Well, today is the Liberal/NDP Non-Coalition Coalition Budget Day!

[Ron in Regina]

So, here we are in the midst of an inflation and cost of living crisis, Canadians still processing the most recent punch to the gut courtesy of the Bank of Canada, and we have politicians out there showing us repeatedly just how little they get it.

Butter is $9 and Chrystia Freeland is taking victory laps on how inflation is back under control. You know, everywhere except the grocery store where it’s never been worse.

Housing unaffordability has never been more severe and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is pleased to support the notion of homeowners being bequeathed the right to add expensive secondary suites within their homes to help ease the burden of carrying costs.

LACKIE: These are our leaders? — Toronto Sun

We are in the midst of an inflation and cost of living crisis and we have politicians showing us repeatedly just how little they get it.

apple.news

Either the Trudeau Liberals are financially illiterate, or they’re hoping you are.

The Liberals have been doing a victory lap this week after inflation fell to 2.8% in June compared to the same period a year earlier.

That sounds great. In fact, after hitting a recent inflation high of 8.1% a year ago, it sounds amazing. Here’s the problem: It’s almost all driven by a drop in the price of gas compared to a year ago while food prices, rent and mortgage payments continue to spiral out of control.

LILLEY: Trudeau Liberals claim victory on inflation as food, housing climb — Toronto Sun

Economists have said the growth in federal spending has contributed to inflation in Canada

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Bakery products were up 12.9% in June compared to a year ago, fresh fruit was up 10.4%, dairy was up 7.4% and meat 6.9%. No matter what kind of diet you’re following, food is far more expensive than it used to be, but the Trudeau Liberals want you to know that you’ve never had it so good.

Housing costs, meanwhile, are skyrocketing, and not just the average selling price for a home. Two years ago, the Bank of Canada’s key interest rate was 0.25%, a year ago it was 1.50% and today it stands at 5%.

“Mortgage interest costs have also significantly increased, rising over 30% in the past year due to the Bank of Canada’s attempts to control inflation,” they added. Add in rent jumping 5.8% in the past year, and that adds up to a gaping hole in many people’s pocket.

Chrystia Freeland's boast about decreasing inflation slammed online — Toronto Sun

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland crowed on Wednesday about Canada’s inflation rate dropping to 2.8% in June. “Canada’s plan to bring down inflation is working,” she wrote on Twitter alongside a graphic showing the country’s inflation rate leading the G7 and being...

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Another pointed out the carbon tax having an impact on the cost of living.

“This makes no sense and doesn’t reflect the carbon tax that has made everything cost more,” the person wrote. “Groceries have not come down in price…. Everything hurts in the wallet right now!

Inflation relief felt largely at the gas pump; food, housing costs continue to rise

The rising cost of living in Canada that has dominated the headlines over the past year is, in many ways, a story about oil.

torontosun.com

Majority of Canadians think Trudeau government spends too much and on the wrong things: poll — National Post

Fewer than one in four Canadians believe that the federal government is spending on the right things, while two in three say their tax burden is too high

apple.news

 

[pgs]

So, here we are in the midst of an inflation and cost of living crisis, Canadians still processing the most recent punch to the gut courtesy of the Bank of Canada, and we have politicians out there showing us repeatedly just how little they get it.

Butter is $9 and Chrystia Freeland is taking victory laps on how inflation is back under control. You know, everywhere except the grocery store where it’s never been worse.

Housing unaffordability has never been more severe and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is pleased to support the notion of homeowners being bequeathed the right to add expensive secondary suites within their homes to help ease the burden of carrying costs.

LACKIE: These are our leaders? — Toronto Sun

We are in the midst of an inflation and cost of living crisis and we have politicians showing us repeatedly just how little they get it.

apple.news

Either the Trudeau Liberals are financially illiterate, or they’re hoping you are.

The Liberals have been doing a victory lap this week after inflation fell to 2.8% in June compared to the same period a year earlier.

That sounds great. In fact, after hitting a recent inflation high of 8.1% a year ago, it sounds amazing. Here’s the problem: It’s almost all driven by a drop in the price of gas compared to a year ago while food prices, rent and mortgage payments continue to spiral out of control.

LILLEY: Trudeau Liberals claim victory on inflation as food, housing climb — Toronto Sun

Economists have said the growth in federal spending has contributed to inflation in Canada

apple.news

Bakery products were up 12.9% in June compared to a year ago, fresh fruit was up 10.4%, dairy was up 7.4% and meat 6.9%. No matter what kind of diet you’re following, food is far more expensive than it used to be, but the Trudeau Liberals want you to know that you’ve never had it so good.

Housing costs, meanwhile, are skyrocketing, and not just the average selling price for a home. Two years ago, the Bank of Canada’s key interest rate was 0.25%, a year ago it was 1.50% and today it stands at 5%.
View attachment 18781
“Mortgage interest costs have also significantly increased, rising over 30% in the past year due to the Bank of Canada’s attempts to control inflation,” they added. Add in rent jumping 5.8% in the past year, and that adds up to a gaping hole in many people’s pocket.

Chrystia Freeland's boast about decreasing inflation slammed online — Toronto Sun

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland crowed on Wednesday about Canada’s inflation rate dropping to 2.8% in June. “Canada’s plan to bring down inflation is working,” she wrote on Twitter alongside a graphic showing the country’s inflation rate leading the G7 and being...

apple.news

Another pointed out the carbon tax having an impact on the cost of living.

“This makes no sense and doesn’t reflect the carbon tax that has made everything cost more,” the person wrote. “Groceries have not come down in price…. Everything hurts in the wallet right now!

Inflation relief felt largely at the gas pump; food, housing costs continue to rise

The rising cost of living in Canada that has dominated the headlines over the past year is, in many ways, a story about oil.

torontosun.com

Majority of Canadians think Trudeau government spends too much and on the wrong things: poll — National Post

Fewer than one in four Canadians believe that the federal government is spending on the right things, while two in three say their tax burden is too high

apple.news

If you tell a lie enough times and yell it load enough .

 

[Ron in Regina]

While Canada’s consumer price index fell from 3.4% in May to 2.8% in June, the cost of groceries was 9.1% above where it had been a year earlier.

True, the rate of inflation on groceries was 10.4% in January, so 9.1% today is better. But excuse me if I’m not all that grateful, given that essential groceries such as eggs, pasta, butter and meat are as much as 40% above where they were this time last year.

Feeding a family on a budget has become far more difficult in the past couple of years, with little sign of easing.

Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland trumpeted the return of the official inflation rate to under 3.0% for the first time in more than two years.

“Canada’s plan to bring down inflation is working,” Freeland beamed, before boasting that Canada now has the lowest inflation rate in the G7.

Don’t get me wrong, having the lowest inflation rate is better than having the highest. However, Freeland didn’t acknowledge (and may not even have understood) that not only is food inflation triple the overall rate, but housing costs, too, are rising at twice the pace of other goods and services.

Moreover, THREE of the biggest drivers causing pain in consumers’ grocery bills and mortgage payments are entirely within the Trudeau government’s ability to control, yet they refuse to do anything about them.

1) For instance, the Liberals’ carbon tax is not only keeping fuel and transportation costs artificially high, it’s also helping drive up food costs. Growing crops and raising cattle uses a lot of energy (operating equipment, heating barns, drying grain) and the added carbon tax costs get passed on to consumers.

Then the food has to make it to a wholesaler and finally to a grocery store. Every egg, box of cereal, loaf of bread and kilo of ground beef, every apple and can of tuna, has carbon tax built into the price, passed on from the trucking company that hauled those items to market.

‘AT LEAST’ ONE-THIRD of the rapid rise in groceries can be traced back to the carbon tax. And since the Trudeau Liberals will neither remove the carbon tax on farm production nor long-haul trucking – they are too “green” for that – there is little likelihood of relief in grocery prices anytime soon.

2) Mortgage payments have risen by at least a quarter in the past 18 months, in large part because the federal government has spent way too much, hired far too many new civil servants and borrowed hundreds of billions to pay for a 40% explosion in the size of the federal government.

All this government spending and borrowing has caused inflation, so what is the Bank of Canada’s solution to halt inflation? Raise interest rates, which in itself is a big reason for the rise in inflation on mortgage payments.

3) The third reason for inflation is the Liberals’ rapid and massive immigration. The Trudeau government let in one million new Canadians last year. That’s a population rise of 2.5% in a single year.

This week, BMO’s economics arm released a study showing that for every 1.0% rise in population, housing prices rise 3.0%. That means last year alone, Liberal immigration policy added 7.5% to the cost of housing.

That’s not racist or anti-immigrant. It’s simply a fact that, if you are admitting new Canadians faster than you are building new housing, you’re going to increase the number of buyers and renters chasing a finite supply of houses, condos and rental towers.

And that’s not factoring in the inflationary effects of the current B.C. longshoremen’s strike or this week’s report showing the Libs’ forced conversion to an all-green power grid will cost $1.7 trillion.

GUNTER: Food for thought on Trudeau Liberals buoying inflation — Toronto Sun

Inflation is down, officially, but consumers will be forgiven for not celebrating. While Canada’s consumer price index fell from 3.4% in May to 2.8% in June, the cost of groceries was 9.1% above where it had been a year earlier. True, the rate of inflation on groceries was 10.4% in January, so...

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When it comes to the economy, clueless is too complimentary a label for the Trudeau Liberals.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Thinking small. Why not eliminate the Income tax and the GST?

 

[Ron in Regina]

Thinking small. Why not eliminate the Income tax and the GST?

I hear you, but the Carbon Tax and the other Carbon Tax on top of that are the newest slapped on top of things, and are the ones that keep increasing while everything else keeps increasing with no end in sight. This is the place to start.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I hear you, but the Carbon Tax and the other Carbon Tax on top of that are the newest slapped on top of things, and are the ones that keep increasing while everything else keeps increasing with no end in sight. This is the place to start.

No, you start by cutting services until the budget balances. Then you cut services and taxes to keep it balanced until you reach the service level you want and are willing to pay for. 1850 or so, I gather from the bitching on this board.

 

[Ron in Regina]

No, you start by cutting services until the budget balances. Then you cut services and taxes to keep it balanced until you reach the service level you want and are willing to pay for. 1850 or so, I gather from the bitching on this board.

The Carbon Tax(s) don’t seem to provide a service beyond increasing inflation and Government bureaucracy though. Wouldn’t that be a good place to start?

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

The Carbon Tax(s) don’t seem to provide a service beyond increasing inflation and Government bureaucracy though. Wouldn’t that be a good place to start?

Sure. Vote Conservative (like you would ever do otherwise). Just ignore the fact that you're running a deficit now and START by cutting taxes.

 

[petros]

Sure. Vote Conservative (like you would ever do otherwise). Just ignore the fact that you're running a deficit now and START by cutting taxes.

Carbon Taxes aren't general tax revenues. They are to allegedly stay in a fund for project development but we aren't seeing any viable projects of note.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Carbon Taxes aren't general tax revenues. They are to allegedly stay in a fund for project development but we aren't seeing any viable projects of note.

The GST Tax that’s taxed on top of these Other Tax’s would go to General Revenue though I guess….ugh.

 

[petros]

The GST Tax that’s taxed on top of these Other Tax’s would go to General Revenue though I guess….ugh.

Sure would. Think how much PST revenues have been lost by SK having to drop the PST on fuels to help with affordability.

 

[Ron in Regina]

In the Trudeau Cabinet Re-Shuffle again this week, the three Ministers responsible for economic policy – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Trade Minister Mary Ng – remains unchanged.

Collectively, they have overseen policies that have resulted in more and more Canadians worrying about their ability to put food on theirs tables or roofs over their heads. Is it realistic to expect some kind of paradigm shift to make the hard economic (versus political) decisions necessary to maintain or regain Canadian standards of living?

Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet brings a number of issues to the fore. It is clear to that ethics and competence do not play a major role, as evidenced by Mary Ng and Harjit Sajjan still in cabinet. Here’s what this Cabinet Reshuffle and its timing is all about.

 

[Taxslave2]

No, you start by cutting services until the budget balances. Then you cut services and taxes to keep it balanced until you reach the service level you want and are willing to pay for. 1850 or so, I gather from the bitching on this board.

The latest carbon scam tax isn't about raising revenues. It is about depressing the Western economy. Oil is evil, nukes is good.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

The latest carbon scam tax isn't about raising revenues. It is about depressing the Western economy. Oil is evil, nukes is good.

Of course. No government EVER wants to raise money! They just want to ENSLAVE poor poor pitiful you!

 

[Ron in Regina]

The ongoing B.C. port strike is the labour version of a reality dating show — it’s full of unpredictable twists, hosted by a federal Liberal party that favours sound bites over substance, and one half of the relationship can’t commit.

But it’s far from the only rockier-than-usual labour negotiation we’ve seen as of late. As port workers strike out west, about 3,700 Metro grocery store workers are striking in Ontario, shuttering 27 locations. Manitoba Liquor Mart employees also continue to strike as negotiations have reportedly stalled.

The federal public service strike isn’t far in the rearview mirror, and before that it was education workers in Ontario. South of the border, screenwriters and actors are both on high-profile picket lines with no end in sight.

It’s a new, thornier era of labour relations and we’re likely to see more disruptions and prolonged job actions in the coming months and years unless something significant changes. While the right to collective bargaining is essential, it doesn’t change the fact that lengthy and unpredictable strikes are also economically damaging not just for employers, but for many employees and the country at large.

It’s in everyone’s best interest to have an economy and business environment where strikes are largely avoided. This doesn’t mean union-busting or the habitual use of back-to-work legislation, but getting cost of living under control, promoting healthy competition and incentivizing companies to invest in innovation and expansion.

These are all areas the federal Liberals have failed in over the past eight years and, until they’re improved, labour relations will continue to falter. Inflation may be slowing, but prices are still rising, particularly when it comes to essential goods like groceries and housing. It’s unsurprising to see strikes when, for example, Metro workers report having to resort to using food banks despite working for a grocery store chain.

Sabrina Maddeaux: Liberal policies are fuelling labour strife across Canada — National Post

The high cost of living, a housing crisis and a faltering economy are feeding worker anger

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The government can’t declare victory on inflation — as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has been — and call it a day. Base effects are distorting the true pain felt by Canadians, especially the working class and low-income earners. Practically every economist predicts the housing crisis will get worse unless drastic changes are made. Wealth continues to concentrate in unproductive areas rather than contribute to economic growth and shared prosperity.

At the same time, burdensome bureaucracy and high taxes make entrepreneurship unnecessarily difficult and expensive. We must reprioritize competition, job mobility and encouraging small business growth.

The federal government should also consider the impact its turbocharged temporary foreign worker program has on low-income workers. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself said in 2014 that the program should be scaled back. Instead, once in office, he increased temporary foreign work permits by a whopping 92 per cent between 2015 and 2017 alone.

The numbers have only continued to surge since then, and been roundly criticized by economists for prioritizing cheap labour while sacrificing good wages, labour rights, worker mobility and investments in innovation. The program, at this scale, is effectively a corporate subsidy with far-reaching negative impacts.

When wages are systemically stagnated, career opportunities limited and gradual improvements in work conditions absent, we inevitably end up with big moments where worker frustration boils over. Frustration, resentment and anger become widespread, replacing pride in one’s job and optimism for growth. This isn’t the basis of a healthy, functioning economy.

Sabrina Maddeaux: Trudeau's cabinet shuffle little more than a PR exercise — National Post

It's a new coat of paint on the quickly deteriorating Liberal house

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The Liberals’ abandonment of the working class and low-wage workers through bad policies on files ranging from competition to immigration, housing and rampant corporate oversubsidization led us to this new era of labour strife. While individual companies must show up at the negotiating table, it’s the federal government that needs to act to bring back normal labour relations to across the country and to prevent further economic damage.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Good. Let the Libs babble away, and let the parties with something at stake negotiate.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Good. Let the Libs babble away, and let the parties with something at stake negotiate.

….& the Opposition (& the NDP) reactions (predictably on both parts) to the Shuffle.

 

[pgs]

….& the Opposition (& the NDP) reactions (predictably on both parts) to the Shuffle.

Everybody is doing the pension shuffle
the B.S. is really quite frightening .

 

[Ron in Regina]

Five months after the federal budget abandoned plans to balance Canada’s books by 2027, new data from the country’s budgetary watchdog suggest a return to balance might not happen until the next decade.

Released late last month, supplementary data provided alongside Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux’s 2023 Fiscal Sustainability report projects the earliest the government could balance the budget would be 2035.

The budgetary balance — the difference of total revenue minus total spending — is forecast to reach a surplus of $2 billion by 2035.

Year-by-year estimates included in that supplementary data pegs nominal GDP growth at four per cent between 2023 and 2035 — two per cent adjusted for inflation.

Total spending — the difference between annual program spending minus public debt charges — is forecast to hit $4.75 billion in 2024, increasing to $7.18 billion by 2035.

The data also forecast interest rates to increase from a projected effective interest rate of 2.52 per cent in 2024 to 3.04 per cent in 2035 — an average of 2.8 per cent over the time period.

But these forecasts appear to largely depend on consistent economic growth and no additional spending on top of what was announced in the 2023 federal budget.

Balanced federal budget won't happen before 2035, PBO data suggests — National Post

But that PBO forecast is based on strong economic growth and no new spending, says the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

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[Ron in Regina]

While Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland recently declared Canada’s annual inflation rate of 2.8% as a “milestone moment” for Canadians, the word that better applies is that it’s still a millstone around their necks.

While it’s good news the annual inflation rate dropped to 2.8% in June from a 39-year high of 8.1% a year ago, Freeland’s boast that “it should provide a lot of relief to Canadians” is a hollow victory.

Despite the drop in the inflation rate to within the Bank of Canada’s annual inflation control target — an average of 2% within a range of 1% to 3% — there’s still a long way to go.

The main reason for the decrease in the annual inflation rate from 3.4% in May was a drop in gasoline prices.

But, as Statistics Canada also reported: “Grocery prices remain one of the largest contributors to the all-items CPI (Consumer Price Index), with a 9.1% year-over-year increase in June, nearly unchanged from the increase in May (+9.0%).

“The largest contributors within the food component were meat (+6.9%), bakery products (+12.9%), dairy products (+7.4%) and other food preparations (+10.2%).

“Fresh fruit prices grew at a faster pace year over year in June (+10.4%) than in May (+5.7%), driven, in part, by a 30.0% month-over-month increase in the price of grapes.”

When the cost of a necessity such as food is contributing to inflation, along with a 30.1%-increase in the cost of mortgage interest payments, year-over-year, it’s hardly the time to declare victory over inflation.

EDITORIAL: A hollow victory over inflation — Toronto Sun

While Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland recently declared Canada’s annual inflation rate of 2.8% as a “milestone moment” for Canadians, the word that better applies is that it’s still a millstone around their necks. While it’s good news the annual inflation rate dropped to 2.8% in June from a...

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Finally, a decrease in the overall rate of inflation is not the same as a decrease in prices paid by Canadians.

It means the rate of increase in prices has slowed down, while the costs of necessities such as food continue to rise.

While Freeland also boasted that Canada’s inflation rate is the lowest in the G-7, what’s far more significant to Canadians is that the Bank of Canada has raised its key interest rate from 0.25% in March 2022 to 5.0% today, to fight inflation.

That has dramatically increased the cost of borrowing for everything from mortgages to business and consumer loans, with no indication the bank intends to lower it any time soon.