Canada should go ahead with digital service tax despite halted trade talks: lawyer
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he's immediately 'terminating' trade negotiations with Canada over the 'egregious' digital services tax (DST). International trade lawyer and former Canadian diplomat Lawrence Herman says implementing the DST doesn't violate any trade obligations and calls the move from Trump 'erratic.'
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The credit card habits that are putting Canadians deep in debt
We talk five common types of debt and how to deal with each one. Christopher Liew is a CFP®, CFA Charterholder and former financial advisor. He writes personal finance tips for thousands of daily Canadian readers at Blueprint Financial. Credit cards, when used responsibly, can be useful financial tools that help you build your credit profile and can help you earn rewards and cash back for your purchases. For many Canadians, though, they've become a source of growing debt and financial stress. With inflation driving up everyday costs and interest rates still remaining high, more people are relying on credit to make ends meet. The problem? Small balances can quickly turn into long-term debt, especially if you're only making minimum payments or juggling multiple cards. Below, I'll break down some of the most common bad credit card habits so you can avoid getting trapped in a debt cycle. Canada's growing debt problem According to Equifax Canada, credit card balances have reached record highs in recent years, with younger Canadians between 25 and 45 carrying some of the fastest-growing debt loads. As everyday essentials become more expensive and wages struggle to keep up, more people are turning to credit just to get by. What makes credit card debt especially problematic is its high interest rate, often ranging from 19 per cent on the lower end to 28 per cent or more on the higher end. Unlike a car loan or personal loan, credit card interest compounds quickly, making it easy to fall behind even with small balances. Once you start carrying a balance and only make the minimum payment, it can feel like you're stuck in an endless cycle. 5 bad credit card habits to avoid Between inflation, rising borrowing costs, and poor credit habits, many are finding themselves financially vulnerable. Understanding how credit card debt builds and the habits that make it worse is the first step toward breaking the cycle and regaining control of your personal finances. 1. Only making the minimum payment One of the simplest ways credit card companies lure customers into debt cycles is by advertising a deceptively low minimum payment. Your minimum credit card payment may only be a fraction of what you'd pay if you borrowed the same amount from a bank in the form of a personal loan. If you're carrying over a large balance from one month to the next, only making your minimum payment means that you'll be forking over a lot of interest. Often, 75 per cent or more of your minimum payment will go purely to the monthly interest fee (charged for carrying a balance), meaning that you'll barely make a dent in your actual principal balance. Carrying over a high balance on your card will also increase your credit utilization rate, which can negatively affect your credit score. 2. Treating credit like free money With an extra $2,000 at your disposal, the possibilities can seem endless. The new camera you want, the vacation you've been dreaming about, and the car parts you've been eyeing are now just a simple swipe away. When combined with the allure of a low monthly payment, the temptation to treat your available credit card balance like lottery winnings can be tempting. One of the first rules of building your credit is that credit cards should only be used to cover expenses that you can already afford with the money in your bank account. Use the cards to cover planned expenses, and then make sure you pay the amount off before the next billing cycle. This is, by far, the most responsible and effective way to use your credit card. By only using your card for what you can already afford, you'll be able to easily pay the balance off, which means you'll avoid interest fees while also being able to take full advantage of any cash back or rewards offered for using your card. 3. Not paying attention to your interest rate Credit card interest rates are variable, meaning that they can change monthly depending on the economy, your changing credit score, or simply the whims of your credit card company. Many credit cards offer a low or no-interest introductory period for the first few months (or even a year) of owning your card. While this can be helpful for a balance transfer to pay down another high-interest debt within that short period, it can also trap you into a false sense of security. As soon as the introductory rate is over, your rate will jump right back up. If you haven't paid the balance off by then, you'll suddenly be faced with mounting interest fees that will leave you feeling stuck. 4. Relying on credit to cover basic expenses If you find yourself relying on credit cards to cover basic expenses like groceries, fuel, utility bills, or rent, then you have another problem — your income is too low or expenses are too high. For example, if your monthly expenses are $3,000, you're only earning $2,700, and you're relying on credit to cover the remaining $300, then you'll quickly mount up debt. If you find yourself in this situation, the best thing you can do is to increase your income by picking up a side job or asking for a raise. Simultaneously, you should also find ways to decrease your monthly living expenses so that you're not living above your means. 5. Missing your monthly payment Missing your monthly payment typically comes with a late fee, which is just money thrown down the drain. If you consistently miss your payments, you could end up throwing hundreds of dollars away over the course of a year. In addition to the wasted money, it can also hurt your credit score. If you're more than 30 days late on a payment, the credit card companies may report this to Equifax and TransUnion — the two major credit bureaus. This will negatively impact your score and will remain on your credit report for years. Breaking the cycle By avoiding these poor credit card habits, you'll be able to build a solid credit profile for yourself and keep yourself from getting into a cycle of negative revolving debt. If you're already stuck in a cycle, it's important to face your situation and be accountable. With a solid plan, consistency, and a little bit of self-sacrifice, you can get out of debt and get back on the right track. More from Christopher Liew:
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21 minutes ago
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Biden to attend funeral for former Minnesota House Speaker Hortman, who was killed in shooting
Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz walk into the rotunda to pay their respect to former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who will lie in state with her husband, Mark, and their golden retriever, Gilbert at the Minnesota Capitol rotunda on Friday, June 17, 2025 in St. Paul, Minn. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS — Former U.S. president Joe Biden and former U.S. vice president Kamala Harris will join the mourners Saturday at the funeral for former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who was killed in a pair of attacks that authorities have called an assassination and that also left her husband dead and a state senator and his wife seriously wounded. Biden also paid his respects Friday as Hortman, her husband, Mark, and their golden retriever, Gilbert, lay in state in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda in St. Paul, a few hours after the man charged with killing them while disguised as a police officer June 14 made a brief court appearance in a suicide prevention suit. The service The couple's private funeral, at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis, is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday. It will be livestreamed on the Department of Public Safety's YouTube channel. Neither Biden nor Harris is expected to speak. Harris expressed her condolences earlier this week to Hortman's adult children, and spoke with Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket, who extended an invitation on behalf of the Hortman family, her office said. The scene at the Capitol Hortman, a Democrat, was the first woman and one of fewer than 20 Minnesotans to lay in state at the Capitol. It was the first time a couple has been accorded the honor, and the first for a dog. Gilbert was seriously wounded in the attack and had to be euthanized. The Hortmans' caskets and the dog's urn were arranged in the center of the rotunda, under the Capitol dome, with law enforcement officers keeping watch as thousands of people filed by. Many fought back tears as they left. Among the first to pay their respects were Walz, who has called Hortman his closest political ally, and his wife, Gwen. Biden, a Catholic, visited later in the afternoon, walking up to the velvet rope in front of the caskets, making the sign of the cross and spending a few moments by himself in silence. He then took a knee briefly, got up, made the sign of the cross again and walked off to greet people waiting in the wings of the rotunda. Lisa Greene, who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park like Hortman did, but in a different House district, said she came to the Capitol because she had so much respect for the former speaker. 'She was just amazing. Amazing woman. And I was just so proud that she represented the city that I lived in,' Greene said in a voice choked with emotion. 'She was such a leader. She could bring people together. She was so accessible. I mean, she was friendly, you could talk to her.' But, she went on to say admiringly, Hortman was also 'a boss.' 'She just knew what she was doing and she could just make things happen,' she said. A hearing takes a twist The man accused of killing the Hortmans at their home and wounding Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, at their home in nearby Champlin, made a short court appearance Friday for what the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Joseph Thompson, has called 'a political assassination.' Vance Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, surrendered near his home the night of June 15 after what authorities called the largest search in Minnesota history. An unshaven Boelter was brought in wearing just a green padded suicide prevention suit and orange slippers. Federal defender Manny Atwal asked Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko to continue the hearing until Thursday. He agreed. She said Boelter has been sleep deprived while on suicide watch in the Sherburne County Jail, and that it has been difficult to communicate with him as a result. 'Your honor, I haven't really slept in about 12 to 14 days,' Boelter told the judge. And he denied being suicidal. 'I've never been suicidal and I am not suicidal now.' Atwal told the court that Boelter had been in what's known as a 'Gumby suit,' without undergarments, ever since his transfer to the jail after his first court appearance on June 16. She said the lights are on in his area 24 hours a day, doors slam frequently, the inmate in the next cell spreads feces on the walls and the smell drifts to Boelter's cell. The attorney said transferring him to segregation instead, and giving him a normal jail uniform, would let him get some sleep, restore some dignity and let him communicate better. The case continues Boelter did not enter a plea. Prosecutors need to secure a grand jury indictment first. According to the federal complaint, police video shows Boelter outside the Hortmans' home and captures the sound of gunfire. And it says security video shows Boelter approaching the front doors of two other lawmakers' homes. His lawyers have declined to comment on the charges, which could carry the federal death penalty. Thompson said last week that no decision has been made. Minnesota abolished its death penalty in 1911. Boelter also faces separate murder and attempted murder charges in state court that could carry life without parole. Friends have described Boelter as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views. But prosecutors have declined so far to speculate on a motive. Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press
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21 minutes ago
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What to know about the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on public school lessons using LGBTQ2S+ books
A selection of books featuring LGBTQ characters that are part of a Supreme Court case are pictured, April, 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) A divided U.S. Supreme Court has sided with religious parents who want to pull their children out of the classroom when a public school lesson uses LGBTQ2S+-themed storybooks. The 6-3 decision Friday in a case brought by parents in Maryland comes as certain books are increasingly being banned from public schools and libraries. In Justice Samuel Alito's majority opinion — joined by the rest of the court's conservatives — he wrote that the lack of an 'opt-out' for parents places an unconstitutional burden on their rights to religious freedom. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent for the three liberal justices that public schools expose children to different views in a multicultural society. 'That experience is critical to our Nation's civic vitality,' she wrote. 'Yet it will become a mere memory if children must be insulated from exposure to ideas and concepts that may conflict with their parents' religious beliefs.' Here's what to know about the case and its potential impacts: What happens next The decision was not a final ruling in the case. It reversed lower-court rulings that sided with the Montgomery County school system, which introduced the storybooks in 2022 as part of an effort to better reflect the district's diversity. At first, the school district allowed parents to opt their children out of the lessons for religious and other reasons, but the district later reversed course, saying it became disruptive. The move prompted protests and eventually a lawsuit. Now, the case goes back to the lower court to be reevaluated under the U.S. Supreme Court 's new guidance. But the justices strongly suggested that the parents will win in the end. The court ruled that policies like the one at issue in this case are subjected to the strictest level of review, nearly always dooming them. The ruling could have national implications for public education Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said the court's ruling could inspire similar lawsuits in other states. 'I think any school district that reads similar books to their children is now subject to suit by parents who don't want their kids to hear these books because it substantially interferes with their religious beliefs,' she said. Whether it could open the door to broader legal challenges remains to be seen. Levinson said the majority opinion's emphasis on the content of the books at the center of the case, including 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' a story about a two men getting married, could narrow its impact. 'The question that people will ask,' Levinson said, 'is if this could now allow parents to say, 'We don't want our kids to learn about certain aspects of American history.' ' LGBTQ2S+ rights advocates slam court ruling Adam Zimmerman, who has two kids in school in Montgomery County, Md., called the ruling abhorrent. 'We need to call out what's being dressed up as religious faith and values and expose it for the intolerance that it really is,' he said. Zimmerman has lived in Montgomery County for 16 years and wanted to raise his son and daughter there, in large part, because of the school district's diversity. It was important to him, he said, that his kids be exposed to people from all walks of life. 'It's a beautiful thing, and this ruling just spits on that diversity,' he said. Other rights groups described the court's decision as harmful and dangerous. 'No matter what the Supreme Court has said, and what extremist groups are advocating for, book bans and other censorship will not erase LGBTQIA+ people from our communities,' said Fatima Goss Graves, CEO and president of the National Women's Law Center. Conservative advocates say the case is about parental rights and religious freedom Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who was part of an amicus brief filed in the case in support of the Maryland parents, called the ruling a 'win for families.' 'Students should not be forced to learn about gender and sexuality subject matter that violates their family's religious beliefs,' he said. Lawyer Eric Baxter, who represented the parents at the U.S. Supreme Court, also called the decision a 'historic victory for parental rights.' 'Kids shouldn't be forced into conversations about drag queens, pride parades, or gender transitions without their parents' permission,' Baxter said. Other opponents say ruling will have 'broad chilling effect' PEN America, a group advocating for free expression, said the court's decision could open the door to censorship and discrimination in classrooms. 'In practice, opt outs for religious objections will chill what is taught in schools and usher in a more narrow orthodoxy as fear of offending any ideology or sensibility takes hold,' said Elly Brinkley, a staff attorney at PEN America. In a joint statement Friday, some of the authors and illustrators of the books in question described the ruling as a threat to First Amendment rights to free speech, as well as diversity in schools. 'To treat children's books about LGBTQ+ characters differently than similar books about non-LGBTQ+ characters is discriminatory and harmful,' the statement said. Rio Yamat, The Associated Press
