Fewer immigrants could have economic impacts as Canadians age
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 May, 2024 10:00 AM
An RBC economist says high levels of immigration are helping blunt the economic impact of Canada's aging population even though it's causing concerns about housing affordability and other challenges.
RBC economist Carrie Freestone says fewer immigrants could have economic impacts as Canadians age and retire gradually.
She says even as older people retire and stop contributing to the economy, they will still be consuming.
This creates a gap between the income that the government receives and spends on public services such as health care.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller is increasing the number of applications that will be processed under a much-criticized program to reunite Palestinians with Canadian relatives. The move comes as he testifies about measures introduced months ago that were meant to bring relatives of Canadians from conflict zones in the Gaza Strip and Sudan to safety.
It was 15 years ago that Ontario student Justin Wood started feeling sick. When it came, the diagnosis was a rare one: Lyme disease. At the time, the tick-borne illness was only responsible for a few hundred infections a year in Canada, according to government statistics. But cases of Lyme disease have now increased more than 1,000 per cent in a decade as the warming climate pushes the boundaries of a range of pathogens and risk factors northward.
Residents in Fort Nelson are returning home after being evacuated from the community for more than two weeks due to wildfires. The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and the Fort Nelson First Nation jointly rescinded their evacuation orders at 8 a.m. Monday, lifting roadblocks and clearing the way for people to go home.
Mounties in Surrey are hoping to speak with anyone with dashcam footage of the 9200 block of 120 Street on Friday evening after a business was robbed at gunpoint. Police say two men wearing masks entered the unnamed business with what appeared to be firearms, spoke with one of the employees, and stole a cellphone as they walked out.
The RCMP says two people have died after a plane crash near Squamish on Friday. Police say they were able to access the remote area located south of Squamish on the west side of Howe Sound via air.
Police say a man has been charged with attempted murder and other offences after he allegedly used a knife to slash cars, then attacked a motorcyclist riding in North Vancouver, B.C., over the weekend. RCMP say they received several reports Saturday afternoon about a man with a knife near an intersection south of the Deep Cove neighbourhood.
