Canada column for Sunday, March 14/21
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
Canada added 259,000 jobs to the labor force last month but the country remains a long way from a return to its pre-pandemic economy.
Statistics Canada said there are still 599,000 fewer people working than a year ago.
Last month marked a year of “unprecedented changes” in the Canadian labor market coping with the COVID-19 outbreak.
Now there are 406,000 more people working less than half their usual hours with employment last month 3.1 percent below pre-pandemic levels.
The number of new jobs added resulted in Canada recovering most of the jobs it lost in the previous two months during tighter pandemic restrictions.
This pushed the jobless rate down to 8.2 percent from 9.4 percent, the lowest rate since March 2020, when the pandemic began.
Among those working at least half their usual hours at locations other than home increased by 600,000 as schools and other work places reopened in several provinces, the report said.
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Amazon has decided not to locate the largest warehouse in Canada on a controversial environmental site at a protected wetland in Pickering, east of Toronto.
The company said it is no longer considering the Duffins Creek land for its fulfilment center with four-million square feet of warehouse space.
The Toronto Region Conservation Authority hadn’t agreed to allow property owner Triple Group of Companies to begin destroying the wetland.
Mayor Dave Ryan said the next step would be to pause any immediate disruption to the land and lose this “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for 2,000 jobs and revenue from development charges and taxes.
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News in brief:
- As Canadian provinces, with the exception of Saskatchewan, entered Daylight Saving Time today, politicians are reviewing whether to continue the clock-changing ritual. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is springing forward with a plan to hold a vote on ending the tradition. Ontario is also considering staying on daylight time forever. To make it work, politicians say bordering U.S. states would have to make a similar decision.
- Canada’s central bank has kept its trend-setting interest rate steady at 0.25 percent. The Bank of Canada has said that’s as low as it will go during the pandemic. It expects the economy to grow in the third quarter of the year as government spending and lower interest rates are “buffering the impact of the shutdown” and creating the foundation for recovery.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is higher at 79.35 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.247 Canadian before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada key interest rate is steady at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock markets are higher, with the Toronto index at 18,851 points and the TSX Venture index at 982 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is higher at $1.25 a liter (Canadian) or $4.75 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (March 9) 3, 7, 16, 22, 29, 31 and 42; bonus 15. (March 5) 6, 9, 23, 25, 31,36 and 48; bonus 30.
Lotto 6/49: (March 10) 30, 31, 35, 36, 43 and 48; bonus 28. (March 6) 2, 14, 18, 21, 26 and 48; bonus 19.
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Regional briefs:
- As Ontario is receiving more than one-million COVID-19 vaccine shipments a day, the provincial government is expanding the delivery to administer the shots. Across the province as of Friday vaccines can be received at pharmacies and primary care settings. This includes more than 325 pharmacies offering the AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine to Ontarians aged 60-64, by appointment in specific regions.
- Vote counting has finally begun in Newfoundland and Labrador’s long-delayed COVID provincial election. The deadline for returning mail-in ballots has changed again to March 25 to be counted. All in-person voting in the election was stopped earlier due to pandemic lockdown measures. Another deadline passed due to concerns about weather and transportation disruptions to mail services. The winner might be known by April 1, election officials say.
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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