National revenue minister asks CRA to investigate BC real estate speculators
OTTAWA—National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier has asked the Canada Revenue Agency to look into the actions of real estate speculators in B.C. following a newspaper investigation.
The Globe and Mail reported last weekend that some foreign investors allegedly profit from buying homes in B.C. while evading taxes.
The federal minister says she is concerned by the allegations and has asked the CRA to look into them.
Lebouthillier’s request follows comments by B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong, who said the CRA must be diligent in enforcing the law in order to maintain the confidence of taxpayers.
Doug Ford says ‘Ford Nation’ book will ‘rock’ the political, media worlds
TORONTO—A new book about Rob Ford and his family will “rock” the political and media worlds, the brother of Toronto’s late scandal-plagued mayor announced Sept. 12.
Doug Ford, a former Toronto city councillor, said he would be touring the country to promote the book, titled “Ford Nation: Two Brothers, One Vision—The True Story of the People’s Mayor.”
“When this comes out, from the prime minister to the premier to the mayor, it’s going to rock the media world, it’s going to rock the political world,” Ford told a crowd of reporters gathered on the front lawn of his mother’s house in the city’s west end.
The book will be published on Nov. 22.
Minimum wage hikes timely, will not lead to job losses, says Notley
EDMONTON—Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says it was time to lock in hikes to minimum wage that guaranteed the rate will reach $15 an hour by 2018.
Notley says her government has had extensive discussions with stakeholders and economists, and believes the increases are sustainable and will not lead to job losses.
The minimum wage goes up to $12.20 an hour in October and will rise more than a dollar a year after that until it reaches $15 an hour in October 2018.
Opposition politicians and business industry groups say the hike is too much too quickly. They say Alberta is already losing tens of thousands of jobs due to the prolonged slump in oil prices, and that the NDP has just made a bad situation much worse.
RCMP officers to be equipped with naloxone kits to deal with fentanyl exposure
VANCOUVER—RCMP officers will soon be carrying naloxone nasal spray to protect themselves against accidental contact with opioids such as potentially deadly fentanyl.
Commissioner Bob Paulson says the danger of the drug that has led to thousands of deaths across Canada cannot be overstated and anyone who even comes near fentanyl can become sick from inhaling it in its powder form or when it’s absorbed through the skin.
The RCMP have released a video featuring two officers who immediately felt the effects of fentanyl that was in the possession of people they'd interacted with while on the job.
Officers can use the naloxone on themselves or others in medical distress to reduce or reverse the effects of opioids.
Late summer weather to linger in much of Canada: Weather Network
OAKVILLE, Ont.—Autumn will bring above seasonal temperatures across much of Canada, according to this year’s Fall Forecast from The Weather Network.
It says late summer weather is expected to linger into autumn from the Great Lakes to Atlantic Canada, although mixed in with temperature swings that are typical of the season.
The Prairies will experience seesawing temperatures which will average out close to normal for most places, while British Columbia and Yukon are expected to see above normal temperatures this fall.
Precipitation is expected to be “near normal” for the most of the country, the network said.
With files from The Canadian Press
