Finance

Thursday December 8, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday December 8, 2016 Families could pay up to $420 more for food in 2017, report finds The average Canadian family may need to dish out as much as $420 more for food next year Ñ and consumers could have president-elect Donald Trump to thank for part of the price bump, the lead author of a new report says. Canada's Food Price Report, published by researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, was released Monday evening. The annual report, which looks ahead to 2017, cites weather disruptions caused by La Nina, energy-related costs Ñ including the potential effect of carbon pricing on the agricultural sector Ñ and a weak Canadian dollar as factors in the expected price hikes. Economists forecast the loonieÊcould fall as low as 70 cents US in 2017, and a weaker dollar would reduce the buying power of importers. "Everything we actually import from everywhere will increase in price," says Sylvain Charlebois, lead author of the report. But Charlebois, who works with the faculties of management and agriculture at Dalhousie, suggests there's one more major factor that could contribute to the increase in food prices: the incoming U.S. President. "We are expecting Canadian shoppers to be Trumped at the grocery store," said Sylvain Charlebois, lead author of the report. The annual report, which has come from the University of Guelph in years past, says the "proverbial sweet spot for food inflation" is between one and two per cent each year.ÊÊAt that rate, the increases are manageable for restaurateurs, grocery stores and consumers, the authors say. The latest report looks forward to 2017 and finds that food prices could increase between three per cent and five per cent Ñ with meat, vegetables, fish and other seafood projected to jump by as much as four to six per cent. Regionally, Ontario and British Columbia are expected to see most of the increases. (Source: CBC)Êhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/business/food

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 8, 2016

Families could pay up to $420 more for food in 2017, report finds

The average Canadian family may need to dish out as much as $420 more for food next year — and consumers could have president-elect Donald Trump to thank for part of the price bump, the lead author of a new report says.

Friday December 11, 2015 Payday loan industry comes under microscope The province is moving to protect vulnerable people from cash stores and collections agencies Ñ but a local councillor calls the efforts "half-hearted." If passed, new legislation by the Ontario government promises to increase protections under the Payday Loans Act, Consumer Protection Act and the Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act. The aim is to provide safeguards such as a cap on the rates charged by cheque-cashing services, a grace period for repayment for customers of rent-to-own services and reasonable costs for optional insurance on instalment loans. It would also offer longer repayment periods for repeat payday loan borrowers, and expanded rules against unfair collection practices from businesses that purchase and collect overdue debts. But Ward 3 Coun. Matthew Green says the legislation "doesn't go nearly far enough in terms of really tackling the core elements and the predatory nature of this industry." There are 813 licensed payday lenders in Ontario Ñ more than there are McDonalds restaurants. Roughly 35 of those are in Hamilton, according to the ministry's online database. For starters, Green wants to see the "ridiculous" interest rates on payday loans slashed. Green put forward a motion this summer to limit and regulate these stores at a municipal level, which would have made Hamilton the first city in the province to do so. Staff is now looking into the feasibility of that. In the meantime, he and a working group made up of local agencies, including credit unions, are actively researching a model for a market alternative low-cost loan service. Tom Cooper, director of Hamilton's Roundtable for Poverty Reduction (HRPR), says he'd like to see provincial legislation that enables municipalities to license lenders at the local level. He agrees there's more work to do on this. "At the end of the day É these services are predatory by nature and they'll continue to take a

December 11, 2015

Canada’s Food Price Report, published by researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, was released Monday evening.

The annual report, which looks ahead to 2017, cites weather disruptions caused by La Nina, energy-related costs — including the potential effect of carbon pricing on the agricultural sector — and a weak Canadian dollar as factors in the expected price hikes.

Economists forecast the loonie could fall as low as 70 cents US in 2017, and a weaker dollar would reduce the buying power of importers.

Friday April 25, 2014“Everything we actually import from everywhere will increase in price,” says Sylvain Charlebois, lead author of the report.

But Charlebois, who works with the faculties of management and agriculture at Dalhousie, suggests there’s one more major factor that could contribute to the increase in food prices: the incoming U.S. President.

“We are expecting Canadian shoppers to be Trumped at the grocery store,” said Sylvain Charlebois, lead author of the report.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday April 6, 2016 Panama Papers: Document leak exposes global corruption, secrets of the rich The financial secrets of heads of state, athletes, billionaires and drug lords have been exposed in the latest Ñ and biggest ever Ñ leak of records from an offshore tax haven. The leak includes 11.5 million confidential documents shedding light on the assets and murky fiscal dealings of everyone from the prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan to soccer player Leo Messi, movie star Jackie Chan and associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The records, dating as far back as 1977, come from a little-known but highly influential Panama-based law firm called Mossack Fonseca, which has 500 staff working in 40-plus countries. The firm is one of the world's top creators of shell companies Ñ corporate structures that can be used to hide ownership of assets. German newspaper SŸddeutsche Zeitung obtained the files from a source and shared them with global media partners, including CBC News and the Toronto Star, through the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. CBC News will be exploring more of what's in the documents, including Canadian connections, in a series of stories this week. "These findings show how deeply ingrained harmful practices and criminality are in the offshore world," said Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley and author of The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens. Zucman, who was briefed on the media partners' investigation, said the release of the leaked documents should prompt governments to seek "concrete sanctions" against jurisdictions and institutions that peddle offshore secrecy. While offshore accounts are not in themselves illegal, the leaked records show they are often used to shield illicit dealings. In a written response to questions from the media consortium, Mossack Fonseca said it "do

April 6, 2016

The annual report, which has come from the University of Guelph in years past, says the “proverbial sweet spot for food inflation” is between one and two per cent each year.  At that rate, the increases are manageable for restaurateurs, grocery stores and consumers, the authors say.

The latest report looks forward to 2017 and finds that food prices could increase between three per cent and five per cent — with meat, vegetables, fish and other seafood projected to jump by as much as four to six per cent. Regionally, Ontario and British Columbia are expected to see most of the increases. (Source: CBC)

 

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday, November 15, 2016 Finance Minister Charles Sousa delivers fall economic statement The Ontario government is moving to double the maximum tax rebate offered to first-time homebuyers while boosting the land-transfer tax on house purchases above $2 million. Finance Minister Charles Sousa made the announcements in his fall economic statement, delivered in the provincial legislature on Monday afternoon. The changes are to take effect on Jan.1, 2017. "Purchasing your very first home is one of the most exciting decisions in a young person's life, but many are worried about how they will be able to afford their first condo or house," he told the Legislature Monday. "Improving housing affordability will help more Ontarians to participate [in the housing market].Ó Sousa said first-time buyers won't pay any land transfer tax on the first $368,000 of a purchase price, and they will become eligible for a rebate of up to $4,000 in provincial land transfer tax, levied on the purchase of every house and condominium. Meanwhile, the land-transfer tax rate on the amount of a purchase above $2 million will rise to 2.5 per cent, from the current rate of 2 per cent. Government officials say the tax increase on luxury homes will bring in about $105 million annually, and that will fund the increased rebate. New Democrat finance critic Catherine Fife called the fall economic statement "a distraction" from the top issue facing Ontarians Ñ soaring electricity rates Ñ and said Premier Kathleen Wynne had downplayed expectations of help for first-time homebuyers. "Quite honestly, she was right to lower the expectations because what we see in this statement is neither new or profound or progressive," Fife told the legislature. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-fall-economic-statement-charles-sousa-1.3849873 Ontario, economy, economic, statement, Kathleen Wynne, Charles Sousa, budget, finan

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Finance Minister Charles Sousa delivers fall economic statement

The Ontario government is moving to double the maximum tax rebate offered to first-time homebuyers while boosting the land-transfer tax on house purchases above $2 million.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa made the announcements in his fall economic statement, delivered in the provincial legislature on Monday afternoon. The changes are to take effect on Jan.1, 2017.

“Purchasing your very first home is one of the most exciting decisions in a young person’s life, but many are worried about how they will be able to afford their first condo or house,” he told the Legislature Monday. “Improving housing affordability will help more Ontarians to participate [in the housing market].”

November 8, 2013

November 8, 2013

Sousa said first-time buyers won’t pay any land transfer tax on the first $368,000 of a purchase price, and they will become eligible for a rebate of up to $4,000 in provincial land transfer tax, levied on the purchase of every house and condominium. Meanwhile, the land-transfer tax rate on the amount of a purchase above $2 million will rise to 2.5 per cent, from the current rate of 2 per cent.

Government officials say the tax increase on luxury homes will bring in about $105 million annually, and that will fund the increased rebate.

New Democrat finance critic Catherine Fife called the fall economic statement “a distraction” from the top issue facing Ontarians — soaring electricity rates — and said Premier Kathleen Wynne had downplayed expectations of help for first-time homebuyers.

“Quite honestly, she was right to lower the expectations because what we see in this statement is neither new or profound or progressive,” Fife told the legislature. (Source: CBC News)

 

Friday August 26, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday August 26, 2016 Ontario Liberals wonÕt ban cash-for-access events OntarioÕs Liberal government has bowed to public and opposition pressure to tighten caps further on political donations, but is still not banning cash-for-access fundraising. Government House Leader Yasir Naqvi on Monday released proposed amendments to Bill 201, the LiberalsÕ campaign-finance reform legislation. TheÊbill is under review by a legislative committee, which has been holding public hearings for the past two months. The changes include a $3,600 limit per donor Ð divided among the central party office, riding associations and individual candidates Ð in a year withÊan election or by-election, or $2,400 in a year without either. Currently, donors can contribute up to $33,250 annually; the original text of the billÊwould have brought that down to $7,750 in a year with an election or by-election. But the Liberals opted not to make cash-for-access illegal, allowing the controversial fundraising practice that started the furor over campaign financeÊto continue. Instead of a legislated ban, Mr. NaqviÕs office said he will consult the opposition parties on a code of conduct for MPPs that would offerÊguidelines for raising money from stakeholders. The government turned down an interview request for Mr. Naqvi. His spokesman, Kyle Richardson, refused to answer questions directly on why theÊLiberals are not prohibiting cash-for-access. ÒGovernment amendments are based on the feedback heard at public hearings held across Ontario. We are committed to working with theÊopposition,Ó Mr. Richardson wrote in an e-mail. Under the cash-for-access system, revealed by The Globe and Mail this spring, corporations, unions and wealthy individuals paid up to $10,000 forÊaccess to Premier Kathleen Wynne and members of her cabinet, typically over cocktails and dinner. At most events, corporate and union leaders in aÊgiven sector Ð including const

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday August 26, 2016

Ontario Liberals won’t ban cash-for-access events

Ontario’s Liberal government has bowed to public and opposition pressure to tighten caps further on political donations, but is still not banning cash-for-access fundraising.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday March 30, 2016 Ontario, the Wild West of Political fundraising Kathleen WynneÕs Liberals will rake in roughly $3 million in a single fundraiser Wednesday night. At their sumptuous Heritage Dinner, ÒVictory TablesÓ are priced at $18,000 for corporate high-flyers, and the biggest donors are feted at a private cocktail reception by a grateful premier. But thatÕs only half the story of how the governing party raises big money. In Ontario, the Wild West of fundraising, cabinet ministers are assigned secret targets as high as $500,000 a year, the Star has learned. The unsavoury spectacle of OntarioÕs politicians supplicating big business and big labour for events such as the Heritage Dinner is only a small piece of the fundraising puzzle glimpsed by the public. Beyond the showy hobnobbing, shadowy appeals by cabinet ministers for corporate money are the untold story at QueenÕs Park. Corporate and union contributions that Wynne persists in publicly defending create a demonstrable conflict of interest for cabinet ministers, which is why they were banned for federal parties in 2006, and are no longer legal in four other provinces. And yet, according to multiple sources, top cabinet ministers at QueenÕs Park are given financial targets that are typically in the range of $250,000 annually Ñ double that amount in some cases. These quasi-quotas are never written down, conveyed instead by the Ontario Liberal Fund through confidential meetings and phone calls. They are the price of admission to power, revealed here for the first time, and they are astonishingly high. The two most marketable ministers are Charles Sousa, the minister of finance, and Eric Hoskins, who helms the provinceÕs $52-billion health care budget. Both are expected to bring in as much as $500,000 a year, well-placed sources have confirmed. SousaÕs control of the provincial treasury, tax policy and auto insurance makes him a prime t

March 30, 2016

Government House Leader Yasir Naqvi on Monday released proposed amendments to Bill 201, the Liberals’ campaign-finance reform legislation. The bill is under review by a legislative committee, which has been holding public hearings for the past two months.

The changes include a $3,600 limit per donor – divided among the central party office, riding associations and individual candidates – in a year with an election or by-election, or $2,400 in a year without either. Currently, donors can contribute up to $33,250 annually; the original text of the bill would have brought that down to $7,750 in a year with an election or by-election.

But the Liberals opted not to make cash-for-access illegal, allowing the controversial fundraising practice that started the furor over campaign finance to continue. Instead of a legislated ban, Mr. Naqvi’s office said he will consult the opposition parties on a code of conduct for MPPs that would offer guidelines for raising money from stakeholders.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð

April 7, 2016

The government turned down an interview request for Mr. Naqvi. His spokesman, Kyle Richardson, refused to answer questions directly on why the Liberals are not prohibiting cash-for-access.

“Government amendments are based on the feedback heard at public hearings held across Ontario. We are committed to working with the opposition,” Mr. Richardson wrote in an e-mail.

Under the cash-for-access system, revealed by The Globe and Mail this spring, corporations, unions and wealthy individuals paid up to $10,000 for access to Premier Kathleen Wynne and members of her cabinet, typically over cocktails and dinner. At most events, corporate and union leaders in a given sector – including construction, finance, insurance and pharmaceuticals – gave money to spend time with the cabinet minister responsible for making policy decisions and handing out contracts in the donors’ industry. (Source: Globe & Mail)

 

Wednesday April 6, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday April 6, 2016 Panama Papers: Document leak exposes global corruption, secrets of the rich The financial secrets of heads of state, athletes, billionaires and drug lords have been exposed in the latest Ñ and biggest ever Ñ leak of records from an offshore tax haven. The leak includes 11.5 million confidential documents shedding light on the assets and murky fiscal dealings of everyone from the prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan to soccer player Leo Messi, movie star Jackie Chan and associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The records, dating as far back as 1977, come from a little-known but highly influential Panama-based law firm called Mossack Fonseca, which has 500 staff working in 40-plus countries. The firm is one of the world's top creators of shell companies Ñ corporate structures that can be used to hide ownership of assets. German newspaper SŸddeutsche Zeitung obtained the files from a source and shared them with global media partners, including CBC News and the Toronto Star, through the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. CBC News will be exploring more of what's in the documents, including Canadian connections, in a series of stories this week. "These findings show how deeply ingrained harmful practices and criminality are in the offshore world," said Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley and author of The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens. Zucman, who was briefed on the media partners' investigation, said the release of the leaked documents should prompt governments to seek "concrete sanctions" against jurisdictions and institutions that peddle offshore secrecy. While offshore accounts are not in themselves illegal, the leaked records show they are often used to shield illicit dealings. In a written response to questions from the media consortium, Mossack Fonseca said it "do

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 6, 2016

Panama Papers: Document leak exposes global corruption, secrets of the rich

The financial secrets of heads of state, athletes, billionaires and drug lords have been exposed in the latest — and biggest ever — leak of records from an offshore tax haven.

The leak includes 11.5 million confidential documents shedding light on the assets and murky fiscal dealings of everyone from the prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan to soccer player Leo Messi, movie star Jackie Chan and associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The records, dating as far back as 1977, come from a little-known but highly influential Panama-based law firm called Mossack Fonseca, which has 500 staff working in 40-plus countries. The firm is one of the world’s top creators of shell companies — corporate structures that can be used to hide ownership of assets.

German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung obtained the files from a source and shared them with global media partners, including CBC News and the Toronto Star, through the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

CBC News will be exploring more of what’s in the documents, including Canadian connections, in a series of stories this week.

“These findings show how deeply ingrained harmful practices and criminality are in the offshore world,” said Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley and author of The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens.

Zucman, who was briefed on the media partners’ investigation, said the release of the leaked documents should prompt governments to seek “concrete sanctions” against jurisdictions and institutions that peddle offshore secrecy.

While offshore accounts are not in themselves illegal, the leaked records show they are often used to shield illicit dealings.

In a written response to questions from the media consortium, Mossack Fonseca said it “does not foster or promote illegal acts.”

“Your allegations that we provide shareholders with structures supposedly designed to hide the identity of the real owners are completely unsupported and false,” the firm said. (Source: CBC News)

 

Friday September 11, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday September 11, 2015 Hamilton looks to crack down on payday loan industry Hamilton councillors unanimously approved a motion seeking from the province the ability to limit the locations of payday loan and cheque cashing outlets, while also strengthening the Payday Loans Act. ÒThis is predatory economic violence,Ó said Ward 3 councillor Matthew Green, who introduced the motion at councilÕs Sept. 9 meeting. Ò(They) are targeting our most vulnerable, indebted people. ItÕs legalized loan sharking.Ó GreenÕs motion targeting the industry, which was revealed earlier this summer, includes forcing these businesses to post their rates on their walls, provide information about debt counselling, and having Hamilton staff identify all the payday loan businesses in the city. Also contained in the motion was a request to the province to toughen the Payday Loans Act. The act regulates the industry allowing outlets to charge $21 for every $100 people borrow. Green says desperate people use these businesses, and they end up having to go to another payday loans outlet to pay the loan of the first one. ÒThis is usury, this is criminal,Ó said Green. ÒIÕd love to see (the places) outlawed.Ó Tom Cooper, director of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, says municipalities need the power to regulate a business that is taking advantage of vulnerable people. ÒWe deem the industry as predatory in nature because its practices and slick marketing campaigns lure vulnerable consumers into transactions where there is nowhere else to turn in a financial crisis,Ó said Cooper. Based on the payday industryÕs own information, for every new customer loan, 15 are repeats, said Cooper. Stan Keyes, president of the Canadian Payday Loan Association, headquartered in Hamilton, stated in an email letter sent to councillors Sept. 8 that Òcouncil should not pass bylaws to ban industries providing services that consumers d

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 11, 2015

Hamilton looks to crack down on payday loan industry

Hamilton councillors unanimously approved a motion seeking from the province the ability to limit the locations of payday loan and cheque cashing outlets, while also strengthening the Payday Loans Act.

Friday July 26, 2013“This is predatory economic violence,” said Ward 3 councillor Matthew Green, who introduced the motion at council’s Sept. 9 meeting. “(They) are targeting our most vulnerable, indebted people. It’s legalized loan sharking.”
Green’s motion targeting the industry, which was revealed earlier this summer, includes forcing these businesses to post their rates on their walls, provide information about debt counselling, and having Hamilton staff identify all the payday loan businesses in the city.

Also contained in the motion was a request to the province to toughen the Payday Loans Act.

The act regulates the industry allowing outlets to charge $21 for every $100 people borrow. Green says desperate people use these businesses, and they end up having to go to another payday loans outlet to pay the loan of the first one.

Saturday, December 6, 2014“This is usury, this is criminal,” said Green. “I’d love to see (the places) outlawed.”

Tom Cooper, director of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, says municipalities need the power to regulate a business that is taking advantage of vulnerable people.

“We deem the industry as predatory in nature because its practices and slick marketing campaigns lure vulnerable consumers into transactions where there is nowhere else to turn in a financial crisis,” said Cooper.

Based on the payday industry’s own information, for every new customer loan, 15 are repeats, said Cooper.

Stan Keyes, president of the Canadian Payday Loan Association, headquartered in Hamilton, stated in an email letter sent to councillors Sept. 8 that “council should not pass bylaws to ban industries providing services that consumers demand.”

He said the province does enforce the existing regulations, including levying fines, and revoking licenses “which they have done with non-compliant lenders.”

Keyes, a former Liberal MP, stated the industry is already heavily regulated since 2009. In 2012 there were 42 outlets in Hamilton, now there are 34. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)