Ontario to ban use of cellphones in school classrooms starting in September
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Many Canadians “lack a financial cushion” according to a new Angus Reid survey, which found majority of respondents under 55 could not handle an unexpected expense of more than $1,000.
“As housing costs continue to rise from this period of high interest rates, renters and mortgage holders feel squeezed,” the Angus Reid survey said.
This financial concern is compounded by half of those surveyed in the same age group, worrying about losing their jobs.
Key findings from the survey include:
Women aged 35 to 54 years old are most likely to report they can’t manage any unplanned bills, with a quarter saying they are “already too stretched” financially.
40 per cent of people told the survey they are not contributing to their Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) or Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) because “they don’t have enough to save.”
Higher interest rates are putting a strain on mortgage holders, with 29 per cent saying an unexpected $250 expense “would break the bank.”
John Lock, the director of marketing at Credit Counselling Society, a non-profit organization that provides financial advice to indebted Canadians, said his office has been flooded with calls this January.
“It has been busier that the last few years for sure,” Lock told CTV News. “The folks that we’re seeing are just overwhelmed with the costs that are bearing down on them.”
Lock says the combination of high food, gasoline, housing and debt servicing costs are squeezing household budgets.
“With folks not able to pay for their expenses or repay their lines of credit we’re seeing higher delinquency rates,” he said.
The Angus Reid survey goes on to say that the “Bank of Canada’s campaign against high inflation appears to have at least decelerated the rising cost of living.”
As the economy slows, the independent research company says there is evidence Canadians are anticipating a recession with “further dips in spending and job losses.”
Half of survey respondents under 55 fear they, or someone in their household, will lose their jobs.
“The last time fear of job loss was this high was during the uncertainty of the beginning of the second year of the pandemic,” the survey said.
The online survey reached a representative randomized 1,620 Canadian adults on January 16 and 17. A sample of this size would carry a margin error of +/-2 percentage points, Angus Reid said.
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
U.S. President Joe Biden is out to win votes by scoring some laughs at the expense of Donald Trump, unleashing mockery with the goal of getting under the former president's thin skin and reminding the country of his blunders.
One person has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a man who fell from a balcony following an altercation inside a Toronto apartment building.
Ukraine's troops have been forced to make a tactical retreat from three villages in the embattled east, the country's army chief said Sunday, warning of a worsening battlefield situation as Ukrainian forces wait for much-needed arms from a huge U.S. aid package to reach combat zones.
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Laurentian University's board of governors approved a budget of just over $201.7 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
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.”