,” the letter reads. “These are some of the facts that have been missing from the dialogue until now. It’s time all sides of the discussion hold themselves accountable to these facts going forward.”

This second letter was issued after the region came up against intense scrutiny of how the initial land assembly process began.

A public meeting was held April 4, where Wilmot Township landowners and the community shared their opinions about the land assembly.

One day after that public meeting, the first open letter was issued by the economic support team outlining support for the land assembly on April 5.

On April 11, Premier Ford was in Kitchener and said that he supports the land assembly efforts but there needs to be “willing participants” in the process.

Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles held a town hall April 19 calling on full transparency on the region’s attempt to assemble land in Wilmot Township.

 

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Economy

Canada’s unemployment rate holds steady at 6.5% in October, economy adds 15,000 jobs

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OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.

Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.

Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.

Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.

Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.

Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.

Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.

According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.

That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.

People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.

That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.

Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.

That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Economy

Health-care spending expected to outpace economy and reach $372 billion in 2024: CIHI

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The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.

The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.

CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.

This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.

While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.

Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.

The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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Trump’s victory sparks concerns over ripple effect on Canadian economy

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As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.

Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.

A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.

More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.

Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.

“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.

“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”

American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.

It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.

“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.

“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”

A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.

Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.

“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.

Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.

With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”

“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.

“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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