Voyageur 143
Forced Labour Tariffs Are Back in Play, and Health Costs Are Not Only About Aging.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Forced Labour Tariffs Are Back in Play
Ottawa is telling Washington that Canada has already done its homework on forced-labour imports, so another tariff round should stay off Canadian goods. The submission was sent just in advance of a three-day US trade hearing this week.
The Trump administration is threatening looking at 10 percent duties on Canada and several other countries under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. Canada says its current import ban, reporting rules, and new Bill C-35 enforcement plan should be sufficient to keep the taxes at bay. The C-35 enforcement plan would create a public list of products tied to forced labour in specific regions, then make importers prove goods from those places are clean.
CUSMA still shields many Canadian goods, the story to watch is how long Washington is going to be willing to continue treating that shield as real.
Read more: Canada's National Observer / The Globe and Mail
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Health Costs Are Not Only About Aging
Canada's health-care costs have now reached 12.7 percent of GDP compared to a 7 percent showing in 1975. Frederick Vettese ran the numbers for The Globe and found that people getting older accounts for more than half of the extra cost since 2005, but it’s not the whole story.
Vettese (after stripping out inflation and population growth) puts the excess that can’t be explained by aging at $40 billion in 2025. Higher usage may be part of the increase, especially during the pandemic years, but the data doesn’t show whether the extra spending is buying better outcomes.
For Canadians living overseas, the story matters with regard to any return-to-Canada plans, especially for retirees who are counting on public coverage after years outside the country.
Read more: The Globe and Mail