Canada

Friday November 30, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday November 30, 2018

USMCA signing could be overshadowed by larger divisions between nations at G20

Officials don’t know yet who will sign the pact. And they haven’t said exactly when, or where, it’s going to happen.

October 2, 2018

But when the G20 summit in Buenos Aires is over, the leaders of Canada, the United States and Mexico are supposed to be coming home with a newly signed trade agreement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday his government was “still in discussions” with Washington about the timing and circumstances of the official United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement signing event. At any rate, it may turn out to be a hold-your-nose moment for the Trudeau government, which had hoped to see U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum lifted before signing day.

August 18, 2018

The chances that the tariffs will even be discussed at the summit, let alone lifted, are so slim that a source tells CBC News that Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. isn’t even going to Argentina.

David MacNaughton has been a key leader for the Canadian trade negotiating team, but he will not be present for the anticipated signing ceremony, or for any sideline talks with the Americans in Buenos Aires.

While the USMCA signing will be big news in Canada when it happens, it’s likely to be overshadowed by the larger global divisions on display at the G20.

June 9, 2018

The official agenda will see leaders discussing different approaches to sustainable and fair growth for the global economy. But these conversations come at a time when confidence in multilateral institutions is declining.

The Americans have been at the centre of two summits that ended in diplomatic disaster in this year alone.

Most recently, the APEC summit in Papua New Guinea ended without a communique, as trade frustrations between the U.S. and China flared.

In June, the G7 summit in Charlevoix, Quebec ended with President Trump pulling his support for the communique and lashing out at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him “weak.” (Source: CBC) 

 

Tuesday November 27, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 27, 2018

USMCA not to blame for GM plant closures, but it’s killing all hope of exporting from North America

U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies were likely just one factor among many that contributed to General Motors’ decision to shutter multiple plants in the U.S. and one in Oshawa in Ontario, analysts say.

April 29, 2009

But the closures will undoubtedly sharpen scrutiny of the White House’s “America First” trade agenda — a strategy aimed at preserving jobs in traditional industries through controversial measures including steel and aluminum tariffs that have ultimately squeezed automakers, analysts say.

“Only a few months ago GM said that the Trump tariffs were costing a billion dollars but they were going to wait until after the mid-term elections to take action,” said Dennis DesRosiers, president of DesRosiersAutomotive Consultants. “It is now past the elections and they are taking action. Partial blame for this goes to Trump and his isolationist policies. It is much bigger than U.S. politics, but it certainly is part of the issue.”

January 13, 2009

GM will shutter its factory in Oshawa as part of a global restructuring as the company shifts to manufacturing electric and autonomous vehicles. The move will see 2,973 jobs cut by the end of 2019 at the Oshawa plant, which has been in operation since 1953. The Detroit firm will also slash a total of 6,705 jobs at plants located in Warren, Ohio; White Marsh, Md; and two facilities in Michigan.

Other Canadian manufacturing facilities in St. Catharines and Ingersoll, Ont. will not be affected.

“Trade headwinds” and, in particular, Trump’s tariffs of 25 per cent on imported steel and 10 per cent on aluminum, have also been identified as a key business challenge by more than one automaker as they attempt to make difficult transitions in their product lines and operations. In September, executives at Ford Motor Co. blamed the tariffs for taking US$1 billion out of company profits. (Source: Financial Post) 

 

Thursday November 22, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 22, 2018

Fiscal update to lay out competitiveness plan, close loop on some Liberal vows

The federal government will release a fall economic update Wednesday that will seek to close the loop on some of its outstanding mandate commitments, leaving the door open for the Liberals to use next year’s budget as their 2019 election platform.

March, 1, 2018

The document will also include Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s long-awaited plan to help Canada compete for investment dollars, which many warn has become increasingly difficult following major tax and regulatory changes in the United States.

Morneau has faced pressure to lower Canada’s corporate rate, but the government has signalled it will focus on targeted measures to accelerate investment rather than across-the-board tax cuts.

The document will likely be the Liberal government’s second-last opportunity — besides the spring budget — to deliver major policy announcements and its political pitch in package form before the October 2019 election.

February 12, 2016

As for fiscal responsibility, the official said the fall statement will show that Canada’s annual projections for the federal deficit and the debt burden will continue to slide downward on trajectories similar to those outlined in the 2018 budget.

The Liberals have faced regular criticism from the Opposition Conservatives for abandoning their 2015 vow to run only modest annual shortfalls of no more than $10 billion and to eliminate the deficit by 2019.

Instead, the Liberals have posted deficits of more than $18 billion in each of the last two years.

As its guiding principle on fiscal responsibility, the government has focused on lowering the country’s debt burden — as measured by net debt-to-GDP — rather than balancing the books.

The debt-to-GDP ratio fell to 31.3 per cent in 2017-18 from 32 per cent in 2016-17. The government has predicted the ratio to fall to 30.1 per cent in 2018-19 and continue sliding each year until it reaches 28.4 per cent in 2022-23. (Source: CTV News) 

 

Wednesday November 21, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 21, 2018

With no labour deal in sight, Canada Post warns of delivery delays into January

Canada Post says Canadians can expect delays of parcel and mail delivery into 2019 as a result of rotating strikes by its employees.

And it says the worst delays will likely be in southern and southwestern Ontario because of a backlog of hundreds of transport trailers sitting idle at its main Toronto sorting facility.

The Crown corporation has told its commercial customers that it cannot honour its delivery standards for any product because of the prolonged strikes.

The walkouts have created massive backlogs of mail and parcels just days before an expected rush of millions more parcels from Black Friday and Cyber Monday online sales.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today repeated his call for both sides in the dispute to resolve their differences soon.

But he gave no indications that his government is prepared to force postal workers back to their jobs yet, saying only that he wants a deal, and that the government is considering what it can do to put an end to the labour dispute.

“We are, of course, very preoccupied with the fact that Christmas is coming, important shopping days are coming and we need to see a resolution to that,” Trudeau said as he arrived in Ottawa for a meeting with his cabinet.

“As I’ve said many times, all options are on the table,” he added when asked whether he was prepared to table back-to-work legislation.

Canada Post is dealing with a fifth week of rotating strikes by its unionized workers as both sides remain apart on contract negotiations. (Source: CTV News) 

 

Tuesday November 20, 2018


Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 20, 2018

Why Doug Ford’s Franco-Ontarian cost-cutting could spell trouble for Andrew Scheer

What’s been called a “sad day for Franco-Ontarians” presents a challenge for Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer — not only in Ontario but in every part of the country where francophones live.

November 27, 2006

The Conservatives are hoping to replicate Premier Doug Ford’s electoral success in Ontario and see him as a key ally in the fight against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax. But they also have great hopes of wooing Quebec voters — hopes that could be dashed if Scheer is unable to reconcile his support for Ford with his pitch to the francophone voters now angered by Ford’s actions.

In its fiscal update on Thursday, Ford’s government announced it would be cancelling a project to build a long-awaited French-language university in Toronto and would be abolishing the position of the French language services commissioner.

These decisions hit Franco-Ontarians hard and the reaction has been swift and furious. The front page of Le Droit, a major Franco-Ontarian newspaper, called it a “black day for francos.” Francophone organizations and associations across the province have denounced the move and say they are prepared to contest it in the courts.

But French-speakers in Ontario weren’t the only ones who took notice. In New Brunswick and Manitoba, concerns are being raised about what it signals for the francophone minorities in those provinces.

This is an especially sensitive issue in New Brunswick, where a new Progressive Conservative government is taking office that is dependent for survival on the People’s Alliance, a party that wants to roll back some parts of the province’s Official Languages Act.

Quebec’s French-language media — which normally would pay little attention to a provincial fiscal update in Ontario — also jumped on the news. Le Devoir reported the decision under the headline, “Doug Ford sacrifices Ontario francophones.” Le Journal de Montréal, a widely-read and generally conservative-leaning paper, called it a “sad day.”

Quebec Premier François Legault, a small-c conservative himself, also expressed his concerns and said he would take up the issue with his Ontario counterpart. The mayor of Quebec City — the municipality at the centre of the region where most of the Conservatives’ seats in the province are located — denounced the move as mean-spirited and provocative. (Source: CBC News)