More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Retail sales fell 2.5 per cent to $61.3 billion in July, the first drop in seven months as sales at gasoline stations and clothing and clothing accessories stores decreased, Statistics Canada said Friday.
The drop was deeper than the 2.0 per cent drop that the agency had predicted in its early estimate for the month, however its initial estimate for August pointed to a gain of 0.4 per cent for the month.
CIBC economist Karyne Charbonneau said retail sales had been more resilient than expected in the past couple of months given high inflation, rising interest rates and a shift to service consumption.
"The weaker-than-expected July data finally provides some evidence that the expected shift away from goods consumption and the impact of higher rates are starting to materialize more meaningfully," Charbonneau wrote in a report.
"This is the type of data the Bank of Canada will be looking for as it enters what should be the last stage of its hiking cycle. We continue to expect another (half percentage point) increase in October, before further evidence of a cooling economy allows the bank to pause its rate increases."
The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate target by three-quarters of a percentage point to 3.25 per cent earlier this month in its fight to bring inflation under control. The Canadian central bank's next interest rate decision is scheduled for Oct. 26 when it will also publish its updated forecast for the economy in its monetary policy report.
Statistics Canada said Friday retail sales in July were down in nine of the 11 subsectors it tracks, representing 94.5 per cent of retail trade.
Sales at gasoline stations fell 14.2 per cent for the month as gasoline prices fell 9.2 per cent and sales at gasoline stations in volume terms decreased 7.0 per cent.
Meanwhile, sales at clothing and clothing accessories stores dropped 3.3 per cent as clothing store sales fell 3.3 per cent and shoe stores slipped 6.5 per cent. Jewelry, luggage and leather goods stores lost 0.6 per cent.
The miscellaneous stores category, which includes pet stores, cannabis stores and office supplies and stationery stores, saw sales rise 0.7 per cent.
Core retail sales -- which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers -- fell 0.9 per cent.
In volume terms, retail sales fell 2.0 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2022.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
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.
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 Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
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.