News

Trudeau’s Canada a House of Cards Waiting to Collapse

Published

1 year ago

2023-09-03

Geoff Brown

Trudeau's Canada a House of Cards Waiting to Collapse

Canada is under a state of toxicity. It’s unfashionable to say so in centrist circles, but it’s true. The country faces escalating radicalism, toxic polarisation, and low trust. Wealth disparity is increasing. Its federal system could be better, notably in the relationship between Alberta and the national government. Monopolies and oligopolies go amok, exploiting customers.

There are numerous other issues. However, the convergence of a few big obstacles screams House of Cards collapsing! The country’s housing crisis, consumer debt, and high – and potentially rising – interest rates are among them.

They present a picture of hardworking individuals living lives they can’t afford daily. This dreadful scenario occurs no matter how hard people work or how strictly they adhere to the game’s rules – laws they were assured were fair and just.
The Exorbitant Cost of Housing

In Canada, housing is completely expensive. The average home costs around CAD$700,000, while a one-bedroom rental costs close to $1,900 per month.

According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the hourly wage required to rent a one-bedroom flat exceeds the provincial minimum wage. The analysis discovered only three urban regions in Quebec where the minimum wage was more than the rent for a one-bedroom flat.

Housing starts — breaking ground on new buildings — are falling behind as the country booms. They were down 10% in July after a significant increase in June.

No Affordable Homes in Canada

According to the CMHC, the country needs 5.8 million homes by 2030 to achieve affordability, but construction is on track to reach only 2.8 million, less than half of what is required. Building costs, government policies, and labor shortages impede construction attempts.

Even when units are produced, there are far too few purpose-built rentals and non-market options to assist people needing affordable housing.

Those who are lucky enough to own a home face their own set of challenges. Mortgage payments are growing due to high-interest rates, which may climb again in the autumn. Now, 40% of mortgage holders borrow to cover day-to-day expenditures, and nearly 20% need to catch up on their payments.

According to Robert McLister of the Globe and Mail, that is based on data from December, and things have most likely worsened since then. Despite new measures from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada aimed at keeping people in their houses and pricey financial gimmicks such as extra-long mortgage amortization periods, the prospect of default looms.

However, something has to give at this rate — especially since debtors will face renewal periods and high-interest rates in the coming months and years.

Canadians Floundering in Debt

Households are also heavily in debt. The CMHC cautioned in May that Canada’s household debt, which leads the G7 and will reach 107 percent of GDP in 2021, “makes the economy vulnerable to any global economic crisis.” It also puts it vulnerable to an internal crisis of its own making.

Mortgages account for most household debt, although auto loans and credit cards also contribute. Consumer debt in Canada reached a new high of $2.32 trillion in the spring. People need to catch up on their payments. Simultaneously, inflation and rising prices remain.

The Bank of Canada raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 5% in July, largely due to mortgage expenses, which were the key inflation drivers in June and July. As it struggles to achieve its 2% inflation objective, the bank may raise rates again in September.

In the near term, the bank and Canadians are locked in a vicious mortgage-inflation circle in which mortgage rates fuel inflation, and the bank boosts interest rates to combat inflation, which raises mortgage costs. Even if the long-term goal is to reduce inflation by limiting money supply and expenditure, the short-term spiral is hell.

It will take a long time to reach the 2% inflation target. Meanwhile, Canadians are in a precarious position with high mortgage rates, a lack of home supply, high prices, and a massive consumer debt burden.

As interest rates climb, so does the likelihood and possible number of mortgage, auto loan, and credit card defaults. The chance of job loss is similar.

The Austerity Dance of Justin Trudeau

The Bank of Canada is not mandated nor disposed to care about persons in financial difficulty in the short term. Its long-term goal is to keep inflation at a sustainable level. On the other hand, national, provincial, and local governments are supposed to care about those in need at all times. And yet, if there is a plan in place to protect Canada’s house of cards from collapsing or to make people whole, if it does, it is still being determined what that plan is.

Imperfect and insufficient social welfare programs, such as dental care and prescription drug coverage, are being implemented, but they are insufficient to address Canada’s serious financial crisis.

The Liberal government of Justin Trudeau may also be considering budget cuts. Ministers have been directed to cut $15 billion in spending by October. This could indicate a government less willing to spend significantly in the coming months and years, even as the Liberals sag in the polls and face an election in the autumn of 2025 or sooner.

Governments must be prepared to support individuals experiencing economic difficulty and will be crushed if the country’s house of cards collapses.

These folks work and strive for the things they’ve been instructed to strive for: a house, a car, an education, and a few respectable consumer goods. They are now abandoned due to a confluence of economic systems, pandemic repercussions, inefficient government policies, and unpredictable global geopolitical processes.

These employees, who ensure the buses run on time and the grocery shelves are filled, make up 40% of the country’s wages yet own only 2.7 percent of its net worth. In contrast, the wealthiest 20% of income controls about 70% of the total.

This wealth disparity is terrible at any time, but it’s especially disgusting in the aftermath of the last few years when the powers that be paid so much lip service to workers — as “frontline” and “essential.” They must not be abandoned in the wilderness while the country fights to resolve its economic problems.

This article by By David Moscrop was first published in Jacobin.com

News

Trudeau Rocks to Taylor Swift While Montreal Burns

Published

1 day ago

2024-11-24

Geoff Brown

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under fire yet again after a video surfaced on X, showing him dancing at a Taylor Swift performance while anti-Nato protestors ransacked downtown Montreal.

Trudeau attended Taylor Swift’s concert in Toronto on Friday night. Before Taylor Swift approached the stage, X shared a viral video of him dancing and singing along to the song “You Don’t Own Me.”

The image of Trudeau dancing amid violent protests in Montreal generated widespread indignation online. Some social media users even compared Trudeau to the ancient Roman dictator Nero, known for “fiddling while Rome burned.”

Don Stewart, a Member of Parliament (MP) representing part of Toronto, called out the prime minister in a post on X.

Lawless protestors run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest.

The Prime Minister dances.

This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.

Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved. pic.twitter.com/PVJvR6gtmf

— Don Stewart (@donstewartmp) November 23, 2024

“Lawless protesters run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest. The Prime Minister dances,” Stewart wrote. “This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.”

“Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved,” the MP added.

On Saturday, the day after Taylor Swift’s concert, Trudeau condemned the anti-NATO protests, calling them “appalling.”

Anti-NATO activists set off smoke bombs and marched through Montreal’s streets waving Palestinian flags. According to the Montreal Gazette, rioters set fire to automobiles and battled with police.

Pro-Palestinian protests

Protesters also tossed tiny explosives and metal objects at officers. At one point, the mob torched an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the gathering, and three persons were arrested for attacking officers and impeding police operations.

Masked protesters were seen burning flares and bashing storefront windows in videos and photographs shared on social media. Pro-Palestinian protests have been taking place across Canada since the Israel-Gaza conflict began late last year.

Critics have lambasted Trudeau for doing nothing to stop the violent pro-Palestinian marches, with some claiming he has fueled anti-Israel sentiment in Canada.

On Friday, Trudeau stated that Canada would respect the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, even if it meant arresting the Israeli prime leader on Canadian soil.

Trudeau Called the Greatest Threat to NATO

Trudeau Called the Greatest Threat to NATO

News

Calgary Zoo Admits Human Error in Death of Baby Gorilla

Published

1 day ago

2024-11-24

Geoff Brown

The zookeeper's negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla

The Calgary Zoo has admitted in a public statement that a zookeeper’s negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla. Eyare, a newborn gorilla, died last week after being slammed in the head by a hydraulic door.

The accident occurred when a zoo worker attempted to separate Eyare from the rest of the gorilla tribe for a solitary training session.

The gorilla died from significant head injuries, according to the zoo’s statement.

“This tragedy has struck us all in the deepest way imaginable,” Colleen Baird, director of animal care at the Calgary Zoo, said during a news conference. “Eyare’s brief but meaningful existence gave so much joy to our community, and all will sorely miss her. We will do everything possible to prevent repeat accidents.”

According to Baird, the staff member involved was immediately removed from the workplace and will be reassigned to another area of the zoo. The Calgary Zoo stated that it would take preventive steps, such as specialist personnel training and animal behavioral training, to avoid a similar incident.

Calgary Zoo Questioned

It is not the first time an animal at the zoo has died from negligence at the Calgary Zoo. A capybara was accidentally crushed by a hydraulic door similar to the one that killed Eyare in 2019.

An otter died in 2016 after being entangled in an “unauthorized” pair of jeans that a zookeeper had dropped in its enclosure. In 2013, a penguin died in “a freak accident” after swallowing a stick.

Animal Justice, a Canadian group that promotes animal welfare, has called for an independent investigation of animal safety and oversight at the Alberta facility.

“The Calgary Zoo appears to have a higher rate of animal deaths compared to other zoos, and in light of Eyare’s death there should be a systematic review of the zoo’s operations and practices, conducted transparently by the government or another outside party,” according to Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice.

The Calgary Zoo refuted that it has more animal deaths than other zoos, emphasizing that it adheres to operating requirements and has maintained accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ independent Accreditation Commission since 1978.

“We love and care for more than 4,000 animals representing over 100 species that call our zoo home,” stated a Calgary Zoo representative.

“Human error-related deaths in animals are quite infrequent. We have lost two animals in the last ten years: a North American river otter in 2016 and ‘Eyare’ this week.

While rare, even one human-caused death is too many. These unfortunate instances have served as vital learning experiences, prompting us to examine and tighten protocols to provide the greatest level of care.”

Baird said at the news conference that using hydraulic doors is “common practice with accredited zoos,” adding that the facility will consider switching to alternate doors to improve safety.

The Calgary Zoo, which established the Wilder Institute in 2021, caters to nearly 4,000 creatures, including six more western lowland gorillas.

Beluga Whales Dies at Canada’s Marineland

Outrage Erupts After 17th Beluga Whale Dies at Canada’s Marineland

News

Canada’s Lotto Max Jackpot Climbs to $80M

Published

1 day ago

2024-11-24

Geoff Brown

Lotto Max in Canada has reached $80 million for only the second time in Canadian lottery history. Friday’s draw sought a winner for a $75 million pool, but the top reward remained unclaimed as of Saturday, increasing the jackpot.

Only once did the jackpot reach $80 million in September, when it broke the previous record. Before that, the prize was $75 million, a record.

The Lotto Max prize maximum was boosted earlier this year, enabling for jackpots of more than $70 million. The cap is now at $80 million.
While a greater fee may encourage more people to play, the odds of winning the lottery remain extremely low.

According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the odds for a $5 ticket are around one in 33,294,800.

While there was no jackpot winner in Friday’s draw, someone did match six of the seven winning numbers, plus a bonus, earning them a payout of more than $320,000.

Lotto Max History

Lotto Max is one of three national lottery games in Canada, overseen by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation. The game was introduced on September 19, 2009, and its inaugural draw occurred on September 25, 2009. It replaced Lotto Super 7.

The odds of winning the Lotto Max are 1 in 33,294,800. This is correct to a point but misleading.

Let’s have a look at the rules:

Players choose 7 numbers out of 50
Numbers cannot be repeated
Numbers are automatically sorted into ascending order
Each play buys 3 lines
Each play costs $5

Seeing that players choose 7 out of 50 non-repeating numbers, the equation for the total number of possible combinations (this is different from permutations where the order in which the numbers appear is significant) when playing the Lotto Max is 50! / (7! x 43!)