BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used the spectre of gnarled global supply chains in a bid Sunday to a bloc of Southeast Asian nations to win them over on a free trade deal.
Trudeau has long sought a trade deal with the 10-nation bloc, which includes the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma.
He told a virtual business summit organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that a free trade agreement with Canada would be a "win-win" for all sides, particularly coming out of the pandemic.
Speaking in a pre-recorded message, Trudeau argued that an agreement with ASEAN would help companies and entrepreneurs build connections and business relationships around the world.
He also said a pact would give investors more confidence to invest in international markets, and protect supply chains from the uncertainties brought by COVID-19.
Trade bottlenecks across the globe have been slower to recover than consumer demand for goods, and slowed further by ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks and public health measures.
All this affects inventories of in-demand consumer products or the delivery of parts needed to build things like cars, and pushes up transportation costs that get passed on to consumers, which is reflected in higher inflation rates.
"As we finish the fight against COVID-19, deepening our ties with ASEAN economies and diversifying trade across the Asia-Pacific will play a crucial role in our recovery," Trudeau said in his address.
"My friends, a strong Canada-ASEAN relationship is a clear win-win for all of our businesses and all of our people."
The economies of the 10-nation bloc as a group represent Canada's sixth largest trading partner, but the country already has access to four ASEAN members -- Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam -- through a Pacific Rim trade pact known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The Liberals' election platform promised a new hub to help businesses take advantage of opportunities under CPTPP, and a new Asia-Pacific strategy aimed at deepening ties in the region, including new trade deals.
A preliminary analysis by ASEAN and the federal government on the merits of a free trade deal estimated Canadian exports of goods and services to the bloc could go up by 13.3 per cent, valued at US$2.67 billion
In his address, Trudeau said both sides must also ensure women, Indigenous people, LGBTQ entrepreneurs, visible minorities and other under-represented business owners get involved in and benefit from trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2021.
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.