News
Canada News Advisory for Friday, Jan. 13, 2023
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Here are the latest Canada News stories
TOP HEADLINES:
Search continues at Quebec propane explosion site
More surgeries to be done in clinics: sources
Halifax ER chief says emergency centres in crisis
Ottawa, Kitchener hospitals report record patients
Bank economists see slowdown ahead but likely mild
TOP NEWS STORIES:
Search continues at Quebec propane explosion site
Que-Propane-Explosion
Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan, Quebec, Canada — At least three employees of a Quebec propane distribution business remained missing Friday one day after an explosion and fire leveled the building north of Montreal. Wire: National.
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More surgeries to be done in clinics: sources
Ont-Health-Care
Toronto, Ontario, Canada — Ontario will perform thousands more surgeries in private facilities in an effort to tackle the growing backlog , senior government sources said Friday. By Liam Casey. Wire: Ontario/Quebec. Photos: 1
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Halifax ER chief says emergency centres in crisis
NS-ER-Crisis
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada — The head of emergency medicine for Halifax and the surrounding area says ERs are under the most extreme pressure that he’s seen in his 23-year career, and he says it’s taking a toll on patients and health-care workers. By Lyndsay Armstrong. Wire: Atlantic. Photos: 1
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Ottawa, Kitchener hospitals report record patients
Ont-Hospitals-ERs
Two hospitals in southern Ontario say they saw record numbers of patients this week. Wire: Ontario/Quebec. Photos: 1
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Bank economists see slowdown ahead but likely mild
Bank-Economists-Outlook
Toronto, , — Big bank economists say the surprisingly resilient economy is likely headed for a mild slowdown in the year ahead, but that recent events show how difficult it is to predict the future. Wire: Business. Photos: 1
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Canada needs more newcomers: Immigration minister
Immigration
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada — As Canada plans to significantly ramp up its immigration levels in the coming years, some policy experts are worried about potential effects on health care, housing and the labour market. By Nojoud Al Mallees. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Tiny home village for homeless opens in Winnipeg
Winnipeg-Tiny-Homes
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada — Bundles of dried sage tied together with red ribbon hang from black fixtures connected to wood-panelled walls. By Brittany Hobson. Wire: Prairies/BC. Photos: 1
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Explainer: Why are there so many cyberattacks?
Ont-Cybersecurity-Explainer
Toronto, Ontario, Canada — A wave of high-profile cyberattacks has recently hit hospitals, businesses and organizations in Ontario, including the LCBO this week and Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and Scouts Canada in December. By Jessica Smith. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Home prices down year-over-year in Q4: report
Royal-LePage-Home-Prices
Toronto, Ontario, Canada — The median price of a home in Canada in the fourth quarter of 2022 posted the first year-over-year decline since the end of 2008 during the financial crisis, Royal LePage says. Wire: Business. Photos: 1
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Canada sanctions more Haiti political elites
Cda-Haiti
Ottawa, , — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has announced new sanctions against two more Haitian political elites. By Dylan Robertson. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Evacuees return after St. Catharines fire
Ont-StCatharines-Explosion
Evacuees have been cleared to return to homes and businesses in St. Catharines, Ont., as officials investigate what caused a fire at a hazardous waste facility the city’s north end. Wire: Ontario/Quebec. Photos: 1
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SickKids to ramp surgeries back up next week
Ont-SickKids
Toronto, Ontario, Canada — Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children says it will begin increasing surgeries on Monday. Wire: Ontario/Quebec.
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Back-to-office mandate begins Monday
Public-Servants-Office
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada — Mona Fortier, the president of the Treasury Board says repercussions for federal public servants who refuse to return to in-person work will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. By Cindy Tran. Wire: Ontario/Quebec, National.
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CIBC’s Laura Dottori-Attanasio retiring Feb. 1
CIBC-Dottori-Attanasio
Toronto, Ontario, Canada — CIBC says Laura Dottori-Attanasio, senior executive vice-president and group head for Canadian personal and business banking, is retiring. Wire: Business. Photos: 1
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Nasty weather descends on Atlantic Canada
Atl-Weather-Warnings
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada — Most schools in New Brunswick and P.E.I. are closed today as a winter storm descends on the Atlantic region. Wire: Atlantic.
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Canadian ski jumper Loutitt wins World Cup gold
SKI-Jump-World-Cup
Zaō, Aomori, Japan — Alexandria Loutitt became the first Canadian to win a World Cup women’s ski jump event on Friday, taking gold at a normal hill competition in Zao, Japan. Wire: Sports. Photos: 1
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Investors look for outlooks from earnings reports
Earnings-Outlook
Toronto, Ontario, Canada — Experts say the upcoming earnings season will be overshadowed by the broader economic climate, with interest rates and inflation data more closely watched than individual company reports. By Rosa Saba. Wire: Business, Finance. Photos: 1
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Canadian man aims for marathon world record
ATH-Marathon-Record-Chase
It’s a gamble, but one that’s worthwhile to Ben Pobjoy. By Abdulhamid Ibrahim. Wire: Sports. Photos: 1
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New documentary exposes horror of cyber violence
Film-Cyber-Harassment
Montreal, Quebec, Canada — A documentary on cyber violence opening Friday in Toronto follows four women who recount their stories of being attacked, denigrated and threatened because they choose to speak their minds. By Marisela Amador. Wire: Entertainment. Photos: 1
COMING LATER:
MONTREAL – A Quebec woman who has accused Cardinal Marc Ouellet of sexual misconduct has decided to reveal her identity. Paméla Groleau says she is taking part in a lawsuit on behalf of all victims of the clergy who for decades have struggled to be heard. By Marisela Amador
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE STORIES:
The LJI is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is delivered on the CP wire in the “Y” or spare news category, or you can register to access it at https://lji-ijl.ca. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited by The Canadian Press. Please credit stories to the reporter, their media outlet and the Local Journalism Initiative. Questions should be directed to LJI supervising editor Amy Logan at amy.logan@thecanadianpress.com. Below is a sample of the dozens of stories moved daily:
Pro athletes want workers’ compensation for their injuries
LJI-BC-Pro-Athletes-Workers-Comp
Unlike in much of the United States, Canadian athletes aren’t eligible for workers’ compensation if they’re injured in a game or practice, leaving them with little recourse when a bad game leads to lifelong injury or impairment. 1,500 words. Zak Vescera/The Tyee
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A parent’s agonizing wait for a vital medical test
LJI-BC-Agonizing-Wait-Medical-Test
As B.C.’s hospitals struggle, one child’s eyesight may be at risk for lack of a normally quick diagnosis. But parents of children with complex conditions say their children’s needs were pushed aside long before the pandemic. They fear a permanent regression in the quality of health care and of life their kids can expect. 1,300 words. 1,300 words. Moira Wyton/The Tyee
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Coastal GasLink accused of failing to prevent sediment from entering a Wet’suwet’en river
LJI-NWBC-Coastal GasLink river sediment
Wet’suwet’en chiefs and supporters allege the pipeline company violated provincial environmental regulations, operating excavators in a remote river without adequate mitigation measures in place. “It’s just really hard to process. I was really quite disturbed by the complete disregard for the salmon, the water, the people — our rights as Wet’suwet’en people,” says Tsebasa, a Likhts’amisyu clan chief who viewed the company’s activity from a helicopter on Jan. 10. 1,600 words. Matt Simmons/The Narwhal
News
Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday | CTV News – CTV News Toronto
More money will land in the pockets of Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit (CCB) installment.
The federal government program helps low and middle-income families struggling with the soaring cost of raising a child.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees who are the primary caregivers for children under 18 years old are eligible for the program, introduced in 2016.
The non-taxable monthly payments are based on a family’s net income and how many children they have. Families that have an adjusted net income under $34,863 will receive the maximum amount per child.
For a child under six years old, an applicant can annually receive up to $7,437 per child, and up to $6,275 per child for kids between the ages of six through 17.
That translates to up to $619.75 per month for the younger cohort and $522.91 per month for the older group.
The benefit is recalculated every July and most recently increased 6.3 per cent in order to adjust to the rate of inflation, and cost of living.
To apply, an applicant can submit through a child’s birth registration, complete an online form or mail in an application to a tax centre.
The next payment date will take place on May 17.
News
Capital gains tax change draws ire from some Canadian entrepreneurs worried it will worsen brain drain – CBC.ca
A chorus of Canadian entrepreneurs and investors is blasting the federal government’s budget for expanding a tax on the rich. They say it will lead to brain drain and further degrade Canada’s already poor productivity.
In the 2024 budget unveiled Tuesday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government would increase the inclusion rate of the capital gains tax from 50 per cent to 67 per cent for businesses and trusts, generating an estimated $19 billion in new revenue.
Capital gains are the profits that individuals or businesses make from selling an asset — like a stock or a second home. Individuals are subject to the new changes on any profits over $250,000.
The government estimates that the changes would impact 40,000 individuals (or 0.13 per cent of Canadians in any given year) and 307,000 companies in Canada.
However, some members of the business community say that expanding the taxable amount will devastate productivity, investment and entrepreneurship in Canada, and might even compel some of the country’s talent and startups to take their business elsewhere.
Benjamin Bergen, president of the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), said the capital gains tax has overshadowed parts of the federal budget that the business community would otherwise be excited about.
“There were definitely some other stars in the budget that were interesting,” he said. “However, the … capital gains piece really is the sun, and it’s daylight. So this is really the only thing that innovators can see.”
The CCI has written and is circulating an open letter signed by more than 1,000 people in the Canadian business community to Trudeau’s government asking it to scrap the tax change.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke and president Harley Finkelstein also weighed in on the proposed hike on X, formerly known as Twitter.
We need to be doing everything we can to turn Canada into the best place for entrepreneurs to build 🇨🇦<br><br>What’s proposed in the federal budget will do the complete opposite. Innovators and entrepreneurs will suffer and their success will be penalized — this is not a wealth tax,…
—@harleyf
Former finance minister Bill Morneau said his successor’s budget disincentivizes businesses from investing in the country’s innovation sector: “It’s probably very troubling for many investors.”
Canada’s productivity — a measure that compares economic output to hours worked — has been relatively poor for decades. It underperforms against the OECD average and against several other G7 countries, including the U.S., Germany, U.K. and Japan, on the measure.
Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers sounded the alarm on Canada’s lagging productivity in a speech last month, saying the country’s need to increase the rate had reached emergency levels, following one of the weakest years for the economy in recent memory.
The government said it was proposing the tax change to make life more affordable for younger generations and fund efforts to boost housing supply — and that it would support productivity growth.
A challenge for investors, founders and workers
The change could have a chilling effect for several reasons, with companies already struggling to access funding in a high interest rate environment, said Bergen.
He questioned whether investors will want to fund Canadian companies if the government’s taxation policies make it difficult for those firms to grow — and whether founders might just pack up.
The expanded inclusion rate “is just one of the other potential concerns that firms are going to have as they’re looking to grow their companies.”
He said the rejigged tax is also an affront to high-skilled workers from low-innovation sectors who might have taken the risk of joining a startup for the opportunity, even taking a lower wage on the chance that a firm’s stock options grow in value.
But Lindsay Tedds, an associate economics professor at the University of Calgary, said the tax change is one of the most misunderstood parts of the federal budget — and that its impact on the country’s talent has been overstated.
“This is not a major innovation-biting tax change treatment,” Tedds said. “In fact, when you talk to real grassroots entrepreneurs that are setting up businesses, tax rates do not come into their decision.”
As for productivity, Tedds said Canadians might see improvements in the long run “to the degree that some of our productivity problems are driven by stresses like housing affordability, access to child care, things like that.”
‘One foot on the gas, one foot on the brake’
Some say the government is sending mixed messages to entrepreneurs by touting tailored tax breaks — like the Canada Entrepreneurs’ Incentive, which reduces the capital gains inclusion rate to 33 per cent on a lifetime maximum of $2 million — while introducing measures they say would dampen investment and innovation.
“They seem to have one foot on the gas, one foot on the brake on the very same file,” said Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
A founder may be able to sell their successful company with a lower capital gains treatment than otherwise possible, he said.
“At the same time, though, big chunks of it may be subject to a higher rate of capital gains inclusion.”
Selling a company can fund an individual’s retirement, he said, which is why it’s one of the first things founders consider when they think about capital gains.
Mainstreet NS7:03Ottawa is proposing a hike to capital gains tax. What does that mean?
Dennis Darby, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, says he was disappointed by the change — and that it sends the wrong message to Canadian industries like his own.
He wants to see the government commit to more tax credit proposals like the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses, which he said would incentivize business owners to stay and help make Canada competitive with the U.S.
“We’ve had a lot of difficulties attracting investment over the years. I don’t think this will make it any better.”
Tech titan says change will only impact richest of the rich
Toronto tech entrepreneur Ali Asaria will be one of those subject to the expanded capital gains inclusion rate — but he says it’s only fair.
“It’s going to really affect the richest of the rich people,” Asaria, CEO of open source platform Transformer Lab and founder of well.ca, told CBC News.
“The capital gains exemption is probably the largest tax break that I’ve ever received in my life,” he said. “So I know a lot about what that benefit can look like, but I’ve also always felt like it was probably one of the most unfair parts of the tax code today.”
While Asaria said Canada needs to continue encouraging talent to take risks and build companies in the country, taxation policies aren’t the most major problem.
“I think that the biggest central issue to the reason why people will leave Canada is bigger issues, like housing,” he said.
“How do we make it easier to live in Canada so that we can all invest in ourselves and invest in our companies? That’s a more important question than, ‘How do we help the top 0.13 per cent of Canadians make more money?'”
News
Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday | CTV News – CTV News Toronto
More money will land in the pockets of Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit (CCB) installment.
The federal government program helps low and middle-income families struggling with the soaring cost of raising a child.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees who are the primary caregivers for children under 18 years old are eligible for the program, introduced in 2016.
The non-taxable monthly payments are based on a family’s net income and how many children they have. Families that have an adjusted net income under $34,863 will receive the maximum amount per child.
For a child under six years old, an applicant can annually receive up to $7,437 per child, and up to $6,275 per child for kids between the ages of six through 17.
That translates to up to $619.75 per month for the younger cohort and $522.91 per month for the older group.
The benefit is recalculated every July and most recently increased 6.3 per cent in order to adjust to the rate of inflation, and cost of living.
To apply, an applicant can submit through a child’s birth registration, complete an online form or mail in an application to a tax centre.
The next payment date will take place on May 17.
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