Prospective homebuyers face a growing list of challenges -- from skyrocketing prices in Vancouver and Toronto, to soft conditions in Alberta, to another round of mortgage rule changes. But there are some good reasons 2017 is still a good year to buy a home in Canada.
This year is Canada's 150th birthday, and Justin Trudeau does not want you to forget it. Actually, he's counting on you to never, ever forget. Instead of focusing on the economy, or health care initiatives, or explanations for ongoing scandals, we are about to be inundated with Canadiana.
We cannot allow ourselves to become content to remain what the Canadian minister of defence has called "an island of stability in an ocean of turmoil." The Canadian government must make the decision to go or not to go in Mali, or elsewhere in Africa, to provide assistance to peace-support operations.
Today, the Earth got a little hotter, and a little more crowded. And the chances of Donald Trump's family and fortune surviving climate change are s...
Last Thursday I arrived at my synagogue to find it vandalized. It was heartbreaking to see blatant anti-Semitism and racism displayed in our nation's capital. But after a difficult week, far more than a silver lining has emerged. Ottawa has united to send a clear message to anyone who would target communities based on their faith, race, or other characteristic.
Under Justin Trudeau, "Canada is back" to isolating itself from world opinion on Palestinian rights. On Monday, Canada joined the U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau in opposing a UN Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee resolution in support of Palestinian self-determination.
The federal deficit is rising, far beyond the $10 billion projected in the Liberal's election platform. The stated purpose of running $130 billion of deficits over five years is to stimulate the Canadian economy, whose prospects for growth are deteriorating.
The first is coping with the inexorable trend towards urbanization. By 2036, over 60 per cent of the world's population will reside in cities. The burgeoning number of urban dwellers worldwide will put pressure on city governments in areas ranging from housing to services, infrastructure to transportation.
Recently, a scandal involving the moving expenses of two of Prime Minister Trudeau's most trusted inner circle surfaced. It cost taxpayers $200,000 to move these two staffers 500 kilometers up the 401. It reminds me of when I helped former deputy speaker Joe Comartin move out of his apartment in Ottawa.
Since Black Lives Matter Toronto's sit-in during Pride 2016, many of you have shown woeful levels of misunderstanding of where our community as a whole sits with the police. I've heard several of you say that the police don't pose a threat to LGBT people, because we've made "progress." "The bathhouse raids were 35 years ago. Everything is fine now between LGBT people and the police!" is how the argument goes, as if conflict between police and LGBT people is a thing of the past. What you mean to say is that your battle for your rights (which did not include an agenda for LGBT people of colour) was already hard fought decades ago.
It's 2016 after all and we haven't seen the PCs offer up a single female candidate during their current streak of byelection victories. You have to scroll way down the list of endorsements for Mr. Brown to find a few female endorsements.
Tax evaders are using homes to bring money from high-tax jurisdictions into Canada. Since they can't just move fat wads of cash without attracting scrutiny, they've come up with several techniques. Using soft assets that don't have fixed trade values (like homes) is one of the easiest ways to do it.
Former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper apparently isn't satisfied with having destroyed a lot of wonderful and important things in Canada. Now he has signed on with Dentons, the world's largest elite law firm, to spread his dark viewpoints around the globe.
The issue of tax havens is inherently international in scope. As a result, the government can use tax agreements to fight tax avoidance schemes. Unfortunately, tax agreements haven't been used for that purpose. On the contrary, they have facilitated the outflow of Canadian money to offshore financial centres, and have done very little to break the damaging secrecy laws of these countries.