News

Canada’s Housing Bubble Could Spell Disaster for Trudeau

Published

9 months ago

2023-08-23

According to experienced strategists, Canada’s housing market is in danger of collapsing since it has one of the greatest housing bubbles in history. The degree of debt that Canadians have taken on in contrast to their earnings has left many in a perilous situation if mortgage rates continue to climb, which is likely, according to Phillip Colmar, partner at MRB Partners, in an interview on Tuesday.

“Canada is probably sitting on the largest housing bubble of all time,” he said.

Colmar suggested that inflated housing prices in Canada are a result of the Bank of Canada’s monetary policy providing easy money for two decades for a variety of reasons. Currently, he sees risk in mortgage rates rising as Canadian bond yields rise, especially at a time when debt-to-income ratios are sky high.

“The worst part for a housing bubble is when you have [a] credit bubble underneath it,” Colmar cautioned. The amount of Canadian indebtedness in the system against income is tremendous — and debt servicing has increased dramatically.”

While Canadian banks are doing their lot to keep the property market from collapsing, Colmar predicts it will.

There is clearly a risk that if mortgage rates rise, unemployment rises, or we enter the next recession, this thing will wind up in a deleveraging cycle, he added.

Trudeau Hasn’t Helped in Canada’s Soaring Housing Cost

The rising cost of housing in Canada has become a key electoral issue for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as his main opponent focuses on generational frustrations over affordability.

This summer, Trudeau has played defence on the problem, naming a new housing minister and diverting some of the burden to other levels of government. However, with Trudeau’s party already slipping in recent surveys, housing has become a serious vulnerability for him.

“Failure to appear to be doing enough on housing could be politically disastrous for the Liberals,” David Coletto, CEO of polling firm Abacus Data told Bloomberg.

The issue is especially crucial for Canadians under 40, a critical group that Trudeau’s party could not have won the last two elections without, according to Coletto. His firm’s most recent survey showed Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives leading the Liberals by ten points.

The average price of a home in Canada has more than quadrupled in the last decade, reaching $760,600 (US$572,470) in June. Trudeau’s government, which took office in 2015, has also steadily increased yearly immigration targets, with more than one million people coming last year, putting a strain on an already scarce housing supply.

Poilievre has pounded Trudeau on the issue, concentrating on young people’s rage. He told reporters outside the Parliament building in Ottawa on Tuesday that Canada’s home affordability is among the worst in the world.

“Rent has more than doubled,” he remarked. “Mortgage payments have doubled.” Down payments were required and doubled. All of this comes after eight years of Justin Trudeau.”

To be fair, rising housing costs have many causes outside of Trudeau’s control. Provinces and cities, which are in charge of land-use planning, zoning, and permitting, are to fault, as are real estate investors, overseas buyers, years of low loan rates, and other issues.

Nonetheless, Canada’s aggressive immigration ambitions have outpaced housing construction, exacerbating the demand-supply imbalance. In the year to March, 4 to 5 international migrants landed in Canada for every new unit of housing construction that began. That is the highest ratio of new Canadians to new residences in statistics dating back to 1977.

Poilievre, on the other hand, dodged reporters’ inquiries on whether he will lower immigration targets on Tuesday.

Former Liberal member Adam Vaughan, who assisted in the development of Trudeau’s $82 billion national housing policy, said that the country is better off now than it would have been without his party’s policies. He claims that if the government had done nothing, federal spending on social housing would have been merely $1 billion this year.

More needs to be done, he says, and time would be better spent concentrating on solutions across levels of government rather than laying blame. Trudeau’s remark on Monday that housing is not a fundamental federal priority was “problematic,” according to Vaughan.

“It is a responsibility of the federal government, if not literally, then politically, and I would argue that it is morally,” said Vaughan, who now works at public relations firm Navigator.

According to Mike Moffatt, senior policy and innovation director at the Smart Prosperity Institute, the federal government has a number of instruments at its disposal to address the housing shortfall without increasing its debt.

These approaches include focusing immigration policy on construction workers, electricians, and others who could help increase housing supply, as well as postponing international student visa approvals until provinces order universities to provide additional accommodation for them.

If the government does act, “they had better act quickly because time isn’t on their side, and there’s a chance that one of the opposition parties could really start to own this issue,” Moffatt said.

Former Trudeau policy director Marci Surkes believes the government is working on a housing strategy as a core component of its fall budget update.

“This is ground that the Liberal Party should be occupying and owning,” said Surkes, who currently works as an adviser for the Compass Rose Group. “At this point, they should have been making more tangible progress.” And yet, given the economic circumstances, whatever progress has been made to date does not feel sufficient.”

The New Democratic Party’s Jagmeet Singh, whose party has agreed to support the Liberal minority government in Parliament, said on Tuesday that Trudeau’s “finger-pointing” will not fix the housing crisis, despite the fact that all levels of government bear some responsibility.

“We can’t ignore the significant levers that the federal government has,” he remarked. “The levers are so significant that I would say the federal government has incredible powers to actually solve this problem if they choose to do so.”

News

Elon Musk Launches Starlink Satellite Internet Service In Indonesia, World’s Largest Archipelago

Published

8 hours ago

2024-05-19

Kiara Grace

DENPASAR, Indonesia — On Sunday, Elon Musk visited Bali, Indonesia’s resort island, to debut Starlink satellite internet service in the world’s largest archipelago.

In a green Batik shirt, Musk was greeted with a garland of flower petals at a community health center in Denpasar, Bali’s provincial capital, where he and Indonesian politicians launched the Starlink service.

Indonesia, a large archipelago of 17,000 islands spread across three time zones with a population of over 270 million, has been attempting for years to obtain deals with Musk’s Tesla for battery investment and with Musk’s SpaceX to bring fast internet to the country’s distant parts.

AP – VOR News Image

Elon Musk Launches Starlink Satellite Internet Service In Indonesia, World’s Largest Archipelago

During the ceremony, Musk conducted a speed test of the Starlink internet connection with many health professionals from Indonesia’s remote regions, including Aru, one of the country’s least-served and most distant islands in Maluku.

“This can make it really a lifesaver for remote medical clinics, and I think it could be a possibility for education as well,” Musk stated to reporters.

“If you have access to the internet, you can learn anything and sell your company services around the world. So, I think it’ll be quite beneficial,” he explained.

He also inked an agreement to improve connections in the country’s healthcare and education sectors. Details of the arrangement between the Indonesian government and Musk’s SpaceX, the aerospace company that operates Starlink services, were not disclosed.

According to Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the launch of the service at a health clinic is consistent with Starlink’s overall aim of offering inexpensive access to high-speed internet services, particularly in underserved and distant areas.

“Our remote regions need Starlink to expand high-speed internet services, especially to help with problems in the health, education, and maritime sectors,” said Pandjaitan, a close supporter of Indonesian President Joko Widodo. He had separate conversations with Musk on Sunday.

Budi Arie Setiadi, Minister of Communication and Informatics, previously stated that local internet providers, who rely on base transceiver stations to transmit signals, are unable to reach the outer islands due to poor coverage. Starlink’s satellites, which are still in low orbit, will help them provide speedier internet with statewide coverage.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin states that around 2,700 of the country’s more than 10,000 clinics lack internet connection.

Kids News – VOR News Image

Elon Musk Launches Starlink Satellite Internet Service In Indonesia, World’s Largest Archipelago

“The internet can open up better access to health services as communication between regions is said to be easier, so that reporting from health service facilities can be done in real time or up to date,” he stated.

Musk will also attend the 10th World Water Forum, which aims to solve global water and sanitation issues, during his first in-person visit to Bali.

Musk spoke in 2022 at the B-20 business gathering, which preceded the Group of 20 leading economies’ summit in Bali. He attended the meeting via video link weeks after completing his much-scrutinized takeover of Twitter.

Musk’s visit comes just weeks after Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Widodo on April 17, stating that the business will “look at” manufacturing in Indonesia. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella paid a visit on April 30 and announced plans to invest $1.7 billion in new cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Indonesia over the next four years.

AP – VOR News Image

Elon Musk Launches Starlink Satellite Internet Service In Indonesia, World’s Largest Archipelago

Indonesia, under Widodo, has pushed the growth of the digital technology and information industries in order to accomplish the government’s Golden Indonesia 2045 vision. The Netherlands aspires to be one of the world’s top five economies, with a GDP of up to $9 trillion, exactly a century after gaining independence from Dutch invaders.

SOURCE – (AP)

News

Canada Fisheries Officers Seize Elvers Worth $500K at Toronto Airport

Published

1 day ago

2024-05-19

Geoff Thomas

The seized elvers are worth between $400,000 and $500,000: CTV News

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) officers and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers seized roughly 109 kg of unlawful elvers at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The elvers were scheduled to be transferred overseas.

The seized elvers are worth between $400,000 and $500,000.

An investigation into this matter for violations of the Fisheries Act is currently underway.

“The magnitude of this elver seizure is an important development,” said Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, in a statement. “It reflects not only the work of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, but also the collaborative efforts of many other government agencies and departments.

“Once again, our message is crystal clear: do not travel to Nova Scotia to illegally fish or export elvers this year, enforcement officers will be waiting for you.”

This seizure was the product of a coordinated operation combining officials from the DFO’s Conservation & Protection Directorate and the National Fisheries Intelligence Service, as well as the CBSA Commercial Operations District and intelligence teams.

The federal government banned the lucrative elver fishery on March 11 following violence and intimidation during last year’s fishing season in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Elvers are often flown to Asia and grown to maturity before being sold for food, with mature eels utilized in unagi dishes at sushi restaurants.

The baby eels are valued approximately $5,000 per kilogram, more than lobsters, scallops, or salmon, making them the most valuable fish by weight in Canada.

The DFO announced in March that no elver fishing would take place this year due to safety and conservation concerns. So far, cops have made 149 arrests and seized around 207.7 kg of elvers.

According to federal data, 149 people have been arrested for elver-related crimes this year, with approximately 208 kilos recovered.

Elvers, the fascinating baby eels

Elvers are tiny, transparent young eels that migrate from the ocean into freshwater rivers and streams. These little snake-like organisms make an astonishing journey, swimming thousands of miles to their destination. Elvers perform an important role in the life cycle of eels, eventually maturing into the adult eels we know.

Their migration is a spectacular natural spectacle. Elvers crawl in large groups upstream, overcoming barriers such as waterfalls and dams. Once in freshwater, they will mature for years before returning to the sea to breed and repeat the cycle. Elvers face numerous dangers, including habitat loss and over fishing, making conservation efforts critical for these extraordinary migratory.

News

CNN Pay Tribute to Alice Stewart: A Very Special Woman Dead at 58

Published

1 day ago

2024-05-18

Geoff Thomas

Alice Stewart, a longtime political strategist and CNN political pundit who worked on multiple Republican presidential campaigns, has died. She was 58. CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer joins Jessica Dean to reflect on Stewart as a friend and coworker.

According to law enforcement officials, Stewart’s body was discovered outside in the Belle View community of northern Virginia early Saturday morning. There is no indication of foul play, and officers assume a medical emergency occurred.

“Alice was a very dear friend and colleague to all of us at CNN,” CNN’s CEO Mark Thompson wrote in an email to employees Saturday. “A political veteran and Emmy Award-winning journalist who brought an exceptional spark to CNN’s coverage, known throughout our bureaus not only for her political acumen, but also for her unfailing kindness. Our emotions are heavy as we lament such a great loss.”

Alice Stewart was born March 11, 1966, in Atlanta.

Stewart began her career as a local reporter and producer in Georgia before relocating to Little Rock, Arkansas, to become a news anchor, she told Harvard International Review. She went on to work as the communications director for then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee before taking on a similar role for his presidential campaign in 2008.

She previously worked as the communications director for former Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s 2012 Republican presidential campaign, as well as former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a former CNN analyst. Stewart most recently served as the communications director for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 GOP campaign.

“Alice was wonderful, talented, and a dear friend,” Cruz wrote in a post on X. “She lived every day to the fullest, and she will be deeply missed.”

CNN hired Stewart as a political pundit ahead of the 2016 election, and she appeared on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” as recently as Friday to provide insight on the day’s political headlines.

“We always invited her to come on my show because we knew we would be a little bit smarter at the end of that conversation,” Blitzer stated to Jessica Dean on “CNN Newsroom.” “She helped our viewers better appreciate what was going on and that’s why we will miss her so much.”