Economy, Law & Politics

Lisa Helps will help develop the province’s B.C. Builds program, an initiative to build housing for middle-income families, individuals and seniors.

Storm clouds are gathering over B.C.’s construction industry as we enter 2023. For more than a decade, cheap money has helped fuel a booming sector.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index was down in late-morning trading amid losses in the industrial and technology sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 25.56 points at 20,574.04.

British Columbians are struggling with debt. This could be expected, given that inflation hit a 39-year peak of 8.1 per cent last June, interest rates are at 15-year highs and COVID-19-related financial support is long gone.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says the number of job vacancies fell by 2.4 per cent in November to their lowest level since August 2021. The agency says the number of job vacancies across all sectors was down 20,700 at 850,300 for the month.

Nearly half of British Columbians think the actions of the provincial government will be effective in making housing more affordable.

Senator Victor Oh awarded 24 people the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee medal to “recognize some of our community’s most-outstanding citizens, who have contributed so much to this great country, Canada.”

OTTAWA — As the Bank of Canada takes a pause from raising interest rates to assess the effects of higher borrowing costs on the economy, economists will be paying close attention to how the labour market is affected.

Elections BC received a complaint on Sept. 6 about the Cowichan Works mailing and indicated the next day that Cowichan Works was required to register as a third party.

That's especially true among women and parents, suggests a new survey.