ATLANTA — Sen. Kelly Loeffler repeatedly refused Sunday to acknowledge that President Donald Trump lost reelection in November, as she debated her Democratic opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock, ahead of twin Georgia runoff elections that will determine which party controls the Senate.Asked specifically about President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia and whether she agreed with Trump’s unfounded accusations of widespread voter fraud, Loeffler sidestepped the matter.Although Trump has lost round after round of court challenges in Georgia and other battleground states, and Georgia’s results were certified last month, Loeffler described Trump as merely pursuing “every legal recourse.”She alleged, without any supporting details, irregularities in the November elections, prompting Warnock to chide her for “casting doubt” on a legitimate election in an effort to appease Trump and his supporters.“The people have spoken on the presidential election, and they’re waiting on their senator to be focused on them, not the person in the White House,” he said.The exchange came as a top election official in the state accused Trump and his allies of spreading falsehoods and leading Republicans said they worried that unfounded attacks on the election system could depress turnout in the Jan. 5 runoffs.But Loeffler steered clear of any criticism of Trump, even as she tacitly acknowledged his defeat. Her victory is necessary to prevent a leftward march under complete Democratic control in Washington, she said.“Everything is at stake in this election, the future of our country,” she said, warning of a range of liberal and progressive policies that could never become law if Trump was in the Oval Office.More than a dozen times Loeffler blasted “radical liberal Raphael Warnock” and hammered the pastor as a socialist who would ensure everything from a government takeover of the U.S. healthcare system to the seizure of Americans’ guns. Warnock, who is not a socialist, countered by blasting Loeffler as a self-interested, uber-wealthy politician who “lied not only on me, but on Jesus” by highlighting and, he said, misrepresenting excerpts of his sermons.The battle between Loeffler and Warnock and a second runoff between Republican Sen. David Perdue with Democrat Jon Ossoff will determine which party controls the Senate at the outset of Biden’s presidency. Republicans need one seat for a majority. Democrats need a sweep to make Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote.The debate came a day after Trump campaigned in Georgia alongside the two senators. The president repeated his baseless claims that Biden’s victory in Georgia and nationally were due to fraud.Georgia officials are on the cusp of completing a third count of about 5 million presidential ballots in the state, with Biden already having been officially certified as the winner despite Trump’s protests.Gabriel Sterling, a top deputy to Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” earlier Sunday that Trump and those echoing him are undermining democracy with deliberate falsehoods.“At this point, it’s a game of whack-a-mole” Sterling said. “They are stoking anger and fear among his supporters. And hell, I voted for him.”Meanwhile, Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, both Republicans, said they opposed Trump’s entreaty for a special legislative session ostensibly to select Republican electors over the Democratic slate already certified for Biden.”The mountains of misinformation are not helping the process; they are only hurting it,” Duncan said.While Loeffler dodged inquiries about Trump’s defeat, Warnock avoided saying whether he’d support expanding the Supreme Court, a priority for some progressives. He said he was more interested in coronavirus pandemic relief, but never answered explicitly whether he was opposed to adding justices.On COVID, the rivals confirmed their confidence in a vaccine and said they’d take it. But they drew contrasts on another economic aid package. Warnock highlighted Loeffler’s criticisms earlier this year of some congressional aid. Loeffler blamed Democratic leaders for Congress’ failure to pass a new round of assistance this fall.The runoffs, necessary because none of the candidates received a majority of votes in November, have put Georgia squarely in the national political spotlight. Both major parties and activist groups are plowing tens of millions of dollars into the state, along with a flood of field workers and volunteers from around the country.Vice-President Mike Pence campaigned in the state last week, as former President Barack Obama headlined a virtual rally for Democrats. Biden, the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia since 1992, has promised to visit before the runoff, acknowledging that the outcome will shape the legislative reach of his presidency.Before the prime time matchup, Ossoff debated an empty podium, blistering Perdue as a “coward” for skipping the debate.Ossoff suggested Perdue, whose prolific stock trading has drawn attention during the pandemic, declined to debate because he didn’t want to “incriminate himself” over his personal financial activities that the challenger summed up as “cartoonish abuse of power.”“It shows an astonishing arrogance and sense of entitlement for Georgia’s senior U.S. senator to believe he shouldn’t have to debate at a moment like this in our history,” Ossoff said.Perdue’s campaign manager responded with an email statement that said Ossoff “lost a debate against himself.” The statement did not address any details of Ossoff’s attacks on the senator. Another Perdue aide followed up with a statement emphasizing that “the bipartisan Senate Ethics Committee, DOJ and the SEC … independently cleared Sen. Perdue of any and all wrongdoing.”The Associated Press and other media have reported details of key trades Perdue made after members of Congress began receiving classified briefings about COVID-19 but while Perdue and other officials were downplaying its dangers in public. Perdue’s trades also involved companies whose business activities fall under jurisdiction of some of the senator’s committees.Ossoff brushed aside a moderator’s reminder that authorities have not found any legal wrongdoing on Perdue’s part. “His blatant abuse of his power and privilege to enrich himself is disgraceful,” Ossoff said. “He can’t defend the indefensible. … The standard for our elected officials must be higher than merely evading prosecution.”Jeff Amy And Bill Barrow, The Associated Press
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
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.
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.
