Economy

Premier talks about the economy with Northern Ontario businesses – Sault Star

Published

4 years ago

September 14, 2020

Premier Doug Ford, bottom, joins a town hall, Monday afternoon, with OntarioÕs Northern chambers of commerce. Joining Ford at the town hall were North Bay & District Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer Peter Chirico, top right, Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford, Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norman Miller, and Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli. Screenshot

jpg, NB

Northern Ontario chamber of commerce members heard directly from Premier Doug Ford Monday on how his government plans to help the region restart the economy after COVID-19.

And he took the first few minutes of his monologue to give a plug to Progressive Conservative MPP’s in Northern Ontario and urge participants to ensure more get elected next time around.

He called his PC MPPs “triple hatters” because the Sault’s Ross Romano, North Bay’s Vic Fedeli and Rainy River’s Greg Rickford and Parry Sound-Muskoka’s Norm Miller are representing more than just their own ridings.

“I don’t even know who the MPPs are for Sudbury or Thunder Bay becasue they aren’t even speaking up,” Ford said from his Toronto office. “We need loud voices for economic development and we need more people to stand up and be heard.”

Ford said that his government has helped Northern Ontario but “everything we have done for the north, other representatives have voted against it, especially the NDP members.”

Ford, along with Fedeli, Rickford and Miller (Romano sent his regrets due to another commitment) spoke to chamber of commerce members in a session themed ‘Leadership during the COVID-19 Crisis.’

Ford said he wants to continue to cut bureaucracy and red tape to strengthen the Northern Ontario economy.

He said while it’s government’s job to set the stage or create the proper environment for business but it’s the entrepreneurs and business owners who make businesses thrive and prosper, which in turn helps employees thrive, gives them security and puts food on their table.

Ford was asked if he will continue to make ‘regional’ based decisions on reopening if Northern Ontario COVID-19 numbers remain low.

Ford said he would, reminding zoom participants that Northern Ontario moved into Stage 2 and Stage 3 of reopening quicker than other parts of Ontario.

“Northern Ontario shouldn’t be punished because of Toronto, Ottawa and Peel,” he said.

Communities, businesses and Ontarians must continue to follow the policies and recommendations made by the health team, Ford said.

“There has been some recklessness and carelessness and socializing in massive groups,” he said. “That can’t happen.”

He didn’t specifically identify what sectors or industries would be forced to close first if a second wave of positive COVID-19 tests struck Ontario.

Ford was also asked to share his position on the resources and capacity of the digital economy in Northern Ontario.

He said he has has discussions with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the importance of expanding broadband service, especially in Northern Ontario.

“No infrastructure project is more important to people of Ontario than broadband,” he said.

Estimates suggest $10 to $15 billion would be needed to put broadband across the province but assistance is needed from the federal government, he said.

“Why should the people of the north be punished?” Ford asked. “We need the federal government support and I’ve been on them like a dog on a bone.”

Ford promised the business community that the provincial government will continue to find ways to pay down the province’s debt.

“That’s what we got elected to do,” he said. “We will pay down debt with the creation of more jobs, grow our economy and we will continue to do that.”

Ford gave kudos to all those working in the health care sector for keeping communities safe.

He also gave Northern Ontario the thumbs up – the region has less than five active COVID-19 cases – and urged people to continue to follow the advice of the medical officer of health.

“Those numbers just speak volumes for a geographical area as large as Northern Ontario,” he said.

The virtual town hall meeting was led by the North Bay Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with chamber’s from across Northern Ontario.

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Economy

Liberals announce expansion to mortgage eligibility, draft rights for renters, buyers

Published

12 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.

She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.

The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.

The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.

On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.

Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.

Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.

The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.

The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Economy

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales up 1.4% in July at $71B

Published

13 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.

The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.

The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.

Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.

Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.

In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Economy

S&P/TSX gains almost 100 points, U.S. markets also higher ahead of rate decision

Published

3 days ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.

“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.

While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.

Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.

But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.

Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.

“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.

“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.

A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.

It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.

More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.

“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.

In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.

“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.

The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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