Fewer Canadian women working outside the home, government report shows

   Canada column for Sunday, Aug. 7/16

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Fewer Canadian women with children are in the workforce as compared with those in many other countries, a government study shows.

   Women’s groups, including the Facebook site TorontoMummies, call it a “crisis” as mothers cope with raising children and finding available and affordable daycare that can cost $1,000 and more a month in Toronto.

   The rate of women between 25 and 54 with children younger than 15 working was 75 percent, based on 2013 statistics, said an internal federal government analysis obtained by the Canadian Press news service.

   This places Canada ninth among member countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

   The document was prepared after last fall’s election when the now-governing Liberal party said it would draft a national framework on early learning and child care.

   The study said the job participation rate for women with young children involved factors such as education, family income and taxes, job availability, child benefits and the availability of affordable child care.

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   The Canadian economy recorded its largest one-month drop in full-time work in five years with the loss of 31,200 net jobs in July.

   Statistics Canada said the market gave up 71,400 full-time positions that were partly offset by an increase of 40,200 part-time positions.

   This helped push the national unemployment rate to 6.9 percent, up 0.1 percent from June.

   There was also a drop of 2,700 self-employed jobs.

   Ontario lost 36,100 net positions while British Columbia added 12,100 new jobs.

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   News in brief:

   - Ardent Canadian nationalist Mel Hurtig has died in Vancouver at age 84. He was best known as publisher of the Canadian Encyclopedia and co-founder of the Council of Canadians dedicated to preserving the country’s sovereignty. He was also leader of the short-lived National Party of Canada, formed in 1992 to battle foreign ownership.

   - Member of Parliament Hunter Tootoo of Nunavut in the Arctic now says he quit his job in the Liberal caucus and cabinet to become an Independent due to a “consensual but inappropriate” relationship. It was believed to be with a member of his staff. Originally, Tootoo said he was seeking treatment for alcohol addiction and planned to return to politics.

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   Facts and figures:

   The Canadian dollar has dropped to 75.98 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.316 Canadian, before exchange fees.

   The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is steady at 0.5 percent while the prime-lending rate is 2.7 percent.

   Stock markets are higher, with the Toronto exchange index at 14,630 points while the TSX Venture index is 804 points.

   The average price for gas in Canada is steady at $1 a liter or $3.80 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.

   Lotto 6/49: (July 30) 4, 5, 9, 19, 22 and 23; bonus 16. (July 27) 6, 7, 9, 39, 47 and 49; bonus 15. Lotto Max: (July 29) 11, 15, 25, 26, 39, 47 and 49; bonus 30.

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   Regional briefs:

   - Police in Sherbrooke, Quebec have recommended a criminal negligence charge against a waiter who served salmon tartare to severely allergic customer. Simon-Pierre Canuel said he told the unnamed waiter of his condition and ordered beef tartare. After taking a bite, he became ill and was in a coma for two days and in a hospital for several weeks.

   - There are indications Vancouver’s booming housing market is showing signs of cooling as sales fell in July to their lowest level of the year. The sale of 3,226 residential properties was down 26.7 percent from June according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. Prices climbed 1.4 percent in July to an average $930,400 and up 32.6 percent from a year earlier.

   - Rugged outdoorsman, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has created a media sensation posing shirtless when emerging from a cave in Quebec’s Gatineau Park. News.Mic called him “one of Canada’s most prized national treasures,” while the photo was also carried by Time magazine and the BBC. Later in the week, Trudeau and his family were photographed on a whale watching boat in Tofino, British Columbia. Someone said she also took a photo of Trudeau surfing.

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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com