Canada column for Sunday, July 19/20
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Working together,
Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments have reached a deal to
share $19 billion to help recover from COVID-19.
Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau said his government will contribute the money under the “Safe
Restart Agreement” to help fund such things as child care, contact tracing and
personal protective equipment supplies.
The money will also
help to bail out municipal governments coping with soaring costs and limited
income from services especially transit during the pandemic.
There is also a
provision for sick leave for employees that will be fully funded by the
Canadian government.
British Columbia
Premier John Horgan said the sick-leave program will ensure that no one feels
pressured to go to work while ill.
The provinces will
invest the money in targeted areas to support vulnerable people and services,
Trudeau said.
“Until we find a
vaccine, the daily threat of COVID-19 will not disappear,” he added.
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The Canadian
government is revising its pandemic wage subsidy to ease eligibility and make
it more accessible.
Finance Minister
Bill Morneau said the emergency wage subsidy will change the amounts businesses
can receive.
As well, the
payouts will be proportional to revenue declines due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The program is also
being extended to Dec. 19 to give company owners confidence to rehire workers.
So far the
government has given almost $20.4 billion in payroll help to about 262,200
companies.
People who have
lost their jobs can also claim $2,000 a month in assistance from the federal
government.
---
News in brief:
- By mutual
agreement, the Canadian and U.S. governments have extended their ban on
non-essential travel between the two countries until Aug. 20. “Close
collaboration with our neighbors (Canada and Mexico) has allowed us to respond
to COVID-19 in a North American approach and slow the travel-related spread of
the virus,” said acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf.
- Provincial police
continue their extensive manhunt southwest of Quebec City for the father of two
young girls found dead in the woods last weekend. Martin Carpentier, 44, is
suspected in the deaths of his daughters Norah, 11, and Romy, 6, after crashing
his car off Highway 20 last weekend. Police said they believe Carpentier might
still be alive after finding that someone took items from a nearby trailer.
---
Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar
is higher at 73.62 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.358 Canadian before
exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s
key interest rate remains unchanged at 0.25 percent while the prime lending
rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock
markets are mixed with the Toronto index up at 16,123 points and the TSX Venture
index is down at 674 points.
The average price
for gas in Canada is higher at $1.053 a liter (Canadian) or $4.00 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (July 14) 3, 9, 21, 35, 44, 47 and 48;
bonus 23. (July10) 17, 18, 27, 38, 39, 40 and 47; bonus 24.
Lotto 6/49: (July
15) 5, 7, 17, 22, 43 and 44; bonus 14. (July 11) 16, 22, 31, 36, 43 and 44;
bonus 46.
---
Regional briefs:
- House sales and
prices have rebounded across Canada after a dismal spring. The
Canadian Real Estate Association said the average price of a resale house
was $539,000, up 10 percent from May. Sales were 41,628 houses, up 63
percent. Biggest sales jumps were in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley,
up 99.7 percent; Toronto, up 83.8 percent; Montreal, up 75.1 percent; Vancouver,
up 60.3 percent; and down to Winnipeg at 22.5 percent and Quebec City’s
43.6 percent.
- A fisherman in
British Columbia landed a barracuda on Vancouver Island, several thousand miles
from its home turf in Mexico’s Baja California. The last time Tyler Vogrig had
seen the long muscular fish with giant teeth was in Hawaii. He was catching
sockeye salmon at Alberni Inlet for stock-assessment work for Fisheries and
Oceans Canada. After taking photos, he released the fish back into the northern
waters.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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