Economy
Military recruitment fell 35 percent last year, records show. Volunteers were harder to find amid “Canada-wide labour shortages,” said a federal briefing note.
“The Canadian Armed Forces serves Canada by defending our values, interests and sovereignty at home and abroad,” said the note Recruitment And Retention. “However the Canadian Armed Forces is experiencing a shortfall in personnel that has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and Canada-wide labour shortages.”
A total 5,242 volunteers joined the regular forces and primary reserves last year, said the Department of National Defence. It compared to 8,069 the previous year.
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Read MoreCabinet effective August 1 will eliminate all credit checks on Canada Student Loan borrowers. “It only creates a barrier,” said loan managers at the Department of Employment.
“In reality it only creates a barrier for first time student financial assistance applicants aged 22 and older who have to pass the credit screening or deal with the administrative burden associated with submitting appeals,” the department wrote in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement. It estimated 80,000 students a year are subject to credit checks under a program dating from 1999.
“Less than one percent of those screened are initially rejected for student financial assistance due to poor credit,” wrote staff. “And 85 percent of those who appeal are ultimately approved.”
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Read MoreNearly 2,000 Air Canada flights were either delayed or grounded this past long weekend, stranding scores of travellers, many of whom voiced displeasure on social media.
“Love the ‘error’ where a flight I was going to book got cancelled (due to the ‘error’) and then the price somehow went up almost $100 when I tried to rebook it. I had to choose a different flight at a worse time. Cool ‘error’ you utter vultures,” an inconvenienced passenger tweeted at Air Canada.
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Read MoreA few Bitcoin experts said Alberta is an amazing place for this industry because of the entrepreneurial spirit people have.
“What I can say is that the Alberta government is very interested in the space,” said Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish at a Wednesday panel at the Bitcoin Rodeo.
“We want to see it grow in Alberta.”
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Read MoreAlberta Premier Danielle Smith said she will stand tall on her position against the federal government’s plan of net zero by 2035.
Smith said the next step is going to be asking if the three other provinces who find themselves in this position Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia will join Alberta to challenge Ottawa over commitments to decarbonize Alberta’s electricity grid to net zero by 2035.
Although the federal government has the authority to enter into treaties such as the Paris Accord, it’s up to the provinces to implement those commitments. And those commitments set a deadline of 2050, not 2035.
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Read MoreTwo Alberta government ministers are calling on the federal government to implement back-to-work legislation to end the strikes at ports in BC.
In a letter to the feds, signed by Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors and Matt Jones, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade, they expressed concerns regarding the current work stoppage affecting Canada’s west coast ports.
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Read MoreCutting oil and gas production would be “dangerous and irresponsible”, the boss of energy giant Shell has told the BBC.
Wael Sawan insisted that the world still “desperately needs oil and gas” as moves to renewable energy were not happening fast enough to replace it.
He warned increased demand from China and a cold winter in Europe could push energy prices and bills higher again.
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Read MoreWorld stocks fell for a third straight day, as strong US jobs data bolstered bets on another US interest rate hike this month and tit-for-tat trade salvoes between China and the United States also dampened sentiment.
Traders watched the traditional driver of global borrowing costs, the 10-year US Treasury yield US10YT=RR, climb to a fresh four-month high GVD/EUR as the weekly ADP report on private sector hiring and firing came in stronger than expected.
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Read MoreKevin Costner’s estranged wife has been ordered to move out of his home by the end of the month.
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Christine Baumgartner – who filed for divorce in May after 18 years of marriage – has been told by a judge to vacate the US$145 million beachfront house by July 31.
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