World Headlines: Survey says: Four more years of Ford?

First Up

By Manuela Vega

It’s election day in Ontario! If you haven’t voted already, make time to do it today. Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Here’s the latest on poll projections, how the central bank will impact real estate and CERB repayment.

DON’T MISS

Bob Tymczyszyn/St. Catharines Standard

election day!

Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are cruising toward a second majority

While Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca appears to be struggling to win his own riding, according to a poll aggregator, New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath is set to maintain the NDP’s official Opposition status. Meanwhile, Ford is likely to continue on as premier. Here’s more on how things could look after election day.

By the numbers: The latest projections have the Progressive Conservatives winning 75 seats, while the NDP could win 28, 20 could go to the Liberals and the Greens could hold on to their seat in Guelph. Eight races appear to be too close to call.
Go deeper: We fact-checked Ford for a week, projected what lies ahead for Horwath and Del Duca, and more. Here’s all our election coverage.
Martin Regg Cohn’s take: Too busy to vote in Ontario’s election? Think of Ukrainians, who are fighting for democracy.
Susan Delacourt’s take: Think you’re seeing more attack ads this election campaign? It’s not just your imagination.

Julie Jocsak/The Star

cost of living

Expect to see changes in the housing market after the Bank of Canada’s key interest rate hike

Canada’s central bank has raised its target for the overnight rate by half a percentage point, up to 1.5 per cent. The change comes amid the highest inflation rate since 1991, as food and gas prices soar. One senior economist points out that those day-to-day costs aren’t going to drop right away, but the real estate market will. Here’s what we know.

Wait, what? Home-buyers will notice lower housing prices, but higher interest rates. The long-term goal is that the real estate market cooling will offset the high prices of food and fuel, said a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Heather Scoffield’s take: Wages aren’t keeping up with inflation. And that’s the way Ottawa likes it.
Another angle: Forget inflation. Stagflation, the ugly reality where both prices and job loss are on the rise, is our bigger threat.
Another angle: This is how Canada’s inflation rate could be brought to heel.

Canadian Press/Giordano Ciampini

Pandemic Benefits

Ottawa is ramping up its drive to verify CERB payments

Nearly nine million people received Canada Emergency Response Benefit payments at some point during the pandemic. Now the federal government is increasing its efforts to get some of that money back, with many CERB recipients being told to return some or all of the funds they received. With the burden of repayment likely to take the biggest toll on low-income workers, advocates are calling on Ottawa to forgive the debts. Here’s what you need to know.

Wait, what? Some people are receiving notices from the Canada Revenue Agency for repayment if they were ineligible for the amount of money they received or if they received advance pay that was never reconciled.
What now? Anyone who believes there is an error in their notice should contact the CRA, the agency says.
Go deeper: Some advocates point out that workers who may be receiving notice continue to struggle with the impact of inflation, while earning low wages in precarious jobs.
The aftermath: Here are some of your options if you’re struggling to repay CERB.

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WHAT ELSE

Justin Trudeau is being asked to hand over secret information linked to the convoy.

Fifteen people are being charged with criminal contempt over anti-pipeline activity.

The decriminalization of drug possession puts B.C. and Alberta at opposite ends of the policy spectrum.

An audit found hotels overbilled the city by more than $13M for shelter contracts. Here’s who that hurts.

An Ontario murder conviction was tossed over a prosecutor’s close friendship with the trial judge.

More than 100 Toronto police employees who refused to be vaccinated will be allowed to return to work this month.

Four people were killed in a shooting at a medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

A jury sided with Johnny Depp on a lawsuit and Amber Heard on a counterclaim.

Shooting threats have been made at four Hamilton schools since Tuesday, police say.

Here is why Canada is to blame for the global Dijon mustard shortage.

POV

One Voice Canada

Canada’s exploitation of Punjabi international students is history repeating itself.

CLOSE-UP

Steve Russell/The Star

SHARON, ONT.: Kim Lariviere prepares a caesar wrap as Christine Seretis gets French fries cooking in the Bare Bistro Kitchen at Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park on Aug. 6, 2021. After several months of lockdowns and restrictions, staff and guests may be seen wearing one piece of fabric: a face mask. Star photographer Steve Russell’s photo won the News Photographers Association of Canada’s best feature photo of the year on Tuesday.

Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca. I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

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