ICBC’s Hall of Shame: Cyber Fraud Files of 2015
Some things people just can't make up. The Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC) has released its Cyber Files Wall of Shame for 2015. It goes from a woman too hurt to go to work yet finds time for roller derby to a man who sets his own truck on fire then tries to make a claim to a man who completes a grueling 12-mile obstacle...
Black Press closes doors on Nanaimo Daily News
A few days after Postmedia Network Canada Corp. announced cuts to editorial staff across Canada, Black Press closed the doors on the 141-year-old Nanaimo Daily News Friday. “Black Press informed workers at the 141-year-old Nanaimo Daily News today that it will publish it’s last edition January 29,” Rob Munro, vice-president...
Slumping volume leads to job cuts at Canadian Pacific Railway
Slumping shipping volumes has forced Canadian Pacific Railway to cut 1,000 positions in the coming year. Many of the cuts, coming in union and management positions, will be done through attrition by the middle of 2016. The Calgary-based company released news during a conference call Thursday following the release of fourth ...
ICBC releases Hall of Shame winners for 2015
You can't dream up some of these stories as ICBC released its Hall of Shame for 2015. From a man who torches his vehicle then claims it was stolen to a woman embellishing the extent of her injuries to collect two paycheques to a man crying wolf to get out of doing the dishes the stories keep on getting crazier from in ICBC's...
Corporate tax hikes ultimately reduce the wages of Canadian workers
Increasing corporate tax rates results in lower average wages for workers, finds a new study, released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. Corporate income taxes are ultimately paid for by individuals either as workers through lower wages, consumers through higher...
With federal transfers at all-time high, provinces can’t blame Ottawa for a lack of money
Federal transfers to the provinces and territories are at an all-time high, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think tank. “After accounting for inflation and population changes, federal transfers to the provinces are higher now than they have ever...
Are Canada’s rich gaining at the expense of the poor?
One set of government statistics shows that the average incomes of Canadians in the lowest quintile of the distribution, the “poor”, remained constant during the period from 1990 to 2009. Another set of government statistics indicates that, over the same period, the “poor” enjoyed a 180% increase in income. The same two sets...
Buying local boosts B.C. bee industry in 2015
The year 2015 was successful for the beekeeping industry in British Columbia, with more and more people buying honey direct from beekeepers, bringing the estimated total farm receipts of the year to more than $25 million. British Columbians preferred to buy their honey straight from beekeepers in 2015, with estimated farm...
CBT Committee seeks applications for economic development funding
A local group has spent more than half of $600,000 allocated to meet community needs in the Lower Columbia, but is still looking for more economic development projects to support. Economic and tourism development were identified as the top community priorities during extensive public consultations last year by the Community...
BC government increases home owner grant threshold in 2016
British Columbians are getting a bit of a reprieve a few days after the 2016 assessment notices were sent out to homeowners. The Liberal government has said in a media release homes valued up to $1.2 million may be eligible to receive a full home owner grant this year, while a partial grant may be available if the home is...
