In this edition:
- Inflation hits 6.9% for September, food prices up 11.4%
- Industrial raw materials prices up 11% year-on-year
- Niagara Falls gets $5.2M from OLG for hosting casinos
- Contract talks break down between Ontario education workers, government
- Union for some Metrolinx workers votes in favour of Oct. 31 strike deadline
- Canadian regulator asks telcos to share network with smaller cos, agree to wholesale rates
- Canada working on measures in response to U.S. inflation act: finance minister
Inflation hits 6.9% for September, food prices up 11.4%
In September, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6.9% on a year-over-year basis, decelerating from a 7.0% gain in August, marking the third consecutive monthly slowdown in headline inflation. Lower gasoline prices were mostly responsible for the deceleration.
While prices at the gas pump dropped in September compared with August, Canadians continued to feel the pinch from higher food prices.
Excluding food and energy, prices rose 5.4% year over year in September, following a gain of 5.3% in August. On a monthly basis, gasoline prices dropped 7.4% in September following a 9.6% decrease in August. This is the third consecutive month-over-month price decline for gasoline.
In September, prices for food purchased from stores (+11.4%) grew at the fastest pace year-over-year since August 1981 (+11.9%). Prices for food purchased from stores have been increasing at a faster rate than the all-items CPI for 10 consecutive months, since December 2021.
Contributing to price increases for food and beverages were unfavourable weather, higher prices for important inputs such as fertilizer and natural gas, as well as geopolitical instability stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Industrial raw materials prices up 11% year-on-year
Prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada, as measured by the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI), decreased 3.2% on a monthly basis in September and rose 11.0% year over year.
Prices of products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), edged up 0.1% month over month in September and rose 9.0% year over year.
As prices for some products in the IPPI in Canada are reported in US dollars, changes in the CAD–USD exchange rate can exert an influence on prices. From August to September, the Canadian dollar depreciated 3.0% against the US greenback. Many factors are contributing to the rise of the US dollar, including its use as a reserve currency and as a haven in uncertain times. If the CAD–USD exchange rate had remained the same from August to September, the overall IPPI would have fallen 0.6% instead of edging up 0.1%.
Prices for energy and petroleum products (-2.5%) fell for a third consecutive month in September; however, they were 38.4% higher than the same period last year. Compared with January 2020, the product group was up 56.8%.
Prices for motorized and recreational vehicles rose 1.3%, mainly on higher prices for motor vehicle engines and motor vehicle parts (+2.2%), the highest month-over-month increase since March 2020 (+2.4%) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Niagara Falls gets $5.2M from OLG for hosting casinos
Niagara Falls has received another payment for hosting the city’s two casinos. Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) made a second quarter payment of $5.2M to the city.
Since April, Niagara Falls has received $11,542,491 from the OLG.
“Revenue from OLG’s Municipality Contribution Agreements supports host communities so they can invest in programs and services that benefit everyone, from neighbourhood parks to local festivals,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. “These payments help to improve the quality of life and make Ontario a vibrant and exciting place to live, work and play.”
Contract talks break down between Ontario education workers, government
The union representing about 55,000 Ontario education workers says almost no progress was made over three days of contract talks with the government, and negotiations will resume just two days before they’re in a legal strike position.
If those talks aren’t fruitful, a full strike is “very possible,” the president ofCUPE’s Ontario School Boards Council of Unions said Wednesday.
CUPE, which represents workers such as educational assistants, custodians and early childhood educators, said the mediator who was assisting with bargaining this week has concluded the two sides are too far apart and talks should be adjourned.
Union for some Metrolinx workers votes in favour of Oct. 31 strike deadline
The union representing Metrolinx’s GO Transit bus drivers and other workers says its members have voted in favour of an Oct. 31 strike deadline if a deal isn’t reached with their employer. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587 says its 2,200 members have voted 93 per cent in favour of going on strike at the end of the month “if necessary.”
ATU Local 1587 represents all GO Transit bus operators, station attendants, plant and fleet maintenance workers, transit safety officers and office professionals.
President Rob Cormier says the union’s key issues include job security and job safety relating to hiring contract workers from outside companies.
Canadian regulator asks telcos to share network with smaller cos, agree to wholesale rates
Canada’s top wireless firms will now be required to accept requests for access to their networks from smaller companies and also negotiate on wholesale prices, the country’s telecom regulator said on Wednesday, as it looks to lower the cost of cellphone plans and increase competition.
For years, Canadian consumers have complained about high cellular bills, which rank among the steepest in the world, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has threatened to take action if the providers failed to cut bills by 25%.
Canada working on measures in response to U.S. inflation act: finance minister
Canada Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act impacts Canada and that Ottawa was working on new measures to respond to the legislation.
“You will see some of that (new measures) in the fall economic statement and you’ll see further action in the budget in the spring,” Freeland told reporters in Windsor, Ontario.
“This is a far reaching piece of legislation with a lot of different consequences for Canada and we are really, really focused on it,” she said.
Niagara Economic Summit
What’s happening with interest rates? Mortgages? Finance? Robert Hogue of RBC will answer at the Summit
Interest rates are pushing mortgages out of reach for many and further exacerbating a housing affordability crisis. Many who bought at the top of the market now find they can’t afford the home they’re in, and many more wonder how they’ll ever afford a home at all. And as the housing market appears to cool, we wonder if it will plateau or if this is the start of a crash.
Robert Hogue, Assistant Chief Economist at Royal Bank, provides analysis and forecasts for the Canadian housing market and for the provincial economies. His publications include Housing Trends and Affordability, Provincial Outlook and provincial budget commentaries. Join us at the Niagara Economic Summit to hear Robert’s insights into the future of the Canadian housing market and what it means for you.
Contact us to submit your questions for Robert in advance.
Click here for tickets to this year’s Niagara Economic Summit.
Focus on Climate
Trudeau says he will guarantee that Canada will meet its emissions targets, this time
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he will guarantee that Canada is going to meet its latest climate target, because this time it’s accompanied by a plan that shows how to get there.
Since 1988, Canada has set its sights on eight different greenhouse gas emissions targets. Six of them have come and gone, and Canada never came anywhere close to meeting them.
The next target is set for 2030, and requires Canada to get emissions to 55 to 60 per cent of what they were in 2005. That’s a more-ambitious version of a previous target the Trudeau government set when it came into power.
Heating climate could increase risk of Arctic ‘virus spillover’
A warming climate could bring viruses in the Arctic into contact with new environments and hosts, increasing the risk of “viral spillover”, according to newly published research.
Viruses need hosts like humans, animals, plants or fungi to replicate and spread, and occasionally they can jump to a new one that lacks immunity, as seen with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scientists in Canada wanted to investigate how climate change might affect spillover risk by examining samples from the arctic landscape of Lake Hazen.
It is the largest lake in the world entirely north of the Arctic Circle, and “was truly unlike any other place I’ve been”, researcher Graham Colby, now a medical student at the University of Toronto, told the AFP news agency.
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.
