Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
Do you want financial "revenge"?
I think I might have a little pent up revenge spending in me.
Typically when we talk about revenge it can be very petty and done simply to tick someone else off. This revenge is a little different. The target is COVID-19, and after the many months of public health measures and lockdowns, we are ready to unleash that revenge with a vengeance.
Pent up demand is very real and exactly what the economy needs.
As restrictions continue to ease, people are ready to splurge, especially on items and experiences that were unavailable during lockdowns.
The belief is we are aggressively going to be looking for ways to feel good and make up for lost time.
According to Craig Alexander, Chief Economist at Deliotte, in his latest Economic Outlook, he expects growth to accelerate sharply during the summer months and continue at a fast pace into early 2022, as Canadians resume previously limited social activities.
He suggests GDP is expected to expand by a blistering 6.7 per cent this year, with another strong gain of 4.1 per cent anticipated in 2022.
With businesses opening up, according to Andrew Graham, CEO and Co-founder of Borrowell:
"Some Canadians are excited to socialize and gather with friends at restaurants, bars, and dinner parties, while others are looking forward to shopping in-person or making big ticket purchases after only browsing online. Many Canadians are making travel plans after being cooped up inside. Canadians are looking forward to these types of out-of-home activities to gain a new sense of normal. They want to satisfy themselves with pre-pandemic experiences, and they may be willing to spend more to do so."
To be fair, I understand this mentality. When the U.S. opened up back in April, there was clearly an uptick in designer items ranging from handbags, accessories and even footwear.
The fear I have is going overboard. If you can afford it, great. We need to you spend, support beaten down areas such as the hospitality industry, and help prop up the Canadian economy.
What we don't need is Canadians taking on more debt out of revenge against the pandemic.
Prior to the pandemic, Canadians carried a high level of debt and that was problem. It wasn't sustainable and it took a deadly virus to force us to change our ways.
Canadians have been saving more, distinguishing between a want and a need when it comes to spending, and enjoying in many cases a little financial flexibility for the first time. We don't want to blow it now.
The reality is, debt levels are still stubbornly high, especially for those hurt most by the pandemic.
So if you plan on splurging and need to borrow to do so, proceed with caution. Here are some guidelines to maintain a good credit standing.
Borrowell, a Canadian fintech company, suggests using 30% or less of your credit limit as a recommendation for maintaining a good credit score.
The average credit utilization rate in Canada was 43.5% and that is too high. By the way, the average revolving credit balance is $10,361, meaning the average person's credit limit is $23,818.
In others words, revenge may feel good in the moment, but better revenge would be to reduce your average revolving balance by $3,215 and come out of a pandemic with a better credit standing than when you went into it.
However, I'm not naive and it won't only be those flush with large amounts of cash doing a little spending. Since March 2020, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on our lives and it is fair to say regardless of your financial situation, we have all earned the right to spend time with family and friends.
But we also all know revenge can be bittersweet. Pleasant in the moment, followed by regret.
My hope is that we don't revert back to our old ways of spending as if there is no tomorrow.
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.