P.M. meets African Union Chair and latest immigration data: In The News for Oct. 26

Experts say the continent is dealing with floods, coups and starvation as climate change plays an outsized role in Africa.

But they also say the continent has some of the youngest and fastest-growing economies on earth.

Africa has been split on whether to isolate Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow pushing for a larger economic role in some African countries.

Ottawa has promised a strategy on Africa next year, and this week’s talks could shape Canada’s focus.

—

Also this …

The Bank of Canada will announce its interest rate decision this morning, with markets widely expecting another sizeable rate hike.

Economists expect the central bank to raise its key rate by half or three-quarters of a percentage point as it tries to clamp down on decades-high inflation.

Today’s rate hike would make it the sixth consecutive time the bank raises interest rates, making it the fastest monetary policy tightening in its history.

Canada’s annual inflation rate dropped slightly in September to 6.9 per cent but the cost of groceries continues to climb.

Economists expect another interest rate hike in December before the central bank hits pause to assess the impact of higher interest rates on the economy.

And this …

Statistics Canada plans to provide an updated look at immigration data and our ethno-cultural and religious diversity today in a new round of data from the 2021 census.

The release is expected to show that Canada welcomed record numbers of immigrants over the five-year period the data covers.

The StatCan data will also include details about where immigrants intended to live and a breakdown of which government programs people are using to enter the country.

There is also data expected on internal migration which captures the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many Canadians from larger centres left the city for rural areas due to housing prices and quality of life considerations.

This latest release of census information also includes data on religious affiliation, which is only reported upon every 10 years.

—

What we are watching in the U.S. …

Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman struggled at times to explain his positions and spoke haltingly throughout a highly anticipated debate against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz as they vie for a critical Senate seat.

In the opening minutes of the Tuesday debate, Fetterman addressed what he called the “elephant in the room”: the stroke he suffered five months ago. He said it knocked him down but he’s “going to keep coming back up.”

For his part, Oz ignored his opponent’s health challenges, instead seizing on Fetterman’s policies on immigration and crime, and his support for U.S. President Joe Biden. At one point, Oz said Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, was “trying to get as many murderers out of jail as
possible.”

Now, the biggest question coming out of the debate was whether it would have a lasting impact coming two weeks before the election and more than 600,000 ballots already cast.

The race represents the best chance for Democrats to flip a Republican-held Senate seat this year.

—

What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator says Russian forces have performed secret work at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

The activity could shed light on Russia’s unsubstantiated claims that Kyiv’s forces are preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device.

Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom said Tuesday it “assumes” the Russians are preparing “a terrorist act using nuclear materials and radioactive waste” stored at the plant.

It says the destruction of containers of spent nuclear fuel would lead to a radiation accident and the contamination of several hundred square kilometres of adjacent territory.

Ukraine has dismissed Moscow’s claim as an attempt to distract attention from the Kremlin’s own alleged plans to detonate a dirty bomb.

—

On this day in 1881 …

The infamous gunfight at the OK Corral took place in Tombstone, Ariz. Wyatt Earp, his two brothers, and Doc Holliday shot it out with Ike Clanton’s gang. Three members of Clanton’s gang, including his brother, were killed, and Earp’s brothers were wounded.

—

In business …

Quebecor Inc. CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau says he intends to accept the conditions laid out by Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne around the sale of wireless carrier Freedom Mobile to Videotron Ltd., which is part of the proposed $26-billion deal between Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.

Peladeau said in a statement Tuesday evening that Quebecor, which
owns Videotron, agrees to incorporate the industry minister’s stipulations in a new version of the transaction, paving the way for
Freedom’s sale to go through.

“They are in line with our business philosophy, which has proved
highly successful in Quebec, where we have taken a significant
market share in a very short span of time,” the statement said. “We will work to deliver better prices for Canadians in the other provinces and to end the reign of the ‘Big 3’ by promoting competition, the public interest and the digital economy in Canada.”

Shaw’s ownership of Freedom Mobile has widely been seen as the main obstacle to approval of the Rogers-Shaw deal approval. Montreal-based Videotron agreed to buy Freedom Mobile for $2.85 billion earlier this year.

The sale of Freedom Mobile to Videotron would see Quebecor buy all of Freedom’s branded wireless and internet customers as well as all of Freedom’s infrastructure, spectrum and retail locations in a move that would expand Quebecor’s wireless operations nationally.

—

Did you see this?

A hospital in British Columbia is calling on moms to donate breast milk due to a dwindling supply to help the most fragile premature babies in the province’s 14 neonatal intensive care units.

Frances Jones, coordinator of the milk bank at B.C. Women’s Hospital, says there’s currently enough supply for about a month, but three to four months’ worth is optimal to meet demand.

She says some new moms aren’t able to produce enough milk and they’re counting on donations from those who have more than they need for their own babies.

Jannette Festival, founder and executive director of the North Star Mothers Milk Bank in Calgary, said it’s the only such independent milk bank in Canada. Festival said she saw the need for a donated supply of breast milk while working as a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit.

There are two other milk banks in Canada providing breast milk: in Toronto and Montreal.

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2022

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

P.M. meets African Union Chair and latest immigration data: In The News for Oct. 26

Our Community