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Island economic summit explores disruption, digital innovation, doughnut economy – Saanich News – Saanich News

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‘Disruption’ would be a good word to describe the theme of the State of the Island Economic Summit 2021.

This year’s summit happens Tuesday to Thursday, Oct. 26-28, but instead of a gathering of presenters and attendees and between-session exhibits at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, COVID-19 pandemic safeguards have disrupted those plans and pushed the event online and virtual for the second year running.

The virtual summit opens Tuesday with Stories of Digital Innovation from Island entrepreneurs who will show and tell how Island-based companies achieve amazing feats with evolving digital technology that has even taken the concept of the office into the digital realm.

The summit agenda gets busier Wednesday and Thursday, with speakers, presentations, round-tables, networking opportunities and more all day long.

Wednesday’s keynote presentation is at 3:30 p.m., when Premier John Horgan will address delegates.

The day begins, though with a talk with particular local interest, centring on ‘doughut economics.’ Nanaimo city councillors Tyler Brown and Ben Geselbracht will be guest panelists, as Nanaimo is the first Canadian city to adopt the framework. Carlota Sanz, co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab, will present the vision of doughnut economics and how action on the concept is laying the groundwork to create “ecologically safe and socially just communities.”

The Indigenous economy and how First Nations on the Island are expanding economic activities in traditional and non-traditional industries will be presented by panelist from the Huu-ay-aht, Malahat First Nations and Snuneymuxw First Nation’s Petroglyph Development Group.

As the pandemic continues, there will be discussion about working from home. Some are wondering about tensions arising between employees who stayed at job sites and those who worked remotely during the pandemic. A talk about return-to-work strategies and related mental health considerations will help employers identify workplace mental health issues and the tools and strategies to address mental health concerns in the work environment.

The Geography of Disruption is a session exploring how the forces of “disruptive innovation and dematerialization” might save the planet from sustainability models that are themselves showing signs of being unsustainable.

Disruptions in how Canadians shop and buy food is explored in Wednesday’s opening keynote presentation, It’s Good to Produce Goods, by Sylvain Charlebois, Dalhousie University professor and senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab. Charlebois will also engage in discussion about food systems opportunities for the Island.

Supply chain disruptions and worries about quality and reliability of imported goods will be presented by Island Good. The initiative is raising public awareness and, with local government sponsorship, Island Good producers and retailers are seeing sales increases and market expansion. The Island Good: Recipes for Success panel discussion happens Thursday afternoon.

Susan Mowbray, partner and senior economist with MNP LLP will close the summit when she presents the VIEA’s seventh ‘State of the Island’ economic report highlighting the rapid changes happening in the Island’s new COVID economic landscape.

For more on the Vancouver Island Economic Summit and how to register, visit http://viea.ca.

READ ALSO: Vancouver Island Economic Summit decides on an all-virtual event



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Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase

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OTTAWA – The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff.

Under the current program’s high-wage labour market impact assessment (LMIA) stream, an employer must pay at least the median income in their province to qualify for a permit. A government official, who The Canadian Press is not naming because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the change, said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault will announce Tuesday that the threshold will increase to 20 per cent above the provincial median hourly wage.

The change is scheduled to come into force on Nov. 8.

As with previous changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program, the government’s goal is to encourage employers to hire more Canadian workers. The Liberal government has faced criticism for increasing the number of temporary residents allowed into Canada, which many have linked to housing shortages and a higher cost of living.

The program has also come under fire for allegations of mistreatment of workers.

A LMIA is required for an employer to hire a temporary foreign worker, and is used to demonstrate there aren’t enough Canadian workers to fill the positions they are filling.

In Ontario, the median hourly wage is $28.39 for the high-wage bracket, so once the change takes effect an employer will need to pay at least $34.07 per hour.

The government official estimates this change will affect up to 34,000 workers under the LMIA high-wage stream. Existing work permits will not be affected, but the official said the planned change will affect their renewals.

According to public data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 183,820 temporary foreign worker permits became effective in 2023. That was up from 98,025 in 2019 — an 88 per cent increase.

The upcoming change is the latest in a series of moves to tighten eligibility rules in order to limit temporary residents, including international students and foreign workers. Those changes include imposing caps on the percentage of low-wage foreign workers in some sectors and ending permits in metropolitan areas with high unemployment rates.

Temporary foreign workers in the agriculture sector are not affected by past rule changes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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PBO projects deficit exceeded Liberals’ $40B pledge, economy to rebound in 2025

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OTTAWA – The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government likely failed to keep its deficit below its promised $40 billion cap in the last fiscal year.

However the PBO also projects in its latest economic and fiscal outlook today that weak economic growth this year will begin to rebound in 2025.

The budget watchdog estimates in its report that the federal government posted a $46.8 billion deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland pledged a year ago to keep the deficit capped at $40 billion and in her spring budget said the deficit for 2023-24 stayed in line with that promise.

The final tally of the last year’s deficit will be confirmed when the government publishes its annual public accounts report this fall.

The PBO says economic growth will remain tepid this year but will rebound in 2025 as the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts stimulate spending and business investment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Statistics Canada says levels of food insecurity rose in 2022

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OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the level of food insecurity increased in 2022 as inflation hit peak levels.

In a report using data from the Canadian community health survey, the agency says 15.6 per cent of households experienced some level of food insecurity in 2022 after being relatively stable from 2017 to 2021.

The reading was up from 9.6 per cent in 2017 and 11.6 per cent in 2018.

Statistics Canada says the prevalence of household food insecurity was slightly lower and stable during the pandemic years as it fell to 8.5 per cent in the fall of 2020 and 9.1 per cent in 2021.

In addition to an increase in the prevalence of food insecurity in 2022, the agency says there was an increase in the severity as more households reported moderate or severe food insecurity.

It also noted an increase in the number of Canadians living in moderately or severely food insecure households was also seen in the Canadian income survey data collected in the first half of 2023.

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

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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