living

Thursday December 15, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday December 15, 2016 ÒI failed my kidsÓ: An Ontario momÕs story on soaring hydro When Cambridge mother Adele Benoit sees an electricity bill in her mailbox it is a reminder of the constant sacrifices her family must make. Fearing the worst, she will often open the envelope slowly, unfold the bill and hold her breath. "Then you see the amount due on the bill," she said. That statement's final tally has been skyrocketing steadily, she explained, rising to amounts of more than $600 every two months. Not so long ago her hydro bills were half that amount. It's a tough haul for a mother of three boys, aged 16, nine and seven, who takes care of her family in a modest Cambridge Housing Authority affordable unit. With little choice but to pay that bill, Benoit is forced to ask her children to accept less than she knows they deserve. At this time of year that means fewer Christmas gifts and even limiting the time the family's tree is lit. "Our Christmas tree gets lit up for an hour and a half or two hours, and then I shut it off.Ó Though she is employed, her paycheques are no match against rising household costs like electricity. She has even borrowed money to buy winter coats and hats for her sons. The struggle is not an easy one to share. "It makes me feel like I failed my kids," she said. Though in tears at times when describing her family's financial troubles, Benoit shared her story with Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath while sitting together at her kitchen table Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 13). Horwath is on a tour meeting with residents about the rising costs of electricity as part of a bid to force the provincial Liberal government to make hydro more affordable and to "humanize" public policy around energy. Horwath is also aiming to generate more support to block Premier Kathleen Wynne and the government from further privatizing Hydro One. Using Quebec and Manitoba as examples, Horwath said

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 15, 2016

“I failed my kids”: An Ontario mom’s story on soaring hydro

When Cambridge mother Adele Benoit sees an electricity bill in her mailbox it is a reminder of the constant sacrifices her family must make.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday November 22, 2016 Wynne calls high electricity prices her ÔmistakeÕ Premier Kathleen Wynne is calling high electricity prices her "mistake," sounding a note of contrition on one of the major issues threatening the Liberals' re-election bid in 2018. Amid the usual rallying of the troops at the Ontario Liberals' annual general meeting Saturday, Wynne addressed her poor popularity numbers, which she called the "elephant in the room.Ó "I think that people look at me and many of them think, 'She's not who we thought she was. She's become a typical politician. She'll do anything to win,'" Wynne said. "Frankly, I may have and I think I sometimes have given them reason to think that.Ó Wynne said part of convincing Ontarians that she wants to do what is in their best interests is admitting when she has made a mistake. "People have told me that they've had to choose between paying the electricity bill and buying food or paying rent," Wynne said. "That is unacceptable to me. It is unacceptable that people in Ontario are facing that choice. Our government made a mistake. It was my mistake.Ó An eight-per-cent rebate on electricity bills comes into effect Jan. 1, but Wynne said she will find more ways to lower rates and reduce the burden on consumers. After her speech, Wynne wouldn't point to any specific decision on the electricity file that she deems a mistake, but said her focus was on the big issues facing the system and she hasn't always paid enough attention to how costs were accumulating on people's bills. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)Êhttp://www.thespec.com/news-story/6975602-wynne-calls-high-electricity-prices-her-mistake-/ Kathleen Wynne, Ontario, Hydro, Cap and Trade, politics, honesty, taxpayer, rocket, launch

November 22, 2016

Fearing the worst, she will often open the envelope slowly, unfold the bill and hold her breath.

“Then you see the amount due on the bill,” she said.

That statement’s final tally has been skyrocketing steadily, she explained, rising to amounts of more than $600 every two months. Not so long ago her hydro bills were half that amount.

It’s a tough haul for a mother of three boys, aged 16, nine and seven, who takes care of her family in a modest Cambridge Housing Authority affordable unit.

With little choice but to pay that bill, Benoit is forced to ask her children to accept less than she knows they deserve. At this time of year that means fewer Christmas gifts and even limiting the time the family’s tree is lit.

“Our Christmas tree gets lit up for an hour and a half or two hours, and then I shut it off.”

Though she is employed, her paycheques are no match against rising household costs like electricity. She has even borrowed money to buy winter coats and hats for her sons. The struggle is not an easy one to share.

“It makes me feel like I failed my kids,” she said.

Though in tears at times when describing her family’s financial troubles, Benoit shared her story with Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath while sitting together at her kitchen table Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 13).

Horwath is on a tour meeting with residents about the rising costs of electricity as part of a bid to force the provincial Liberal government to make hydro more affordable and to “humanize” public policy around energy.

Horwath is also aiming to generate more support to block Premier Kathleen Wynne and the government from further privatizing Hydro One.

Using Quebec and Manitoba as examples, Horwath said other provinces are keeping energy rates down and are not privatizing, ensuring their electricity systems are about people, not profit.

In Ontario, she said, it’s private companies that are reaping the benefits. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

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.

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)

 

Saturday February 4, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday February 4, 2012 When the kid comes back When Joey Temprile finished high school, he promptly moved out and started university. As soon as he graduated, he moved back home with his parents. More than two years later heÕs still there and doesnÕt plan to leave any day soon. At 25 and fully employed with the government, Temprile is an official member of the so-called boomerang generation, a growing breed of young adults who are returning home. Half of young Canadians in their 20s live with their parents, a phenomenon observers attribute to the troubledÊeconomy and ever-changing family dynamic. As debate rages over whether or not the trend is troublesome, families living with adult children say the key to making it work is communication, respect and boundaries. Neither Temprile nor his parents have any concern with the fact that he and his brother Matt, 22, are still at home Ñ inÊfact, they like it. ÒFrom a parenting perspective it gives you the opportunity to talk with your child and relate to your child in a way you never have before,Ó says TemprileÕs father Dan. ÒThatÕs been an enjoyable evolution of our relationship.Ó Temprile feels the same way and notes any downfalls to the situation are overshadowed by the benefits. ÒI can live with (less) freedom if it means I can have a house at 26 or 27.Ó ItÕs a clash of expectations that most often leads to conflict when children return home, says Christina Newberry, author of The Hands-on Guide to Surviving Adult Children Living at Home (Self-published, $30.53). After a taste of independence, many children struggle with the restrictions ofÊbeing back under their parentsÕ roof. Likewise, their parents wonder what the new house rules should be and worry if their fledgling will ever leave the nest.(Source: Hamilton Spectator)Êhttp://www.thespec.com/news-story/2231143-when-the-kid-comes-back/ Adult children, grown up, parents, society, living, arrangement, empty nest, fam

Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday February 4, 2012

When the kid comes back

When Joey Temprile finished high school, he promptly moved out and started university. As soon as he graduated, he moved back home with his parents. More than two years later he’s still there and doesn’t plan to leave any day soon.

At 25 and fully employed with the government, Temprile is an official member of the so-called boomerang generation, a growing breed of young adults who are returning home. Half of young Canadians in their 20s live with their parents, a phenomenon observers attribute to the troubled economy and ever-changing family dynamic.

As debate rages over whether or not the trend is troublesome, families living with adult children say the key to making it work is communication, respect and boundaries. Neither Temprile nor his parents have any concern with the fact that he and his brother Matt, 22, are still at home — in fact, they like it.

“From a parenting perspective it gives you the opportunity to talk with your child and relate to your child in a way you never have before,” says Temprile’s father Dan. “That’s been an enjoyable evolution of our relationship.”

Temprile feels the same way and notes any downfalls to the situation are overshadowed by the benefits. “I can live with (less) freedom if it means I can have a house at 26 or 27.”

It’s a clash of expectations that most often leads to conflict when children return home, says Christina Newberry, author of The Hands-on Guide to Surviving Adult Children Living at Home (Self-published, $30.53). After a taste of independence, many children struggle with the restrictions of being back under their parents’ roof. Likewise, their parents wonder what the new house rules should be and worry if their fledgling will ever leave the nest.(Source: Hamilton Spectator)