TORONTO – A joint Italian Police – Canadian RCMP – Interpol operation has made it possible to trace two hundred and fifty-one cars, with an estimated value of 22 million euros, stolen in Canada and “stored” inside various containers in transit in the Italian port of Gioia Tauro, in the province of Reggio Calabria. →
TORONTO – Dopo le town hall telefoniche della scorsa settimana e gli incontri organizzati dall’amministrazione cittadina, è tempo di tirare le somme per il sindaco di Toronto, Olivia Chow, alle prese con il Budget 2024…
TORONTO – After last week’s town hall telephone calls and the meetings organized by the city administration, it is time to take stock for the Mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow, as she deals with the 2024 Budget.
Today, in a press conference together with the fire chief Matthew Pegg in the Riverdale fire station, the first citizen – answering journalists’ questions on the 2024 Budget – began by recalling that she had “inherited a financial disaster, having to face a deficit of 1.8 billion dollars. I could repeat what the Mayors of the past have done: cut services or cut emergency funds; or, I could protect them and improve them”, she said, then going on to list some numbers: Budget 2024 includes money for 52 more firefighters, more fire inspectors and 911 dispatchers, as well as 63 additional frontline and support staff for Toronto Paramedic Services, as well as money for the new Toronto Community Crisis Service to deal with people in crisis.
The first citizen added that there is also more money in the Toronto police budget, but it is $12.6 million less than what the Toronto Police Services Board approved in the budget request voted on last December. A decision, as is known, already contested by Chief Myron Demkiw who last week spoke to the City Council, pointing out how the proposed cuts will undermine the efficiency of the police force which will not be able – due to a lack of policemen – to keep up with the ever-increasing crime rate. “Let me set the record straight” Chow replied today, “the Toronto police are receiving millions of dollars more in their budget, there are no cuts” she said, referring to the overall increase compared to 2023.
But the 2024 Budget has not only generated discontent among the police: the entire citizenry is worried about the proposed increase in property taxes to 10.5 percent to address the budget hole: an increase that could become 16.5 percent if the federal government does not allocate $250 million for refugees. And precisely on this last point, the first citizen announced that on Wednesday she will meet the federal Minister of Public Security, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic Leblanc, to talk about the type of support Toronto needs. “Good things take time. We still have time” Chow said. “My budget won’t come out until February 1st.” And then she concluded: “I spoke to both the federal and provincial governments to say ‘look, look at all the problems and challenges that we face that other cities don’t have’. And I said this to everyone, in so that they support us even more.”
Now the first citizen will have to complete the process, bringing the 2024 Budget to the City Council for final approval.
In the pic above: Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow (from Twitter X – @MayorOliviaChow)
TORONTO – Gli elevati tassi di interesse hanno avuto un impatto negativo più sulle famiglie canadesi a basso reddito che su quelle ricche: è quanto evidenzia un nuovo rapporto di Statistics Canada. Una cosa abbastanza ovvia, visto che le famiglie a basso reddito hanno meno capacità di “difendersi” dall’aumento del costo della vita: ma il rapporto di Statistics Canada, al di là della scontata conclusione, analizza il risparmio e la ricchezza nel terzo trimestre del 2023 e quello che emerge è che il gruppo a basso reddito è stato penalizzato anche da un aumento risibile – del 3% – degli stipendi medi, che è stato abbondantemente assorbito da un calo del 43% del reddito netto da eventuali investimenti e, soprattutto, dai tassi più elevati per il credito al consumo. I più ricchi, invece, hanno goduto di un aumento maggiore dei salari medi (quasi il 6%) e dei redditi netti da investimenti (quasi il 10%). Questo gruppo ha quindi registrato il ritmo più rapido in termini di reddito disponibile medio ed è stato l’unico gruppo ad aumentare il reddito netto da investimenti…
TORONTO – High interest rates have had a negative impact on low-income Canadian families more than on wealthy ones, as a new report from Statistics Canada highlights. A rather obvious thing, given that low-income families have less ability to “defend themselves” from the increase in the cost of living: but the Statistics Canada report, beyond the obvious conclusion, analyzed savings and wealth in the third quarter of 2023 and what emerges is that the low-income group was also penalized by a laughable increase – of 3% – in average salaries, which is was abundantly absorbed by a 43% drop in net income from possible investments and, above all, by higher rates for consumer credit. The richest, however, enjoyed a greater increase in average wages (almost 6%) and net investment income (almost 10%). This group therefore experienced the fastest pace of average disposable income and was the only group to increase net investment income. →
