Adam: A vaccine that offers 95 per cent immunity is awesome. So take it
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/adam-a...so-take-it
Canada 2021 Housing Forecasts Call For A Boom ... Or The Worst Crash in 40 Years
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/hous...4421082979
EXCERPT: This could be the toughest year in living memory to make predictions about the economy ― especially the housing market. Amid the worst economic slowdown in decades, home sales and prices soared in many Canadian cities in 2020, along with housing markets in many other countries. The average house price in Canada has shot up by 13.8 per cent over the past year, and by 14.6 per cent in the U.S.
No wonder this year’s batch of year-end forecasts for Canada’s housing market are all over the map. [...] Broadly speaking, there are two camps: Those who see this year’s hot housing conditions continuing into next year, thanks to low mortgage rates and a lack of housing supply, and those who see trouble coming once mortgage deferrals and government income supports stop.
Not surprisingly, real-estate groups are aboard the boom train. The Canadian Real Estate Association, an umbrella group of local real estate boards, is forecasting a 9.1 per cent jump in house prices in 2021, with Ontario leading the way with a 16.3 per cent jump in prices, followed by Quebec at 13.6 per cent... (MORE)
NDP strip Niki Ashton of critic roles after recent trip to Greece
https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2021/0...-_jd1VKiUk
INTRO: A prominent member of the federal New Democrats has lost her cabinet critic positions after travelling to Greece in spite of widespread travel restrictions meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. The party released a statement saying Manitoba member of Parliament Niki Ashton travelled to Greece recently to visit a family member who was seriously ill. It says Greek officials, who currently only permit visitors to enter the country if they can prove their trip is essential, approved Ashton's visit.
The NDP says Ashton reached out to Canadian officials for "best practices," but did not notify leader Jagmeet Singh or the party whip of her travel plans. The statement says party members sympathize with Ashton's situation, but notes millions of Canadians adhered to public health guidelines under similarly pressing circumstances... (MORE)
Conservative MP has travelled to California twice since March for 'essential house maintenance'
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/r...-1.5859675
INTRO: Calgary-Signal Hill Conservative MP Ron Liepert travelled twice to Palm Desert, Calif., since March, his office confirmed Saturday, so he could deal with "essential house maintenance issues." Liepert, who was Alberta's health and wellness minister under Premier Ed Stelmach, owns a home in the city, which is located in the Coachella Valley. A spokesperson in Liepert's office said Liepert has travelled twice since March, including during the current parliamentary recess. "There has been no non-essential travel, and he has complied with all public health guidance, including the Alberta border testing program, each time he has travelled," the spokesperson said in an email...(MORE)
Calgary MLAs Nixon, Fir also travelled to U.S. over holidays
https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-new...r-holidays
INTRO: Two more members of the United Conservative caucus left Canada to visit the United States over the holidays. Postmedia confirmed Friday night Calgary-Peigan MLA Tanya Fir and Calgary-Klein MLA Jeremy Nixon each travelled abroad in December. The MLAs mark the latest in a series of senior government officials found to have left the country despite provincial guidance to avoid non-essential travel... (MORE)
Jason Kenney’s Chief Of Staff Quietly Returned From United Kingdom Despite Flight Ban
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/kenn...rona-virus
EXCERPTS: Several Alberta United Conservative MLAs and senior officials are in hot water following international travel over the winter break — and chief among them is one of Premier Jason Kenney’s chief advisers. While Kenney fielded questions about cabinet minister Tracy Allard’s trip to Hawaii over the Christmas break despite provincial guidelines against non-essential international travel, he also admitted several other key officials travelled during the holidays, including his chief of staff Jamie Huckabay.
Huckabay, Kenney said, travelled over the holidays with his family to the United Kingdom, a country currently wracked by a wave of new infections due to a dangerous new COVID-19 variant. “Mr. Huckabay did travel with family before Christmas to the U.K. and when the situation with the new variant emerged there, immediately changed his plans and came back to Canada on Boxing Day through the United States,” Kenney said.
Huckabay had to return through the U.S. because the federal government halted all passenger flights to Canada from the U.K. on Dec. 20 in an attempt to prevent the spread of the highly infectious new variant. [...] The U.S. also currently has a restriction on travel from the U.K., but only limits the travel of U.K. nationals who have been there within the past 14 days, not Canadians coming from the U.K. This allowed for Huckabay’s travel back to Alberta... (MORE - details)
Provinces with least-strict COVID-19 restrictions this summer saw sharp case spikes in second wave, data show
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/a...-covid-19/
INTRO: The two Canadian provinces with the least-strict approaches to controlling COVID-19 over the summer have had some of the highest rates of infections and hospitalizations in the country during the second wave of the pandemic, according to data compiled by the University of Oxford. Alberta and Saskatchewan opened up wider and stayed open longer than other provinces, according to the data, and then saw sharp spikes in COVID-19 rates in recent months.
Conversely, Atlantic provinces put in strong measures early on, including a travel bubble, and were able to keep COVID-19 rates near-negligible compared with elsewhere in the country. That quick intervention appeared to allow those provinces to ease up over the summer without seeing significant outbreaks... (MORE)
Is carbon pricing a burden on Canadian households?
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business...t-its-not/
INTRO: The federal Liberals’ main counterattack in the political jousting over carbon pricing has been that their carbon levy isn’t a cost burden for most households, with annual rebates larger than the added costs for fossil fuel use.
And that average benefit will increase in 2021 in the four provinces where the federal government has put in place its own carbon pricing regime, according to figures released by Ottawa this month as rebate amounts for next year were announced.
The Liberals’ assertion that most households are net beneficiaries of carbon pricing is broadly true. But that calculation does not include some significant costs and does not include higher-income households that do face net costs.
And it’s not clear at the moment how consumer energy consumption habits will change as the carbon tax increases. At the moment, higher-income households have a relatively higher carbon tax bill because their energy consumption is higher than average. If consumers do not sufficiently reduce their use of fossil fuels relative to average consumption, they could join the ranks of households facing net costs... (MORE)
2021's electoral calendar looks light — but it could get much busier
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier...-1.5841080
INTRO: Judging by what's scheduled for 2021, the coming year is setting up to be relatively quiet on the Canadian election front. It's what isn't scheduled that could make it a lot more hectic.
The federal government and most provinces have fixed election date laws in place that schedule new elections every four years. The laws, however, have little more legal weight behind them than a strongly-worded recommendation. If a minority government falls — or if a majority government feels like it — elections can take place well before the date circled on the electoral calendar.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province scheduled to hold an election in the coming year. The government in Nova Scotia is approaching the end of its normal life span of four years, but it is the only province without a fixed election date law on the books. It doesn't have to go until 2022.
So it's possible that Canadians in only one province will be called to cast ballots in 2021 — after three provinces went to the polls in 2020 and four held elections in 2019, in addition to the federal election held that year. It's also possible that every Canadian will have the chance to exercise their franchise before the year is up — and perhaps more than once... (MORE)
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/adam-a...so-take-it
Canada 2021 Housing Forecasts Call For A Boom ... Or The Worst Crash in 40 Years
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/hous...4421082979
EXCERPT: This could be the toughest year in living memory to make predictions about the economy ― especially the housing market. Amid the worst economic slowdown in decades, home sales and prices soared in many Canadian cities in 2020, along with housing markets in many other countries. The average house price in Canada has shot up by 13.8 per cent over the past year, and by 14.6 per cent in the U.S.
No wonder this year’s batch of year-end forecasts for Canada’s housing market are all over the map. [...] Broadly speaking, there are two camps: Those who see this year’s hot housing conditions continuing into next year, thanks to low mortgage rates and a lack of housing supply, and those who see trouble coming once mortgage deferrals and government income supports stop.
Not surprisingly, real-estate groups are aboard the boom train. The Canadian Real Estate Association, an umbrella group of local real estate boards, is forecasting a 9.1 per cent jump in house prices in 2021, with Ontario leading the way with a 16.3 per cent jump in prices, followed by Quebec at 13.6 per cent... (MORE)
NDP strip Niki Ashton of critic roles after recent trip to Greece
https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2021/0...-_jd1VKiUk
INTRO: A prominent member of the federal New Democrats has lost her cabinet critic positions after travelling to Greece in spite of widespread travel restrictions meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. The party released a statement saying Manitoba member of Parliament Niki Ashton travelled to Greece recently to visit a family member who was seriously ill. It says Greek officials, who currently only permit visitors to enter the country if they can prove their trip is essential, approved Ashton's visit.
The NDP says Ashton reached out to Canadian officials for "best practices," but did not notify leader Jagmeet Singh or the party whip of her travel plans. The statement says party members sympathize with Ashton's situation, but notes millions of Canadians adhered to public health guidelines under similarly pressing circumstances... (MORE)
Conservative MP has travelled to California twice since March for 'essential house maintenance'
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/r...-1.5859675
INTRO: Calgary-Signal Hill Conservative MP Ron Liepert travelled twice to Palm Desert, Calif., since March, his office confirmed Saturday, so he could deal with "essential house maintenance issues." Liepert, who was Alberta's health and wellness minister under Premier Ed Stelmach, owns a home in the city, which is located in the Coachella Valley. A spokesperson in Liepert's office said Liepert has travelled twice since March, including during the current parliamentary recess. "There has been no non-essential travel, and he has complied with all public health guidance, including the Alberta border testing program, each time he has travelled," the spokesperson said in an email...(MORE)
Calgary MLAs Nixon, Fir also travelled to U.S. over holidays
https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-new...r-holidays
INTRO: Two more members of the United Conservative caucus left Canada to visit the United States over the holidays. Postmedia confirmed Friday night Calgary-Peigan MLA Tanya Fir and Calgary-Klein MLA Jeremy Nixon each travelled abroad in December. The MLAs mark the latest in a series of senior government officials found to have left the country despite provincial guidance to avoid non-essential travel... (MORE)
Jason Kenney’s Chief Of Staff Quietly Returned From United Kingdom Despite Flight Ban
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/kenn...rona-virus
EXCERPTS: Several Alberta United Conservative MLAs and senior officials are in hot water following international travel over the winter break — and chief among them is one of Premier Jason Kenney’s chief advisers. While Kenney fielded questions about cabinet minister Tracy Allard’s trip to Hawaii over the Christmas break despite provincial guidelines against non-essential international travel, he also admitted several other key officials travelled during the holidays, including his chief of staff Jamie Huckabay.
Huckabay, Kenney said, travelled over the holidays with his family to the United Kingdom, a country currently wracked by a wave of new infections due to a dangerous new COVID-19 variant. “Mr. Huckabay did travel with family before Christmas to the U.K. and when the situation with the new variant emerged there, immediately changed his plans and came back to Canada on Boxing Day through the United States,” Kenney said.
Huckabay had to return through the U.S. because the federal government halted all passenger flights to Canada from the U.K. on Dec. 20 in an attempt to prevent the spread of the highly infectious new variant. [...] The U.S. also currently has a restriction on travel from the U.K., but only limits the travel of U.K. nationals who have been there within the past 14 days, not Canadians coming from the U.K. This allowed for Huckabay’s travel back to Alberta... (MORE - details)
Provinces with least-strict COVID-19 restrictions this summer saw sharp case spikes in second wave, data show
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/a...-covid-19/
INTRO: The two Canadian provinces with the least-strict approaches to controlling COVID-19 over the summer have had some of the highest rates of infections and hospitalizations in the country during the second wave of the pandemic, according to data compiled by the University of Oxford. Alberta and Saskatchewan opened up wider and stayed open longer than other provinces, according to the data, and then saw sharp spikes in COVID-19 rates in recent months.
Conversely, Atlantic provinces put in strong measures early on, including a travel bubble, and were able to keep COVID-19 rates near-negligible compared with elsewhere in the country. That quick intervention appeared to allow those provinces to ease up over the summer without seeing significant outbreaks... (MORE)
Is carbon pricing a burden on Canadian households?
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business...t-its-not/
INTRO: The federal Liberals’ main counterattack in the political jousting over carbon pricing has been that their carbon levy isn’t a cost burden for most households, with annual rebates larger than the added costs for fossil fuel use.
And that average benefit will increase in 2021 in the four provinces where the federal government has put in place its own carbon pricing regime, according to figures released by Ottawa this month as rebate amounts for next year were announced.
The Liberals’ assertion that most households are net beneficiaries of carbon pricing is broadly true. But that calculation does not include some significant costs and does not include higher-income households that do face net costs.
And it’s not clear at the moment how consumer energy consumption habits will change as the carbon tax increases. At the moment, higher-income households have a relatively higher carbon tax bill because their energy consumption is higher than average. If consumers do not sufficiently reduce their use of fossil fuels relative to average consumption, they could join the ranks of households facing net costs... (MORE)
2021's electoral calendar looks light — but it could get much busier
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier...-1.5841080
INTRO: Judging by what's scheduled for 2021, the coming year is setting up to be relatively quiet on the Canadian election front. It's what isn't scheduled that could make it a lot more hectic.
The federal government and most provinces have fixed election date laws in place that schedule new elections every four years. The laws, however, have little more legal weight behind them than a strongly-worded recommendation. If a minority government falls — or if a majority government feels like it — elections can take place well before the date circled on the electoral calendar.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province scheduled to hold an election in the coming year. The government in Nova Scotia is approaching the end of its normal life span of four years, but it is the only province without a fixed election date law on the books. It doesn't have to go until 2022.
So it's possible that Canadians in only one province will be called to cast ballots in 2021 — after three provinces went to the polls in 2020 and four held elections in 2019, in addition to the federal election held that year. It's also possible that every Canadian will have the chance to exercise their franchise before the year is up — and perhaps more than once... (MORE)