TORONTO – The cost of living also rises, in Canada, because there is a lack of specialized workers, according to some economic experts. A practical example? Until recently, a service call to a plumber to take a look at your malfunctioning dishwasher cost $70 or $80. Today it costs double that, said to CBC-RCI Mandy Rennehan, the company’s founder and CEO of “Freshco” (not the grocery: it’s a company specialized in building retail stores). But it’s just one of many examples we might do. →
TORONTO – The “Canadian grocery code of conduct” to curb the rise in prices never came into force because, as well known, two of the largest companies (Loblaw and Walmart) refused to sign it, claiming that it would increase rather than “calming” prices. But according to some parliamentarians, the “code” could actually help reduce food prices, as would have happened – according to some surveys – in Australia and the United Kingdom. →
OTTAWA – GC Strategies partner Kristian Firth appeared on April 17th at the bar of the House of Commons to receive an admonishment from Speaker Greg Fergus and answer questions from MPs about the scandal of the app ArriveCan.
TORONTO – I recently had the opportunity to discuss the hit Netflix Documentary “What Jennifer Did” with its Producers, Jeremy Grimaldi and Paul Nguyen. The Documentary is about Jennifer Pan, a young Canadian girl from Markham Ontario found guilty in 2014 of conspiring to kill her parents. Jeremy Grimaldi is a Crime Reporter and Award Winning Author who’s been reporting/investigating the case for over a decade. Paul Nguyen is a Filmmaker and Social Activist who’s served as a role model and mentor for at-risk youth in his Toronto community.
TORONTO – There is a big shortage of construction workers in Canada: solving it, seems to be the only key to increasing housing supply. The growing labor shortage in the construction sector is cited by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. as one of three factors contributing to longer construction times, in a housing supply report released last month; workers retire faster than they are replaced; and this challenge was exacerbated by the pandemic, when some construction workers changed careers or retired early rather than returning to the industry when the economy reopened. →
