(Happy New(s)
Year!)
Canada column for
Sunday, Jan. 1/17
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
There’s good news
and bad for taxpayers supporting the Canadian and provincial governments as
2017 dawns.
This give and take
will help governments balance their books and provide more assistance for those
in need.
Nationally,
higher-income earners will pay more but most Canadians will have more money to
keep.
The enhanced monthly
Child Benefit payments led the federal government to end other child tax
credits and there are changes to Employment Insurance benefits.
Also gone is income
splitting for families and changes affecting life insurance, business owners
selling their companies and some mutual funds.
Ontario residents
will receive an 8-percent rebate on electricity bills but the climate change
“cap-and-trade” fee will add about $6 a month to natural gas bills.
The first-time
homebuyers’ maximum land transfer tax refund will double to $4,000.
British Columbia
says goodbye to medical services plan premiums for children while Quebec bids
adieu to its controversial health premiums.
Alberta reduces its
small business corporate income tax rate to 2 percent from 3 while the carbon
tax on gas and oil will be offset with rebates for lower-income earners.
Only cash-strapped
Newfoundland and Labrador will raise income taxes along with provincial park
and campsite fees.
---
Governor General
David Johnston says it’s a time for Canadians to “reflect, reaffirm and look
ahead.”
Johnston, who
represents Queen Elizabeth II in Canada, urged in his New Year’s address that
everyone should make 2017, the country’s 150th birthday, a “legacy” year.
“We have a rare,
once-in-a-generation opportunity to think about Canada and to look to the
future,” he said.
“We're so fortunate
to live in Canada, but there’s so much more work to do,” he added, urging
Canadians to “continue to celebrate diversity . . . that has allowed us to
build a society that is the envy of the world.”
---
News in brief:
- Investigators are
trying to determine what caused a Christmas Eve fire that killed a Toronto
family of four at their cottage on Stoney Lake near Peterborough, Ontario. The million-dollar
home burned to the ground killing Toronto lawyer Geoff Taber, his wife Jaquie
Gardner, sons Scott, 15, and Andrew, 13, and their two dogs.
- While 28 percent
of Canadians surveyed by CIBC said debt repayment was the top financial
priority, 48 percent said they don’t plan to cut back spending on non-essential
items in order to meet their goals. The bank concluded that about half of
Canadians aren’t taking “sufficient steps” to stay on top of their financial
priorities.
---
Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar
has risen to 74.37 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.344 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 mixed,
with the Toronto exchange index down at 15,330 points while the TSX Venture
index is up at 760 points.
The average price
for gas in Canada has risen to $1.11 a liter or $4.21 (Canadian) for a U.S.
gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Dec.
28) 1, 5, 10, 15, 40 and 41; bonus 27. (Dec. 24) 15, 20, 23, 27, 39 and 48;
bonus 34. Lotto Max: (Dec. 23) 1, 5, 11, 26, 28, 30 and 41; bonus 49.
---
Regional briefs:
- Heavy snowfalls
and high winds are hampering the search for two snowshoers missing in the
backcountry near Cypress Mountain Resort in British Columbia. The search for
Roy Lee and Chun Lam is in area that is also at risk for avalanches.
- Investigators are
trying to determine if excitement or boredom were at play after the arrests of
three volunteer firefighters for setting blazes in Cape Breton. Gary Luker is
the latest firefighter from the Florence Volunteer Fire Department to face
arson charges for blazes set in vehicles, brush, abandoned buildings and two
houses.
- Only in Canada,
eh. Jesse Myshak decided to make a stop for hot chocolate at the drive-through of
Tim Hortons coffee shop on his way home in Stony Plain, Alberta. The thing was,
he was driving his Zamboni, a big hockey rink ice-surfacing machine. “The staff
told me it was the most Canadian thing they’ve ever seen,” he said.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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