LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
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.
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.