Weekly Digest – 8 February 2023

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward.

A shortage of pilots is making travel chaos in Canada even worse

Transport Canada reports only 238 pilot licences were issued in 2022, down from around 1,100 pilot licences issued annually on average before 2020. The pilot shortage has resulted in Canadian airlines facing staffing shortages, especially among regional carriers, causing more cancelled flights than usual.

Canada’s rapidly cooling housing market is helping to slow inflation

Cooling in Canada’s real estate market is expected to help slow down the inflation rate, which was still at 6.3 percent in December 2022. Because Canada has shorter-duration mortgages than many other countries, and a higher share of variable rate home loans, the country isn’t expected to raise borrowing costs as high as the US.

New details emerge ahead of Trudeau-premiers’ health-care meeting

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s premiers are set to meet this week, to discuss a new healthcare agreement for the provinces. The leaders will meet to discuss long-term funding deals to address a crisis in hospitals and health-care facilities across the country.

U.S. launches second USMCA dispute panel in dairy battle with Canada

The United States has launched a dispute panel regarding Canada’s dairy industry, alleging Canada is violating its trade agreement in how it distributes its allotment of dairy tariff rate quotas. The US alleges Canada failed to properly respond to the findings of the first dispute panel, which agreed with the US that Canada allocated too much of its quota allotment to processors instead of producers.

All-time cold records fall on East Coast, but a big warmup ahead

The dangerous cold that broke records in Atlantic Canada is expected to pass quickly, with warmer weather on the horizon. Halifax Stanfield International Airport saw a new all-time low of -25.6° Celsius, with a wind chill of -43, while parts of New Brunswick had a wind chill of -50.

Is Canada in a recession? StatCan’s early estimates are saying not yet

Although Canada’s economic growth is slowing, Statistics Canada reports the country still had economic growth in November, at 0.1 percent, much of that coming from the public sector, transportation and warehousing, and finance and insurance. Advance information suggests in 2022 Canada had an annual growth of 3.8 percent.

FP Canada lobbying feds for financial planning tax credit

FP Canada is lobbying the federal government to offer a tax credit to low- and middle-income Canadians who want to access financial planning advice. Currently, Canadians can deduct fees for investment advice in non-registered accounts, but financial planning fees can’t be claimed. FP Canada wants to see tax credits to those who are not high income earners and are accessing financial planning services for the first time.

Posthaste: Baby boomers delaying retirement have eased labour shortages, but our luck is about to run out

TD Economics estimates around 900,000 people will likely stop working over the next three years, around 50 percent higher than the average number who retired each year for the past 10 years. So far, around 1.1 million workers have continued working despite hitting retirement age, but many are expected to leave work in the next three years, resulting in a significant labour shortage.

Groundhog Day: Fred is dead in Quebec, Willie and Sam at odds over spring’s arrival

Canada’s groundhogs couldn’t agree over whether there will be an early spring in 2023. Unfortunately, Fred la Marmotte, in Val D’Espoir, Que, died before making his prediction for Groundhog Day. Event organizers said he likely passed away in late fall.

Canada adds Russian media personalities, companies in latest round of sanctions

Canada is imposing a new round of sanctions on Russians, including media personalities and companies that are accused of spreading disinformation about the invasion of Ukraine. Included on the list are 38 individuals–singers, actors, and athletes–and 16 entities.