| Globalnews.ca
According to a new study from the Fraser Institute, Canadians are paying more to the tax man than they are on basic necessities. The Fraser Institute study says that in 2013, the average Canadian family earned $77,381 and paid $32,369 in total taxes – or 41.8 per cent of income – compared with 36.1 per cent for food, shelter and clothing combined.Canadians spending more on taxes than basic needs, says report | Globalnews.ca.
| Toronto Star
When Ottawa enacted the new law in June, many, including frontline immigrant settlement workers, assumed it would take effect immediately and that little could be done to beat its more restrictive criteria.
In fact, some of the most controversial changes — requiring citizenship applicantsto be present in Canada for four years out of six (rather than three years out of four), and raising the age of exemption from language and citizenship tests to 65, from 55 — won’t come into force until next June, immigration officials confirmed to the Star.
“We want to tell people it’s not too late, and they should take advantage of the old rules,” said Ann McRae, executive director of the Rexdale legal clinic, a member of the Inter-Clinic Immigration Working Group. Residents urged to apply for Canadian citizenship to avoid hurdles on horizon | Toronto Star.
An Analysis by Don Pittis – Business – CBC News
This week, new figures from Statistics Canada show annual inflation hit 2.4 per cent. That’s up from 2.3 per cent last month, the ninth month in a row of a rising inflation rate. And while the things you buy are more than two per cent dearer (three per cent if you live in Ontario) than they were a year ago, wages have not been keeping pace.
Related:
The Globe and Mail
Is Canada the most tolerant place in the world because Canadians are more enlightened than others? The answer is no. Accidents of geography and history account for our blessings.
Some may dispute the premise of the question above, but I do believe that Canada can make an honest claim to being the most open-minded and open-hearted place on earth. For two decades now, a land once occupied by descendants of European settlers has been importing just under 1 per cent of its population annually – 258,000 in 2012, more than five million in total – with most new arrivals coming from Asia and the Pacific. No other country on earth has done such a thing. No country brings in as many immigrants as we do, on a per capita basis, from as many different places. And we all get along with each other amazingly well.
Why is Canada the most tolerant country in the world? Luck – The Globe and Mail.
Canada celebrates its 147th birthday and there is much for us to collectively celebrate. We are among the most wealthy and progressive nations on earth. We welcome people from around the globe and invite them to join us in celebrating our diversity, our unique success as a multicultural nation, and as another tile in our cultural mosaic.
We are examining two perspectives here through the eyes of recently naturalized citizens and an experienced politician Elizabeth May.
Read the Toronto Star special segment “The Passport” featuring 10 naturalized citizens, representing 10 different countries.
We are an embracing, tolerant nation with a healthy democracy. We support personal liberty and freedom: free markets, free speech and “free” health care. We answer the call to assist allies and the oppressed on the other side of the world; our young men and women serving in our armed forces do so with honour and dignity.
Our education system is among the best in the world and prepares young minds for the rigours and challenges of adulthood, graduating knowledgeable, curious and ambitious students in a range of academic and professional disciplines.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May argues that Canadian democracy is badly in need of resuscitation: The withering of Canadian Democracy…
How do people celebrate Canada Day? It is quite different from Whitby Ontario to the Rockies in the west or to the Maritimes in the east.
In Stevenson, the fishing town in BC, Canada day celebrations kick off, (now in its 69th year) with a citizenship ceremony. 40 new Canadians will be welcomed at the Steveston mainstage that will be followed by a parade.
Related links on Immigration and Citizenship:
ww.ipolitics.ca/2014/02/06/
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander unveiled Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act. The 51-page bill proposes a number of changes to Canada’s citizenship and immigration laws. Here are the ten you need to know.
www.ipolitics.ca/2014/02/06/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-proposed-citizenship-act-changes/.
The inaugural BMO Women Entrepreneur Report released Tuesday said the hospitality and restaurant sectors top the list of target business ventures in Canada with the retail/services sector the top choice of women in Alberta.
“While men account for the majority of small business owners, women are closing the gap,” said Jennifer Lee, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets. “According to Statistics Canada, the number of self-employed women in Canada increased by 16 per cent in the last decade, compared with a growth rate of nine per cent among men.”
The report said 24 per cent of aspiring women entrepreneurs in Alberta would start a business in the retail/services sector, 23 per cent in food and hospitality, and 21 per cent in arts and entertainment.
More than half of Canadian women want to open a business.
| Canada Politics – Yahoo News Canada
A new poll, presented at the right-leaning Manning Centre’s annual conference, suggests otherwise.
In fact, it looks like Canadians are reverting towards the centre of the political spectrum.
For the past five years, pollster Andre Turcotte has been asking Canadians the following question: “People often talk about a left and right in politics. Using a 1 to 7 scale where 1 is extreme left, 4 is centre and 7 is extreme right, where do you position yourself on this political ideology scale?”
Click on the picture to see an infographic on the cost of Poverty in Ontario.
Toronto Star
As part of the Atkinson Series Michael Valpy spoke to residents of Thorncliffe Park, the ultimate cultural mosaic, a community of immigrants who are well placed to offer advice about what to expect when you come here.
What you should know before moving to Canada | Toronto Star.
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