B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
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.
Canada's main stock index ended down almost 400 points in the third straight day of downward movement amid better-than-expected employment numbers and expectations of further rate hikes on both sides of the border.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 395.88 points or 2.1 per cent at 18,583.13.
Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, said markets were hit hard Friday, particularly in the US.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 630.15 points or 2.1 per cent at 29,296.79. The S&P 500 index was down 104.86 points or 2.8 per cent at 3,639.66, while the Nasdaq composite was down 420.91 points or 3.8 per cent at 10,652.40.
Canada got a bit of a boost from employment numbers released today that were better than expected, as well as the rally in crude oil, Cieszynski said.
The Canadian economy saw a modest bump in employment in September, while the unemployment rate fell to 5.2 per cent.
U.S. non-farm payroll data released Friday was also better than expected, said Cieszynski.
He said that means the central banks don't need to pivot from their quantitative tightening paths just yet.
BMO chief economist Douglas Porter said in a note Friday morning that the bank is still predicting a rate hike of half a percentage point at this month's Bank of Canada meeting, but added that the upcoming Business Outlook Survey and inflation data could change that.
Of course, analysts have been saying that some so-called bad news on employment, inflation or earnings might actually be good news for the market, as it could signal a coming end to rate hikes.
But Cieszynski said good news is still good news -- the latest numbers show that central banks have been successfully deflating the bubble without sending markets into a crisis.
"It does mean that the economy is kind of holding up," he said. "We don't want everything spiraling into a crisis. That would be a disaster for everybody."
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.93 cents US compared with 72.89 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude contract was up US$4.19 at US$92.64 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down 22.4 cents at US$6.75 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$11.50 at US$1,709.30 an ounce and the December copper contract was down almost six cents at US$3.39 a pound.
Cieszynski said he will be watching earnings season in the US with a close eye, especially for global companies that may be affected by the US dollar's rise.
"We've had a general slowing of the economy, but the bigger problem for the Americans is going to be their dollar," he said.
"The U.S. dollar has just gone up so much against everything that I think it's going to be a problem for companies in their earnings."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
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.
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 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.
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.