Food & Energy
The federal government just announced what it is calling the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades to unlock home ownership for more Canadians.” Unfortunately, there are good reasons to be skeptical that the proposed measures will help anyone buy a first home.
The government is implementing two new measures: increasing the $1-million price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5-million and expanding the eligibility for 30-year amortizations to all first-time homebuyers and all buyers of new builds.
The first is meant to address the fact tha
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Read MoreThe Department of Defense awarded nearly $1.5 million in taxpayer money to a Democratic donor’s company, which makes fake lab-grown meat from fermented fungus.
The Better Meat Company, which uses fungus protein to make fake meat in a lab, is led by CEO Paul Shapiro, an activist with a history of donating to Democrats. The taxpayer-funded grant will bankroll a “bioproduction
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Read Morehe Better Meat Co. is receiving a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Defense Department to increase the production of Rhiza. The company’s signature mycoprotein ingredient is already produced in large quantities at the company’s Sacramento pilot plant.
The grant was part of the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program, a White House initiative to encourage U.S. businesses to advance biotechnology.
The Sacramento, California-based company makes mycoprotein by transforming microscopic fungi into a sustainable protein. The grant follows a “no questions” letter Better Meat received on the product from the FDA in July.
The alternative protein source has also been reported to cause gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.
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Read MoreScotland’s picturesque highlands are at the centre of a heated debate over proposed pumped storage hydro schemes.
The projects, designed to store renewable energy, are facing fierce opposition from environmentalists and local communities concerned about their impact on the region’s iconic landscapes.
Up to a dozen upland lochs are being targeted for development, with plans to construct massive dams, service roads, and pump houses across some of Scotland’s most remote and wild areas.
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Read Morelectric vehicles (EVs) are losing value at an “unsustainable” rate as a slowdown in consumer demand sends used car prices tumbling, leasing companies have warned.
The British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association (BVRLA) warned that so-called fleet operators, such as car leasing firms and rental companies, are having to swallow large losses when reselling EVs because of “accelerated, exceptional depreciation”.
In most cases, these companies buy new cars and own them for three years before selling them.
Consumers who lease cars during these three-year periods effectively cover the value of losses through monthly payments, which are calculated based on estimates of how much a vehicle is expected to depreciate.
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But in the past two years, the typical amount of “residual value” left over at the end of a car’s lease has plunged from 60pc to 35pc, the BVRLA said.
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Read MoreFor many years the federal government’s approach to government finances has relied on spending-driven deficits and a growing debt burden, causing a deterioration in the state of federal finances.
While deficits can sometimes be justified in certain circumstances, perpetual spending-driven deficits have become the norm rather than a temporary exception for the federal government. The $39.8 billion deficit expected in 2024/25 is the 17th consecutive annual deficit, and deficits are expected to continue into the foreseeable future.
Deficits have helped drive federal gross debt from 53.0% of the economy ($1.1 trillion) in 2014/15 up to an expected 69.8% ($2.1 trillion) in 2024/25.
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Read MoreA northern Ontario beekeeper is urging Canadians to avoid spraying their properties with insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides at times when pollinators are active and during windy conditions.
Dawn Lalonde experienced devastating losses at her apiary this summer, and initial testing of bee and pollen samples found the presence of fungicides and pesticides.
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Read Moreederal auditors cite Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s department for poor oversight of millions spent on green subsidies. Management of taxpayer funds was so sloppy it represented “potential legal and reputational damage,” said a report.
“We observed significant issues,” said the audit of the department’s grants and contributions program. Auditors noted spending on subsidies had risen sharply since 2016, by $625 million, with little corresponding scrutiny of where the money went or why.
“This may result in a multitude of impacts including inefficient operations and reduced coo
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Read MoreYou are what you eat. Or aren’t.
That’s because scientists at Stanford university are touting the medical benefits of a common food dye it says can make skin tissues translucent.
Tartrazine — also known as Yellow #5 — is found in a variety of processed foods and cosmetics including Doritos, Mountain Dew, M&Ms and cereals like Cap’n Crunch. It’s also used in health and beauty products such as shampoo, conditioner, eyeliner and even vitamin pills.
According to a study materials science engineers, chemicals in the dye can interact with skin tissues in a manner that can distort incoming light waves to make the internal organs, muscles and blood vessels of mice visible without X-rays or other mechanical me
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