News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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TD's Aeroplan Cards Add Perks and Raise Fees
In a rare win, TD is changing all four of its Aeroplan Visa cards in January so that cards will need 15% fewer points for eligible Air Canada flight rewards, and bookings made with points will get a fourth hotel night or rental-car day free.
In an unsurprising loss, three of the bank’s cards are getting more expensive. The Infinite and Business cards will each get more expensive by $20 a year (to $159 and $169). The Infinite Privilege card cost will jump by $100 to $699. Its new benefits include worldwide Maple Leaf Lounge access with one guest and priority security for as many as eight (!) companions on the same booking. The $89 Platinum card is going to keep its current fee.
Read more: MoneySense / TD
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Joni Mitchell Becomes American After 62 Years
Joni Mitchell has become a U.S. citizen after living south of the border for 62 years. The 82-year-old Alberta-born singer posted a photo holding an American flag after her swearing-in ceremony and called it "a journey that began 62 years ago."
Mitchell first moved to Detroit in 1965, then headed to New York and California as her career took off. These days, she lives in Santa Barbara. She hasn’t publicly said why she decided to apply, but during a Los Angeles concert before the 2024 presidential election she told the crowd she wished she could vote. She was still Canadian then and joked that she was "one of those lousy immigrants."
Read more: Global News / National Post
Twenty-Six Border Crossings Are Changing Their Hours
The clocks from Manitoba west stopped changing with the seasons this year, but the American clocks to the south did not, so now 26 border crossings get to do a time-zone hokey pokey.
From November 1 through March 14, four crossings in Alberta, nine in British Columbia and 13 in Manitoba will use changed hours. The Canada Border Services Agency says the change in timing will keep Canadian port times lined up with neighbouring American ones when the US turns its clocks back, but the schedules vary widely.
Aldergrove, Fraser and Pleasant Camp will run from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m, but a handful of smaller crossings will open only from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Commercial traffic will gets shorter hours at some ports and is limited to non-holiday weekdays.
If you’re driving home from the US this winter, especially through a rural port, the old opening time might now result in you having to take an unplanned tour of the border.
Read more: CIC News
Tax Code Twice as Long as War and Peace
Canada’s Income Tax Act is more than a million words long, which is roughly twice the length of War and Peace. Its 1917 ancestor was a svelte 14 pages (and was pitched as a way to help pay for the First World War).
Software has made personal returns easier to complete, but it hasn't done anything to make the rules any simpler. Small businesses normally still need specialists to work out which provisions they can use, and companies spend more on lawyers, accountants and tax staff every year. Anyone living abroad who still files in Canada, earns Canadian income or owns a Canadian business has to deal with parts of the same million-word code from afar.
The PM promised an expert review of corporate taxation during the election campaign, but that review has yet to appear. Must be an oversight.
Read more: The Globe and Mail
Aging Parent Care Runs $7k a Year
More than 3.6 million Canadians are helping manage the finances of someone aged 65 or older and their average unreimbursed bill is $7,025 annually.
The money cost, of course, is only part of it. Caregivers spend an average of 89 hours a month on the job, and the role typically is one that lasts for seven years. Nearly half said it had hurt their health, a quarter cut their retirement contributions, and 22 per cent borrowed money, added debt or delayed repayments.
Seven in ten survey respondents said that they took on the role with little or no planning, and 73 per cent said they would sacrifice their own financial security for someone they love. The study surveyed 2,152 Canadian financial caregivers between May and June.
Read more: Global News / CNW