Anthony Furey: A Sober, Non-Partisan Look at the Canadian Economy Says We’re Stuck in ‘Neutral’

It’s always been the case that partisan voices are willing to slam the state of the Canadian economy if it means they can score a dig against one of their political opponents. Politicians and pundits will lob accusations at the other side of the aisle until the cows come home.

A large percentage of the general public then no doubt ignores what sometimes sounds like political noise on these matters. But in recent months one thing we’ve seen more of are completely non-partisan voices stepping forward to sound the alarm on the direction of the Canadian economy. These are voices worth listening to.

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Unhoused family paying for campground site in Peterborough, Ont. ordered to leave

A family living at a campground in Peterborough, Ont., says they’re being ordered to leave — despite paying for their campsite since arriving.

Shanna Miller, her husband and three children have been staying at Beavermead Campground since May 10. Miller claims severe medical conditions have kept her and her husband from regular work. In February she says “unsafe conditions” at a rental home forced the family to leave.

Unable to find affordable housing or shelter spaces in the city for her family, Miller says they pitched their tents in the campground and have paid for their extended stay.

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Second Canadian scientist alleges brain illness investigation was shut down

A senior Canadian federal scientist has alleged that the government shut down an investigation into a mystery brain illness in New Brunswick that he believes may have affected 350 people.

He is the second federal scientist to accuse the government of deliberately halting the investigation and to say that the caseload is higher than the government has acknowledged.

Health officials in the eastern province first said in 2021 that 40 people were suffering from an unexplained neurological condition. A year later, a committee assembled by the province determined that the patients probably had been misdiagnosed and were suffering from other diseases.

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Amid the Stanley Cup Excitement, Edmonton’s Downtown Struggles

Edmonton’s mayor says that the issues behind homelessness, opioid overdoses and mental health crises cannot be fixed by cities.

While I was in Edmonton recently to write about the city’s deeply ingrained nostalgia for the Oilers’ glory days and the excitement around the team’s trip to the Stanley Cup finals this year, I met with Amarjeet Sohi, who became the city’s mayor in 2021.

Mr. Sohi has an unusually varied background. When he returned to his native India from Edmonton in the late 1980s — the wonder time for the Oilers — he was imprisoned for 21 months and endured torture after being arrested on what the Canadian government, and ultimately an Indian court, deemed to be false terrorism allegations. He has been a taxi driver and a bus driver, a federal member of Parliament and a minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.

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Trudeau’s Mass Immigration Follies: ‘Anxious about the future’ job seekers in the GTA struggle to find work amid high unemployment rate

When Joy Ojehanon left Nigeria seven years ago, she said she had “high hopes” for a new life in Canada, filled with opportunity and professional success.

But what’s followed her arrival in Toronto has been what she describes as a “heartbreaking” job search, despite her experience and education in the field of child and youth care.

“After some months in Canada, I started looking for a job, but my job applications were consistently rejected by employers, citing my lack of Canadian qualifications/work experience,” she told CTV News Toronto.

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Liberal MP Housefather’s appointment to role fighting antisemitism delayed by concerns about caucus divisions

A proposal to appoint Liberal MP Anthony Housefather to a new role fighting antisemitism — which has been in the works for weeks — has been held up by concerns about divisions in the government caucus over the Israel-Hamas war, CBC News has learned.

And sources who spoke to CBC News — including one caucus member — are asking how Housefather’s role would differ from the work of Deborah Lyons, the special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism.

The government has been accused by Jewish groups of not being supportive enough of Israel, though it has seen its support erode among both Jews and Muslims.

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Ontario judge finds no documentation to support Global News reporting on Han Dong allegations

An Ontario Superior Court judge has found no documented evidence to support allegations made against former Liberal MP Han Dong in a series of Global News stories last year.

The judge made the comments as he rejected an application from Corus Entertainment to throw out Dong’s lawsuit against the news agency, saying it is in the public interest to hear the case.

“The matter of Mr. Dong’s communications with the Chinese are worthy of the freedom of expression of an open court system,” Justice Paul Perell said in his judgment Wednesday.

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Will Canada join the U.S. in a tariff battle against Chinese EV imports?

China crappy electric cars, EV

The Canadian government appears set to push back against the explosive growth in Chinese electric vehicle imports by joining its allies in a tariff battle that risks triggering retaliation from Beijing.

On Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called on the federal government to “immediately match or exceed U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, including at least a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles.”

“Taking every advantage of low labour standards and dirty energy, China is flooding the market with artificially cheap electric vehicles. Unless we act fast, we risk Ontario and Canadian jobs,” the premier said in a media statement.

I’m sure Canada’s China class will steer Justin in Beijing’s approved direction.

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Skyrocketing rent: Some Canadians saying goodbye to half their paycheque

A significant number of Canadian renters are spending more than half their paycheque putting a roof over their head, according to a new Royal LePage report.

In Vancouver, 27 per cent of renters are spending more than half their net income on paying the rent. In Toronto, 19 per cent are forking over more than half of their paycheque and one in 10 Montrealers are in the same position. The national average is 16 per cent.

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Trudeau’s security adviser plays down concealing documents from foreign interference inquiry

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security adviser is playing down concerns over the government concealing cabinet documents from the commissioner looking into foreign interference, saying the government has chosen to provide the cabinet confidences it considers “most relevant” to the inquiry.

“So, we shared with the commission, in a very transparent way, things that were relevant, to the point, with them,” she said.

Conservative MP Eric Duncan compared the situation to “a courtroom trial where the accused that’s on the stand gets to choose what evidence the judge gets to see.”

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Trudeau hopes expected byelection victory will quell rising desire to see him resign

Trudeau searching for his Mojo

Toronto byelection mirrors choice for voters in next federal vote: Trudeau

… Trudeau was asked Thursday whether he considers the byelection a test of his leadership.

“There’s a real choice that people will make in St. Paul’s, which will mirror the choice people will have to make next year in the federal election,” he said, speaking in French.


He is in denial.

St Paul’s is a suicidally progressive safe seat in a suicidally progressive city and a win won’t prevent next year’s national wipe out.

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With Trudeau on the ropes, Liberals contemplate the next election with hope and anxiety

In Justin Trudeau’s inner circle, there is no doubt about it — the prime minister will lead his party into what promises to be a hard-fought election battle against Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives in 2025.

He says he wants to defend his vision of the country. He feels his legacy is under threat. He considered stepping down during his marriage difficulties last year, but decided to stay.

“I just realized, that’s not me. There is so much to do still,” he said during a recent episode of the ReThinking podcast.

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Chinese Canadian group links two Senators to actions against Canada’s interests

A Chinese Canadian human rights group taking part in Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission (FIC) has linked two Canadian senators to NSICOP’s explosive June 2024 intelligence review.

The submission to Ottawa’s FIC from Chinese Canadian Concern Group points at Senator Yuen Pau Woo, also an intervener with the Commission, and Senator Victor Oh.

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