In this edition:
- Bank of Canada announces 25 basis point interest rate hike
- Bell Let’s Talk Day promotes mental health for 2023
- Marineland registers to lobby Ontario government to discuss potential sale
- Canada and United States announce new NEXUS interview option to expand enrolment capacity
Bank of Canada announces 25 basis point interest rate hike, expects to hold while assessing economic situation
The Bank of Canada today increased its target for the overnight rate to 4½%, with the Bank Rate at 4¾% and the deposit rate at 4½%. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening.
Global inflation remains high and broad-based. Inflation is coming down in many countries, largely reflecting lower energy prices as well as improvements in global supply chains.
The Bank estimates the global economy grew by about 3½% in 2022, and will slow to about 2% in 2023 and 2½% in 2024. This projection is slightly higher than October’s.
The Bank’s ongoing program of quantitative tightening is complementing the restrictive stance of the policy rate. If economic developments evolve broadly in line with the MPR outlook, Governing Council expects to hold the policy rate at its current level while it assesses the impact of the cumulative interest rate increases.
Inflation in Canada is still too high but has declined from its peak, the Bank noted in its monetary policy report. As the effects of higher interest rates continue to spread through the economy, and with declines in energy prices and improved supply chains, inflation is projected to fall to around 3% in the middle of 2023 and reach the 2% target in 2024.
Bell Let’s Talk Day promotes mental health for 2023
Now in its thirteenth year, Bell Let’s Talk Day has funded mental health resources with 1,400 partners that have helped a total of 5,556,332 Canadians. Visit letstalk.bell.ca for more information and to get involved.
This year, Niagara College is one organization receiving funds, and was allocated $100,000 in funding over two years from the Bell Let’s Talk Post-Secondary Fund in support of its development and implementation of a Mental Health and Well-Being Framework.
In a statement, the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, highlighted the need to “fight the stigma surrounding mental illness, shift attitudes, and encourage meaningful action to create positive change.”
“Although much work remains to put an end to these worrying trends,” the Minister continued, “we also have a unique opportunity to shape a future in which all Canadians have the mental health literacy needed to take better care of ourselves and our communities. We can achieve this by listening without judgement when someone reaches out, engaging in more conversations about mental illness to counter stigma, and learning how to support others with their mental health or substance use.”
You can check out Jack.org’s Be There Certificate as a great place to start or visit mentalhealthliteracy.org to enrich your own understanding of mental health, mental illness and how our brains function.
If you’re struggling, the Wellness Together Canada (WTC) portal is a great on-line resource that provides access to free mental health and substance use supports, online, by phone or text 24/7. WTC offers services in both official languages, and phone-counselling sessions are available in 200 languages and dialects through instantaneous interpretation. PocketWell, WTC’s free companion app, provides the same resources in a convenient format and includes an additional self-assessment tool and tracker that monitors mood and mental well-being.
Indigenous Peoples who need urgent, culturally-sensitive support, crisis intervention, or referrals to community-based services can access experienced counsellors through the Hope for Wellness Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or through their website.
Marineland registers to lobby Ontario government to discuss potential sale
Marineland has registered to lobby the Ontario government to discuss the potential sale of the beleaguered tourist attraction.
Lawyer Andrew Burns filed an application with the province’s lobbyist registry on behalf of the theme park on Jan. 10 to seek to influence the Office of the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport as well as other provincial legislators.
In a section describing lobbying goals, the application reads “sale of Marineland of Canada Inc.”
The application says the park is also looking for potential zoning changes to the property to allow development, and potential financial support and tax relief for development of its operations.
Click here to read more.
Canada and United States announce new NEXUS interview option to expand enrolment capacity
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are moving forward with a new option to increase the enrolment capacity for new and renewing NEXUS members. The binational NEXUS program benefits communities on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border by supporting economic growth and trade, reducing border congestion and expediting the crossing of low-risk, pre-approved travellers.
Earlier this month, the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, and Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, announced measures that expand the program’s capacity and enrol the thousands of travellers who request NEXUS memberships each month.
This new enrolment option for air travellers should be available by Spring 2023.
Focus on Climate
The rising Canadian obsession with SUVs is disrupting our climate goals
When it comes to vehicular popularity, SUVs are winning in Canada. Eighty per cent of new vehicles sold in Canada in 2020 and 2021 were SUVs and pickup trucks. These sales levels were only 55 per cent a decade ago. Unfortunately, the trend comes at the expense of the climate.
In Canada, SUVs produce around one-third more greenhouse gas emissions per kilometre than cars on average. Over the past decade, our fuel economy standards have been improving the efficiency of new vehicles, but the switch towards SUVs, pickups and minivans has been counteracting those efforts. From 1990 to 2019, emissions from SUVs and other trucks more than doubled in Canada, leading to a 40 per cent increase in total passenger vehicle emissions during that period.
This has threatened Canada’s commitments to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40-50 per cent by 2030, and to reach net zero emissions by 2050. To explore the tension between the demand for SUVs and its climate challenges, we used a mixed-method approach to study consumer behaviour through consumers’ in-depth stories and the overall trends.
Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
