Latest news with #GovernmentOfCanada
National Post
12-07-2025
- Politics
- National Post
'We never technically said we would elbow anybody': The imagined thoughts of Mark Carney's elbow
Article content Prime Minister Mark Carney's slogan during the April federal election was 'elbows up.' The hockey reference was intended as a pledge of defiance against tariffs and annexation threats from the United States. Article content Instead, Carney's U.S. strategy has consisted almost entirely of concessions and even deference. And on Thursday night, all it yielded was a new threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to slap blanket 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports. Article content Article content Article content Article content Monday Article content The slogan was 'elbows up.' Not 'we're going to hit you with our elbows.' Or, 'I'm intending to use my elbows defensively.' The promise was only that we would proverbially elevate our elbows for an unspecified period of time, and for no declared purpose. We never technically said we would elbow anybody. Article content Keeping all this in mind, I think you'll agree there has been no inconsistency in the strategy. The Government of Canada has pursued a course with the Trump administration that, at times, has involved the raising of elbows above their usual relaxed state, which would indeed be an 'elbows up' approach. Article content Tuesday Article content I would remind everyone that the National Hockey League officially considers elbowing a penalty, with the act warranting punishments as severe as game misconducts, fines and suspensions. Article content Article content As a government committed to the rules-based international order, we obviously would never condone a violent and inherently menacing act such as the bellicose use of an elbow. Article content Article content And, as stated, that was never the intention. If you check Mr. Carney's rhetoric on this account, I think you'll agree he was mentioning elbows mainly as a means to demonstrate the articulative quality of the human arm. Article content Elbows up, to my read, was only ever a friendly gesture of greeting in which the speaker is demonstrating the functionality of their joints as a symbol of their own flexibility. 'See how my arms bend, foreign state, they are the arms of someone who will peacefully bend to your own appeals.' Article content Wednesday Article content I feel uniquely qualified to assure the Canadian people that Mr. Carney has certainly made full use of his elbows in attempting to resolve the current impasse with the United States. Article content At the G7 summit in Kananaskis, I was employed to deliver a friendly nudge to U.S. President Donald Trump, along with the comment, 'Hey Donald, you like Mount Bogart over there? What if it was Mount Trump?' Article content After phone calls between Mr. Carney and the U.S. leader, he will often lay his elbows on a table to cradle his head for hours at a time — I assume to ponder a new genius tactic. Yes, this truly has been an elbows-heavy response to one of our greatest national crises. Article content Thursday Article content Despite everything, I think we can all agree that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre would have completely and utterly folded in the face of aggressive U.S. trade policy. Had he won in April, my least pessimistic estimate is that by now he would have surrendered at least two provinces and one great lake, and he would have appointed Rudy Giuliani as Governor General. Article content I need only point you to his public statements: No mention whatsoever of elbows, knees, digits or any other body part. Mr. Trump is a man who deals best in the tactile world. Any failure to open negotiations with at least one reference to the corporeal form is, frankly, akin to immediate surrender. Article content Friday Article content Last night's developments are certainly not what we'd hoped for, but it's all part of the process. We fully planned for this: We would unilaterally cede to perceived U.S. demands, the Americans would respond with another round of ruinous tariffs and vague grievances, and then we'd cede some more. This is called bilateral diplomacy; it's a messy process but it ultimately arrives at a place of mutual benefit. Article content
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The CRA Mistake That Could Cut Your Old Age Security in Half
Written by Kay Ng at The Motley Fool Canada Every year, thousands of Canadian retirees unknowingly lose out on hundreds – or even thousands – of dollars in Old Age Security (OAS) benefits due to a little-known income trap: the OAS clawback. In 2025, this silent tax could reduce or even eliminate your OAS if you're not careful. But the good news? With the right investment strategy, you can protect your benefits – and possibly even grow your wealth at the same time. The OAS clawback begins when your net world income exceeds $90,997 (This amount rises over time and can be looked up on the Government of Canada website.). For every dollar over that threshold, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) claws back 15 cents from your OAS payments. That means if your net income hits approximately $148,000, your entire OAS benefit could be wiped out. Here's the kicker: many Canadians trigger the clawback by mistake, through taxable income from RRIF withdrawals, capital gains, or even dividends from non-registered investments. The impact? You could lose up to $8,819 or more in OAS – essentially handing it right back to the CRA. One way to avoid the clawback is by holding tax-efficient dividend stocks such as Fortis (TSX: FTS). Fortis is one of Canada's top utility companies, with a 51-year track record of annual dividend increases. It is a reliable income-generating stock and currently, it yields around 3.8%. To eliminate the clawback entirely and with sufficient room, retirees could hold their stock investments in their Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA). Because TFSA withdrawals and growth don't count toward your net income, this money has zero impact on your OAS eligibility. Compare that to earning the same dividends in a non-registered account, where grossed-up dividends inflate your net income and can accelerate the clawback. To truly dodge the OAS clawback, consider these additional strategies: 1. Take full advantage of your TFSA Max out your TFSA contributions annually. In 2025, the cumulative TFSA contribution limit for someone who was 18 in 2009 is $102,000, and possibly higher if unused room remains. Dividends, capital gains, and withdrawals from a TFSA are not taxed, nor do they impact net income. 2. Split pension income If you're receiving eligible pension income, split up to 50% with your spouse who may be in a lower tax bracket. This reduces your individual taxable income and could keep you below the clawback threshold. 3. Withdraw from RRSPs strategically If it makes sense for your unique situation, start drawing down RRSPs before age 71 to manage your taxable income in retirement. Large RRIF withdrawals after conversion at age 71 can push you into the OAS clawback zone. Early, gradual withdrawals — especially if reinvested into your TFSA — can smooth your income and preserve OAS benefits. The OAS clawback isn't a tax penalty — it's a retirement planning problem. Without a proactive strategy, your retirement income plan could backfire, resulting in you losing out on thousands of dollars. But by combining TFSA investing, dividend-paying stocks like Fortis, and tax-smart withdrawal planning, you can keep your income high and your clawback low. The biggest mistake? Ignoring the issue. Don't let the CRA take a bigger slice of your retirement than necessary. Plan now, and you'll thank yourself later. Talk to a qualified financial planner if needed. The post The CRA Mistake That Could Cut Your Old Age Security in Half appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team just identified what they believe are the Top Stocks for 2025 and Beyond for investors to buy now. The Top Stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years, potentially setting you up for a more prosperous retirement. Consider when "the eBay of Latin America," MercadoLibre, made this list on January 8, 2014 ... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $24,927.94* Stock Advisor Canada provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month – one from Canada and one from the U.S. The Stock Advisor Canada service has outperformed the return of S&P/TSX Composite Index by 30 percentage points since 2013*. See the Top Stocks * Returns as of 6/23/25 More reading 10 Stocks Every Canadian Should Own in 2025 [PREMIUM PICKS] Market Volatility Toolkit Fool contributor Kay Ng has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Fortis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
CTV News
02-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Expert says Canadians ready for increase in military funding
University of Calgary political science associate professor Jean-Christophe Boucher speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about Canada's commitment to increased defence spending. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Michael Higgins: This is being described as the biggest increase for Canada since the Second World War. How would you describe this as a turning point for the Canadian Armed Forces? Jean-Christophe Boucher: It's long overdue. For several years now, experts and even allies have suggested that Canada's defence spending was too low for the kind of commitments we wanted to make in the world. The Trudeau government increased those budgets a little bit, but now this is a major inflection point where we're moving into an environment where there's going to be a lot of dollars put on defense spending, a lot new platforms, a lot of transformation in the forces and how we think about defense policy in Canada. I think this is a significant increase. MH: Obviously the military is at the centre of this, but how far do you see this extra funding extending? Where could all of these dollars end up going? JCB: The Government of Canada said they're going to spend 3.5 per cent on defence spending and 1.5 per cent on capital spending associated with national security. There hasn't been a lot of detail on what that 3.5 per cent has been for. A suggestion, for example, was that we would fold the Coast Guard into that funding — the Americans do this. So, there's some moving budget lines between Excel spreadsheet columns. I don't think some of it will not be new money, but there's indications that we're going to start to increase funding for platforms or for different kinds of things, maybe new submarines. There are also conversations in Ottawa about cloud sovereignty, AI sovereignty, and that would be part of the funding. So there's a lot of new things that we want to do in the defence environment that will be part of that funding. MH: But it could extend beyond defense, though, could it not? JCB: Absolutely. So maybe we won't really see this, but right now in Ottawa, everything that touches foreign policy is on the draft block. The Carney government right now wants to push a new foreign policy document, which hasn't been done since the (Paul) Martin years, so that's 20 years ago. There's also a new national security document that's coming in. So although the 3.5 per cent on defence is really kind of the first big announcement on defence policy, we're going to see investment on national security conceived largely in borders, infrastructures, A.I. All across the board, all departments that touch national security or international security in a certain fashion will see their spending increase. That means public safety and a lot of other actors in that ecosystem. So we're going to see a massive change in foreign policy, in our posture and how we're doing things, but also a lot of new money into those capabilities. My sense is that, in the next couple of years, we'll see a much more competent Canada, but also a more assertive one. MH: How do you see Canadians responding to such an expansive change? JCB: For a long time, the common wisdom was that Canadians didn't like defence spending. What I find interesting is that at the University of Calgary, we have had a seven-year look at public opinion on national defence, and what we've seen consistently for the last five years is that Canadians are ready to spend more on defence. In fact, when we're asking Canadians, 'Would you be willing to increase defence spending a lot more?' People would say yes, even more in Quebec than elsewhere. I think when we're looking into this, it also is tied to how Canadians are perceiving the international system. The last couple of years we've seen actors like Russia, like China, like Iran, a lot more aggressive in international space and challenging Western rule-based order. We're seeing right now the United States is less willing to sustain that environment, and somehow Canada now is stuck in an environment where it has to fend for itself. So Canadians have been responding to this, and we've seen this in the polls. I'm not seeing a lot of opposition to that spending. I think most Canadians are ready for that. MH: Does the rest of the world, friend or foe, respond in kind with military buildup to match NATO? What kind of global defence or threat environment could all of this create? JCB: Everywhere in the world there's increased defence spending, not just in Russia or in China, but also amongst NATO allies. Some of the neighbours of Russia for example, Poland or the Baltic states are spending almost four per cent of their GDP on defence. It makes sense because they're bordering Russia, but even in Germany, and France and Japan. Everywhere in the world, people are increasing their spending. It's important for Canada too, because when we go abroad and when we try to co-operate and collaborate with these actors, the first question is always, 'Canada's here. What can you do?' If we have no money or no capabilities, then our capacity to shape these relationships is limited. People are saying, 'Canada is nice, but they can't commit anything'. Whereas now, because our capabilities will increase and because our allies will also increase their capabilities, it means that we'll have a more assertive Western alliance. It also means that we're going to be able to move away from a U.S.-centric environment into a much more multilateral world. MH: The military obviously has a significant presence in our province, CFB Edmonton, Camp Wainwright — maybe most notably Fort Wayne Cold Lake, Canada's busiest fighter base. What is this NATO commitment going to mean for military installations in Alberta? JCB: A couple of things. There are indications that salaries within the Armed Forces will grow. I think that's good news. There's a lot of indications that those didn't match Canadian wages. There's also a lot of these installations and capabilities that are still lagging behind, or they need to be improved, so I think we're going to see spending all across the board, not just on defence or bases but also in our industry. When we listen to the Carney government, they're talking about A.I. cloud computing, they're talking about all sorts of investment in all areas of our defence industry from satellites to bullets and ammunition. So all across the spectrum, across the defence industry, we're going to see a lot of investment into those environments and some trickle down right into our province.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Experts issue warning as dangerous wasp-like insects spread in US — here's what you need to know
Entomologists have warned that European sawflies — invasive bugs that resemble wasps — are taking over pine trees in Washington's Pierce County, perhaps most well-known as the home of Mount Rainier National Park. The News Tribune reported that the "wasp-like insects" have been observed laying eggs in pine needles and feeding on pine bushes throughout the county. While the bugs are more of a nuisance than a threat to nature, they can leave huge bare patches on trees, which can detract from the area's natural beauty, according to Todd Murray, an entomologist and director of Washington State University's research center. Murray explained that the insects are native to Europe and were identified in Washington state in 2008. Luckily, adult sawflies are weak fliers, so their spread throughout the United States and Canada has been relatively slow as they rely on the movement of infested nursery stock, soil, and other materials, per the Government of Canada. But if you have pine trees in your backyard, the bugs can make them look unsightly as they chow down on the needles. Since the bugs have been spreading in a popular tourist area, it could hurt the county's income from recreation and affect visitors' experience when they visit the park. Although they're not known to cause significant damage to trees in forests, the sawfly may negatively impact ornamental nurseries and Christmas tree farms, as it spreads easily through plants grown in these settings. Additionally, while pine sawfly larvae don't kill the host trees, continuous loss of pine needles can slow their growth, according to the University of Maine. When invasive species, such as pine sawflies, spread in a region, they disrupt the balance of forest ecosystems and consume resources that native plants and animals need to thrive. As the sawflies feed on trees, it leaves them more susceptible to attack from other insects and diseases. In some cases, invasive bugs can have severe economic consequences, such as in Hawaiʻi, where coconut rhinoceros beetles and little fire ants have caused thousands of dollars in damage to palm and banana trees, taro, and other crops. Murray told The News Tribune that the best way to get rid of sawflies if you spot them on plants is to either knock them off or use insecticides, although the former is better for your health and the environment. However, birds eat pine sawflies, so the easiest solution is probably to let nature do its thing, unless you have a large infestation that requires intervention. If you want to do your part in protecting native species and conserving the planet, consider starting a native plant lawn that attracts pollinators and saves money on water and lawn care. Native lawns promote biodiversity and create an environment that supports natural predators of sawflies, thereby helping to manage their populations. Should we be actively working to kill invasive species? Absolutely It depends on the species I don't know No — leave nature alone Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
CTV News
26-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Manitoba has highest rate of stimulant toxicity deaths in Canada: data
Manitoba has the highest rate of stimulant-related deaths in all of Canada, according to new data. On Thursday, the Government of Canada released information regarding toxic drug poisonings in the country, showing that Canada has seen a climb in deaths from 2016 to 2024. Last year, Manitoba had the highest rate of stimulant drug-related deaths in the country, coming in at 30 deaths per 100,000 people. The numbers show that this amounted to 448 deaths in 2024, which is up from 412 deaths in 2023 and 317 deaths in 2022. When it comes to opioid toxicity deaths, Manitoba's 2024 crude rate was 24.8 per 100,000 people. This is the third highest rate in the country, with only British Columbia and the Yukon seeing higher rates. In terms of the numbers, 371 people died from opioid-related deaths in Manitoba last year. Though this number is down slightly from 382 deaths in 2023, it's still up substantially from when the Public Health Agency of Canada first began its tracking. When national surveillance started in 2016, there were 88 opioid toxicity deaths in the province, followed by 106 in 2017. The province saw a major jump in 2020 when it went up to 233 deaths, and the numbers only continued to climb from there. How does Manitoba compare? Manitoba falls somewhat in line with what is being seen across the rest of the country. In 2024, there were 7,146 opioid toxicity deaths across Canada and 3,931 stimulant-related deaths. Both numbers are down from the year prior, however, the data shows the country has seen a distinct rise in both opioid and stimulant-related deaths since 2020. In a statement, the provincial and territorial chief coroners, medical officers and medical examiners said Canada's overdose crisis is one of the biggest public health issues Canada has ever faced. The statement noted that though there was a drop in deaths in 2024, an average of 20 people died every day from opioid toxicity in Canada last year. 'All aspects of our strategies to respond to the drug toxicity crisis should be population and person-centered,' it said. 'This includes working together across prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and enforcement to provide solutions. The drug toxicity crisis is complex, and continued coordinated efforts between multi-sectoral partners are key to save lives and improve population health.' The full set of data can be found online.
