Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Roaring back from shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans are on an unprecedented spending spree that is driving up prices and hampering global supply chains.
“We’ve got this huge economy restarting from a low point that it hit about a year ago, and it’s coming straight up like a rocket,” George Calhoun, a professor at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, explained in a recent interview with NBC News.
The surge in demand is driving up the costs of all sorts of products from food to furniture. Most recently, Starbucks reported that it has been having trouble sourcing its ingredients.
However, one of the biggest shortages is for raw materials like lumber, much of which is imported from Canada.
When asked if he’s ever seen such a wild swing with lumber prices, Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America replied: “It’s crazy.”
He added that the Trump-era tariffs on Canadian lumber that the Biden administration wants to double is a real concern:
“That has certainly added some kindling to the fire on these lumber prices... As buyers of your products, the construction industry wants to see that tariff go away.”
Lumber prices tripled during the pandemic due to constraints on production and a housing boom that had a locked down nation eager to find a new place to live or renovate their existing residence.
According to CTV News' Chief Financial Commentator Pattie Lovett-Reid, there is still soaring demand for lumber and long-term supply issues that won’t be resolved overnight.
In addition to the rising costs, consumers are also faced with Trump-era tariffs on Canadian lumber that the Biden administration now wants to double.
In 2018, the Trump administration imposed a 20 per cent tariff on Canadian softwood, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but lowered it to nine per cent late last year after a decision by the World Trade Organization.
U.S. industry analysts say tariffs and lumber costs add an extra US$35,000 to the price of a new home. That figure is so steep, Habitat for Humanity worries its charity could be priced out.
“We’re seeing an increase of about 50 per cent across the board of all supplies,” saidLeah Miller, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento. “We’re having to be very nimble and find creative ways to get busy.”
The U.S. is not alone in slapping new tariffs on foreign materials. In May, the Canada Border Services Agency set steep anti-dumping tariffs on leather-upholstered furniture manufactured in China and Vietnam, as high as 295 per cent and 101 per cent, respectively.
Top officials are downplaying the fears of rising costs and inflation, insisting that prices will stabilize when the pandemic is no longer an economic problem, but lawmakers are coming under intense pressure from home builders and other industries to cut tariffs.
“We have had several months of high inflation that most economists, including me, believe will be transitory as our economy gets back in full swing after the pandemic,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the House of Representatives Committee on Thursday.
The White House has since launched a task force to deal with critical supply chain disruptions, but officials say they are confident that the issue will resolve itself in the coming months.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.