Voyageur 118
Drones Hit Kuwait's Airport. 22,000 Canadians Have Already Left, and Friday's Grocery Cheque Skips Most Canadians Abroad.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Drones Hit Kuwait's Airport. 22,000 Canadians Have Already Left.
A drone slammed into Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday, killing one person and wounding more than 60. Flights were diverted and part of one of the terminals was filled with smoke.
Kuwait is one of several Gulf countries where tens of thousands of Canadians live and work, and that airport is the way most of them would get out. When the United States and Israel started their offensive against Iran on February 28, about 85,000 Canadians and permanent residents were in the Middle East. By the end of March, more than 22,000 had already made a departure, some on government buses to safe third countries, others on commercial seats that Ottawa block-booked when the airspace allowed.
Global Affairs is now telling Canadians to avoid all travel to ten countries, the whole Gulf included. PM Mark Carney says Canada will not take part in the offensive, but consular lines are open around the clock for anyone who is still trying to get out of Dodge.
Read more: CBC News / Global Affairs Canada
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A photo from the old country:
Friday's Grocery Cheque Skips Most Canadians Abroad
More than 12 million Canadians will wake up to a little extra money on Friday morning. The Canada Revenue Agency is sending a one-time grocery top-up worth half of a taxpayer’s GST credit, which works out to about $267 for a single senior on $25,000 and $533 for a couple with two kids on $40,000.
In a perhaps shocking display of government efficiency, there is no form to fill out. If you filed your 2024 return and collected the GST credit in January, the cash is supposed to find you automatically.
The automatic part, though, is where expats usually lose out. The GST credit goes only to people who are residents of Canada for tax purposes, so most who have moved abroad and file as non-residents are never going to see it. This is probably going to be the last run for credit of this sort - in July, the government is expected to fold in their helping hand into a new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.
So the face of the thing is going to change, your ability to collect on it as a Canadian abroad probably won’t.
Read more: Canada Revenue Agency / CP24