Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
A new report from RBC Economics says it expects a renewed surge of retirements in the second half of this year as Canada works to get past the pandemic.
Senior economist Andrew Agopsowicz says in the report that the number of retirements fell about 20 per cent last year compared with the 12 months ended February 2020.
He says the dip was likely a result of uncertainty about retirement savings as the pandemic arrived.
"It's what's held a lot of people back," Agopsowicz said in an interview.
He added that recent data suggest the level of Canadian retirements began to return to normal during the second quarter as the economy took steps toward reopening.
"The return to normal could be a good period for people to make a decision … they probably were going to be making (anyway)," Agopsowicz said.
Retirement levels have been high for about 10 years as the large baby boom generation reaches the age of 65 and that trend will continue for several years, he said.
There may be a near-term labour shortage for some types of jobs, he said, because of a combination of the higher retirement levels, Canada's low birthrate and fewer new immigrants during the pandemic.
"I think all these kind of come together and are going to start adding a lot of pressure to labour markets as we head into the fall," Agopsowicz said.
A recent business survey published by the Bank of Canada said there was still some slack in the overall job market but employers are having difficulty hiring certain type of workers with specialized skills, he added.
The RBC Economics analysis follows a Statistics Canada report on Friday that said the economy added 230,700 jobs in June as restrictions put in place to slow the pandemic were rolled back across the country.
The country still had 340,000 fewer jobs than in February 2020, the last month before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and governments began imposing restrictions to contain the disease.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2021.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.