Covid and Taxes

Posted by & filed under Canadian Government.

Description: There is no question that Canadian governments are spending borrowed money at a prodigious rate during this pandemic in order to support citizens and keep the economy moving. In an opinion piece in the Toronto Star, Daniel Tsai, a former government advisor who now lectures at Ryerson, says that throwing on a new series… Read more »

Aid for Students

Posted by & filed under Canadian Government, Student life.

Description: On April 22, the Prime Minister announced $9 billion in assistance for students who have found their summer employment options limited, or eliminated outright, by COVID-19. With summer camps shuttered, and traditional opportunities disappearing, students will be eligible to receive $1250 per month. While some will obviously appreciate the government’s action, others may question… Read more »

Run on EI

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Canadian Government.

Description: During this last week approximately 500,000 Canadians filed a claim for Employment Insurance (EI). In the same week the previous year, only 27,000 filed. The corona virus has caused closures and layoffs throughout the land, prompting unemployed Canadians to see this form of assistance. Date:  March 20, 2020 Source:  theglobeandmail.com Link: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-ottawa-receives-500000-new-applications-for-employment-insurance-as/   Discussion… Read more »

A Budget in 17 Minutes

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Canadian Government.

Description: One unusual outcome of the current corona virus situation may have been the unusual co-operation at the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick on Friday. While budget debates are often long and perhaps divisive, this year in NB the budget and an additional bill passed in 17 minutes, with no one voting against the budget…. Read more »

Cost Climbing

Posted by & filed under Canadian Government.

Description: In 2018 the Canadian government purchased the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline for $4.5 billion of our tax dollars. Around that time, the total estimated cost to complete the pipeline was $7.4 billion. Now though, it appears that the total costs for Canadians will be somewhere in the range of $17 billion. The federal… Read more »

The Middle Class

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Canadian Government.

Description: Did you hear the the Canadian government has given $50 million to MasterCard, a company that made $16 billion last year? The government response seems to be that this $50 million will create jobs and help the middle class. Of course, this new government has appointed a cabinet post for a minister of the… Read more »

Rich Or Poor?

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Canadian Government.

Description: November was a bad month for Canadian employment with Canada losing over 70,000 jobs, while our neighbour to the south added over a quarter million. For Canada, this was our worst result in ten years. Financial Post Columnist Jack Mintz offers “that propping up consumer demand by running deficits and distributive tax policies is… Read more »

Deficit still there

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Canadian Government.

Description:    This past week our federal government introduced its budget for the next fiscal year. There were some interesting initiatives, including a possible grant to first-time home-owners from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and some early steps towards a national pharmacare program. But what wasn’t there is also quite interesting: the government is… Read more »

Keep learning: Government might help

Posted by & filed under Canadian Government.

Description:    March 19 is budget day in Canada, and, of course, there’s speculation out there on what measures the budget will include. One thing being discussed is what has been called a life-long learning account. Supposedly the account will receive a top-up from the federal government, something like the RESPs parents create for children…. Read more »