Canadanewsmedia news October 23,2024: Some Liberal MPs set to ask Trudeau to step down

OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada delivered a supersized interest rate cut Wednesday in response to the recent decline in inflation, bringing its key policy rate down by half a percentage point.

With annual price growth now around two per cent, the central bank says its job has shifted from lowering inflation to maintaining it around the inflation target.

“We took a bigger step today because inflation is now back to the two per cent target and we want to keep it close to the target,” Governor Macklem said in his opening statement.

Canada’s inflation rate fell to 1.6 per cent in September, solidifying forecasters’ expectations for a larger rate cut. Bigger cuts mean the rate can be lowered faster.

Wednesday marked the central bank’s fourth consecutive interest rate cut since June. Its policy rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from a height of five per cent.

The Bank of Canada attributes the slowdown in price growth to shelter price inflation easing, supply outpacing demand in the economy and global oil pricing falling.

It’s now forecasting inflation will remain around the two per cent target throughout its projection horizon, which extends to 2026.

High interest rates have sent a chill through the Canadian economy, slowing growth and loosening the labour market.

The central bank says in its monetary policy report that while layoffs have remained stable, businesses have pulled back on hiring, which has disproportionately affected young people and newcomers.

As interest rates continue to come down, the Bank of Canada is projecting economic growth to pick back up in 2025 and 2026.

Macklem said the central bank expects cutting its key interest rate further, so long as the economy evolves in line with its forecast.

“High inflation and interest rates have been a heavy burden for Canadians. With inflation now back to target and interest rates continuing to come down, families, businesses and communities should feel some relief,” Macklem said.

The Bank of Canada’s next interest rate announcement is scheduled for Dec. 11.

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TORONTO – A group of professional engineers plan to soon withdraw services from key Ontario infrastructure projects Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass as part of a bargaining dispute with the province.

Members of the Professional Engineers Government of Ontario, which represents more than 600 professional engineers and land surveyors who work for the province, started a work-to-rule campaign earlier this month.

Members’ earnings have fallen so far behind that they sometimes earn half of what people in similar positions at municipalities make, their bargaining association said. They are behind the market by 30 to 50 per cent, said president Nihar Bhatt.

So far no meaningful progress has been made in bargaining with the Treasury Board Secretariat even though the engineers have been without a contract for 20 months, Bhatt said. He did not give a specific percentage increase he is looking for but said it is “significant.”

“This bargaining is just the culmination of a decade long of talks on this issue, and suddenly, when they realize how far behind the market they are, they’re like, ‘Oh, these numbers are, like, really big,'” Bhatt said.

“Yeah, they are because you ignored it for a decade, and this is where we are. So that’s the problem and the infrastructure agenda of the province, whether it be new stuff or existing, both need to be overseen by people who know what they’re doing.”

The engineers have been engaging in a work-to-rule campaign, which includes not doing unpaid overtime or working outside of their set hours, but will now be escalating their job action.

Starting in the next few days, a small group of engineers will stop working on the two highway projects that are loudly championed by Premier Doug Ford.

“So right now, the impacts are gonna be felt in the planning and design stages of the projects, which is where both 413 and Bradford Bypass are at,” Bhatt said.

“There are some major milestones coming up in the next few weeks which should impact projects in the long run.”

A spokesperson for Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney said the government has held numerous bargaining sessions with PEGO since July 2023.

“The government has been negotiating in good faith and will continue to do so,” Liz Tuomi said in a statement, adding that all ministries have continuity plans in case of labour action.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Groups in Russia created and helped spread viral disinformation targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday.

The content, which includes baseless accusations about the Minnesota governor’s time as a teacher, contains several indications that it was manipulated, said the official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Analysts identified clues that linked the content to Russian disinformation operations, said the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the office of the director.

Digital researchers had already linked the video to Russia, but Tuesday’s announcement is the first time federal authorities have confirmed the connection.

The disinformation targeting Walz is consistent with Russian disinformation seeking to undermine the Democratic campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz, her running mate. Russia also has spread disinformation aimed at stoking discord and division ahead of voting, officials said, and may seek to encourage violent protests after Election Day.

Last month, analysts at Microsoft revealed that a viral video that baselessly claimed Harris left a woman paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident 13 years ago was Russian disinformation. More recently, a video surfaced featuring a man claiming to be a former student of Walz’s who accused the candidate of sexual misconduct years ago. Private researchers at firms that track disinformation, including NewsGuard, already have concluded the video was fake and that the man in the footage isn’t who he claimed to be.

The Associated Press contacted a former employer of the man whose identity was used in the video. The employer, Viktor Yeliohin, confirmed the man shown in the video was an impostor.

Some researchers have also suggested the video may contain evidence that it was created using artificial intelligence, but federal officials stopped short of the same conclusion, saying only that the video contained multiple indications of manipulation.

China and Iran also have sought to influence the U.S. election using online disinformation. While Russia has targeted the Democratic campaign, Iran has gone after Republican Donald Trump with disinformation as well as hacking into the former president’s campaign. China, meanwhile, has focused its influence efforts on down-ballot races, and on general efforts to sow distrust and democratic dissatisfaction.

There is no indication that Russia, China or Iran are plotting significant attacks on election infrastructure as a way to disrupt the outcome, officials said Tuesday.

Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has said improvements to election security mean there is no way any other foreign adversary will be able to alter the results.

Russia, China and Iran have all rejected claims that they are seeking to meddle with the U.S. election. Messages left with the Russian Embassy seeking comment on the Walz video were not immediately returned Tuesday.

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Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin contributed to this report from New York.

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