In this edition:
- Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate to 4.75 per cent
- Canada becomes first G7 nation to cut interest rates
- What the Bank of Canada rate cut means for mortgages, consumer loans and investments
- Arja Vainio-Mattila named Brock University’s new Provost and VP Academic
- Border strike could start Friday afternoon if mediation fails
- Canadian Chamber expresses concern after Pharmacare Bill passes third reading in the House of Commons
- Focus on Climate
Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate to 4.75 per cent
The Bank of Canada has lowered its key interest rate to 4.75 per cent, marking the bank’s first rate cut since March 2020.
Bank governor Tiff Macklem said in opening remarks that the bank’s monetary policy no longer needs to be as restrictive. “We’ve come a long way in the fight against inflation. And our confidence that inflation will continue to move closer to the two per cent target has increased over recent months,” Macklem said.
Economists were largely expecting the move. The inflation rate has moved closer to the bank’s two per cent goal in recent months, coming in at 2.7 per cent in April, with the bank’s preferred core measures of inflation also easing throughout the spring.
📰 Related articles:
- Canada becomes first G7 nation to cut interest rates.
- What the rate cut means for mortgages, consumer loans and investments.
Arja Vainio-Mattila named Brock University’s new Provost and VP Academic
After an extensive global recruitment process, Arja Vainio-Mattila has been appointed Brock’s new Provost and Vice-President, Academic, effective July 22.
Vainio-Mattila has nearly 30 years of experience in institutional development and global leadership, having worked in Africa and Asia with interdisciplinary teams on education, natural resources management and infrastructure development.
Among her leadership roles, she has served as Dean of the School of the Arts and Social Sciences at Cape Breton University and Provost and Vice-President Academic and Research at Nipissing University. She was also an assistant professor in Brock’s Environmental Policy Institute from 1996 to 1998.
Border strike could start Friday afternoon if mediation fails
The union representing thousands of Canadian border workers says they will begin job action Friday afternoon if no deal is reached by then.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada says it still hopes to avoid strike action and border disruptions but has set a deadline of Friday at 4 p.m. eastern time.
More than 9,000 union members who work for the Canada Border Services Agency have been without a contract for more than two years.
The two sides went into mediation on Monday.
Canadian Chamber expresses concern after Pharmacare Bill passes third reading in the House of Commons
Kathy Megyery, Senior Vice-President and General Manager with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) expressed the following: “CCC believes that all Canadians should have access to the prescription medications they need. We are therefore disappointed bill C-64, the Pharmacare Act, has not been amended to clarify that a federal pharmacare program will not jeopardize the private insurance of 27 million Canadians.
While the Minister of Health, Mark Holland, has stated that the federal pharmacare program would not jeopardize Canadians’ private coverage, the bill repeatedly references a national universal single-payer system. This contradicts the Minister’s claim, suggesting that only public funds will be allowed to cover the drugs included their plan.
Currently, the majority of Canadians access valued drug insurance through their employers and public plans. A universal pharmacare program will use billions of taxpayer dollars to provide coverage to Canadians who already have it and risks limiting choice in the specific medications Canadians currently access. This is neither pragmatic nor fiscally responsible.”
Did you know?
HanesBrands to sell sportswear business Champion to Authentic Brands in $1.2 billion deal.
Focus on Climate
UN chief says that ‘we are playing Russian roulette’ as planet endures 12 straight months of unprecedented heat
CNN, Laura Paddison
The planet just marked a “shocking” new milestone, enduring 12 consecutive months of unprecedented heat, according to new data from Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service.
Every single month from June 2023 to May 2024 was the world’s hottest such month on record, Copernicus data showed
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