In the news today: StatCan to release August jobs report today

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Statistics Canada to release August jobs report today amid labour market slowdown

Statistics Canada is set to release its August labour force survey this morning. Economists polled by Reuters are forecasting employers added 25,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rose to 6.5 per cent in the month, according to LSEG Data & Analytics. Canada’s jobless rate has been rising for the last year and a half as high interest rates slow economic activity. The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate for the third time in a row on Wednesday and signalled more rate cuts are on the way, so long as inflation continues to cool.

Ont cuts funds for daycares not in $10/day program

Ontario child-care centres that aren’t participating in the national $10-a-day program will soon lose provincial funding to offer fee subsidies to lower-income families and their staff could see a pay cut of $2 an hour. Families who already get fee subsidies for child care will continue to benefit until their child ages out or leaves their provider, but any new families won’t be able to access subsidies for kids aged five and under in centres outside the $10-a-day system. That money will instead go into funding the 10-dollar-a-day program, which the government says is “to ensure the success of that system.”

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Get 2nd mpox vaccine shot: public health agencies

Public health agencies are encouraging people who received the first dose of the mpox vaccine to make sure they get a second dose. Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, says many people at risk of mpox exposure got vaccinated in 2022, when an outbreak was declared in Canada. But she says a lot of those people never got a second dose and should get one to ensure they have maximum protection against the virus. The World Health Organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern on August 14th.

CPA Canada hopeful exam deal to come

Four months from an unprecedented split between the regulators of accountants in Ontario and Quebec and their national counterpart, CPA Canada is pitching a new, separate membership to accountants in the departing provinces. CPA Canada said provincial members in those jurisdictions can remain national members for $195 a year. Last year, the national body announced CPA Ontario and the Quebec C-P-A Order were splitting with the national organization over governance disagreements in a move that takes effect in December. The news raised questions about the future role of the national organization for accountants in the two provinces.

Former police chief paid $430K after retirement

Public documents show the former chief of a beleaguered Saskatchewan police service was paid about 429,000 dollars after he retired. The documents show Jonathan Bergen’s pay last year was double the 200,000 dollars he earned in 2022 while chief of police in Prince Albert, north of Saskatoon. Bergen had retired from the force in May 2023, on the same day a Public Complaints Commission report found two officers neglected their duty in the hours before the death of a toddler. The report found the officers, responding to a domestic violence call in 2022, didn’t check on the well-being of 13-month-old Tanner Brass and left him in danger with his father.

Judge to give verdict in jail guard trial

A Manitoba judge is expected to deliver his verdict today in the case of a senior corrections officer charged in the death of an inmate. Robert Jeffrey Morden has pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessities of life for 45-year-old William Ahmo of Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation. Video evidence presented at the trial shows tactical officers taking the inmate to the ground, putting him in shackles, placing a spit hood over his head and sitting him in a restraint chair before he becomes unresponsive. Court heard he died from a brain injury stemming from cardiac arrest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press