In The News for Nov. 16: Will Canada’s inflation rate climb even higher?

The annual inflation rate was 6.9 per cent in September.

It has been steadily declining since reaching its highest rate this year of 8.1 per cent in June.

The Bank of Canada has been rapidly raising interest rates in response to decades-high inflation and is expected to deliver another rate hike next month.

The central bank is forecasting inflation will return to its two per cent target by the end of 2024.

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Also this …

Chinese President Xi Jinping has complained to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about media reporting on their communications.

The two had a second discussion during the G20 summit in Indonesia, and Xi spoke through an interpreter, complaining about apparent leaks to media.

Xi says that a previous conversation was mischaracterized and that this undermines their relationship.

Trudeau responded that Canada and China have frank dialogue about things they disagree on, but can work constructively on other issues.

The two then shook hands after the brief conversation.

Trudeau previously spoke with Xi on Tuesday, and his office said he had raised concerns about Chinese interference in Canada.

Trudeau is also announcing the extension of Canada’s training mission of Ukrainian soldiers.

It follows reports of a missile killing two people in Poland on Tuesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Trudeau says there must be an investigation into what happened and no escalation, but says Russia bares the blame for starting the conflict.

Canada has been training Ukrainian soldiers in Britain since 2015, as part of what’s called Operation Unifier.

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And this too …

A new poll suggests that a vast majority of Canadians are worried about the impact that Ottawa’s immigration plan will have on housing and government services.

The poll conducted by Leger and the Association of Canadian Studies comes after the federal government unveiled plans to admit significantly more immigrants in the next few years.

The government and industry say the move, which aims to admit 500,000 new immigrants by 2025, is necessary to fill job shortages across the country, and offset Canada’s aging workforce.

But 75 per cent of poll respondents agreed that they were somewhat or very concerned that the plan would result in excessive demand for housing as well as health and social services.

Opinions were more divided over the actual number of immigrants that the government plans to admit, with 49 per cent saying it was too many versus 31 per cent saying it was the right number.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

It’s setting up as a right-wing clash of the titans, a battle royal between Republican leviathans in search of the ultimate political prize.

So far, however, only one player has entered the game: Donald Trump.

“America’s comeback starts right now,” the former president said Tuesday as he declared his intention to seek the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am declaring my candidacy for president of the United States.”

He did it inside a gilded, mirrored ballroom at his private Mar-a-Lago country-club fortress in Palm Beach, from a lectern surrounded by American flags. In the crowd, dozens of cellphone screens held aloft captured his entrance, his wife Melania at his side.

In an abbreviated version of his usual rally performance — he entered, on cue, to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.,” his unofficial theme song — Trump made no mention of his presumptive rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

But in a speech that ran just over an hour, which is brief by Trump standards, he hinted at a possible strategy for the nomination battle to come: portraying DeSantis as a career politician who will put party loyalty above his constituents.

As he often does, he mentioned Canada by name when he cited the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, signed in 2018, which replaced NAFTA: “the worst trade deal ever made,” as he described it.

He lingered, as well, on energy independence and fuel prices — an issue that often perks up ears north of the border, particularly since the Alberta government’s full-throated efforts earlier this year to promote Canadian oil and gas to Joe Biden’s current administration.

Over his four-year term, Trump appeared uninterested in a constructive relationship with the federal government. He complained frequently about access to Canada’s dairy market, griped publicly about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland, who was foreign affairs minister at the time, and left punitive tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum producers in place for months after the USMCA was completed.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

BRUSSELS _ Ambassadors from the 30 NATO nations gathered in Brussels Wednesday for emergency talks after Poland said that a Russian-made missile fell on its territory, killing two people, and U.S. President Joe Biden and his allies promised support for the investigation into the incident.

The blast came as Russia launched widespread aerial strikes across Ukraine and immediately raised concern and confusion about whether Russia might be broadening the war it launched against Ukraine in February, potentially dragging NATO into the conflict.

But three U.S. officials said preliminary assessments suggest the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian projectile, and Biden said it was “unlikely” that it was fired from Russia. NATO chief spokeswoman Oana Lungescu described the blast as a “tragic incident.”

Poland said late Tuesday that it was considering calling for emergency consultations under Article 4 of NATO’s founding treaty, which provides for such talks if one of the 30 allies considers that its territory might be under threat. But Wednesday’s meeting did not appear to be Article 4 consultations.

With key questions remaining unanswered, a firm statement of support for Ukraine and for the Polish investigation would appear the most likely outcome from Wednesday morning’s meeting, echoing a joint statement overnight from NATO and G7 leaders.

“We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation. We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds,” the leaders said, on the sidelines of G20 talks in Indonesia.

“We reaffirm our steadfast support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the face of ongoing Russian aggression, as well as our continued readiness to hold Russia accountable for its brazen attacks on Ukrainian communities,” they said.

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On this day in 1885 …

Metis leader Louis Riel was hanged in Regina for his involvement in the Northwest Rebellions. Riel’s lawyer proposed to defend him on grounds of insanity, but Riel repudiated this and he was found guilty of treason. The execution was postponed several times and pleas for clemency came from many parts of the world.

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In entertainment …

TORONTO _ Classical composer Yannick Nezet-Seguin is among the leading Canadian Grammy nominees this year with a strong showing from an array of other homegrown talents.

The Montreal native picked up five nominations across four classical music categories, which put him neck and neck with Serban Ghenea, who is up for record of the year for his mixing work on Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous.”

Ghenea was born in Romania before he moved to Canada as a youngster, going on to build his name in the music industry, where he’s scored 19 Grammy wins over his career.

Nezet-Seguin’s nominations include best classical compendium for “A Concert For Ukraine,” and two in the opera recording category _ for “Aucoin: Eurydice” and “Blanchard: Fire Shut Up in My Bones.”

Other big nominees this year included Toronto producer Boi-1da, born Matthew Samuels, who trailed closely behind with four nominations, including two in the album of the year category for Beyonce’s “Renaissance” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.”

The hitmaker, who built his name crafting songs with Eminem, Drake and Kardinal Offishall, also earned nods for producer of the year, non-classical, and best rap song for work on “Churchill Downs” by Jack Harlow.

Drake pulled in three nods, even though he’s boycotted the Grammys in recent years by not submitting his own work. He still managed to pick up a mention in the album of the year category for his contributions to the song “Heated” on Beyonce’s nominated album.

The Toronto rapper also held two nominations for best rap song, one which he shared with Samuels for Harlow’s track and another for his appearance on Future’s single “Wait For U.”

Four-time Grammy winner Michael Buble’s latest effort ‘Higher” is among contenders for traditional pop vocal album, while DJ and producer Kaytranada’s “Intimidated,” featuring H.E.R., is up for dance/electronic recording. The rising Montreal star, who recently opened for the Weeknd, already holds two Grammy wins from 2021.

And Bryan Adams pocketed a nomination for “So Happy It Hurts” in the best rock performance category.

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Did you see this?

Ukraine’s main energy company has expressed interest in electrical equipment produced by a Canadian firm as Russian forces continue to target the country’s power grid.

Tower Solutions says its two factories in Quebec and Ontario produce transmission towers that could be exported to Ukraine and rapidly installed to restore power.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said recently Russia had damaged 40 per cent of his country’s energy infrastructure, and on Tuesday, Russian airstrikes caused broad power blackouts.

During a briefing last month, a Tower Solutions representative pitched the company’s emergency replacement pylons to the president of D-TEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company.

The representative noted the towers can be erected in a matter of minutes as opposed to the 90 minutes it takes for other pylons.

D-TEK president Maxim Timchenko said that is exactly the kind of technology his company needs and asked the Tower Solutions representative to contact the people responsible for D-TEK’s equipment.

Tower Solutions president Ciro Pasini was reluctant to discuss publicly his company’s offer to the Ukrainian energy provider, suggesting it is a delicate issue and government authorities are involved.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2022.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In The News for Nov. 16: Will Canada’s inflation rate climb even higher?

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