'Ready to Fight' for Climate, Students Walk Out Over Trum

"We won't stand by while Donald Trump's dangerous agenda threatens everything we believe in," said one student.


Students at Michigan State University joined nationwide walkouts organized by the Sunrise Movement on November 8, 2024.
(Photo: Lilli/Sunrise Movement)

Jessica Corbett
Nov 08, 2024
COMMON DREAMS


Students with the youth-led Sunrise Movement walked out of over 30 high schools and universities across the United States on Friday to stand against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's "extreme agenda" and promote "the fight for climate justice, workers' rights, and democracy."

The protesters carried signs and banners with messages including "This Is a Climate Emergency," "Protect Our Futures," "People Not Profit," "Fuck Trump," "Together We Rise," and "The Dems Failed, The People Won't."

"Students from every corner of the country came together to send a powerful message of solidarity. We won't stand by while Donald Trump's dangerous agenda threatens everything we believe in," said Aster Chau, a 16-year-old from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "This movement is about hope—hope that when we stand together, we can push our leaders to take bold action. We won't back down. This is our future, and we're taking it back."


Students in New York City joined nationwide walkouts on November 8, 2024. (Photo: Mahtab Khan/Sunrise Movement)

Trump's first presidential term featured a wide range of attacks on the Earth. This cycle, he pledged to "drill, baby, drill," provoking warnings about how his return to power would lead to a surge in planet-heating pollution, and vowed to roll back Biden-Harris administration climate policies if Big Oil poured just $1 billion into his campaign.

Since Trump beat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, critics including the Sunrise Movement have called out her party's leadership for failing to adequately prioritize the needs and demands of the working class.

"Millions of people are fed up after living through decades of a rigged economy and corrupt political system," the group said on social media Wednesday. "They are looking for someone to blame. It's critical the Dem Party takes that seriously."


Students at Bard College in New York state joined nationwide walkouts on November 8, 2024. (Photo: Sunrise Movement)

Sunrise said in a Friday statement that the "walkouts represent a call to action for both parties: If Democrats want to win, they need to stop pandering to big donors and corporations and instead focus on the bold policies that will ensure a livable future for all."

Manuel Ivan Guerrero, a student at the University of Central Florida, stressed that "today was just the beginning. We're angry and we're scared but we're ready to fight."

"We have the power to win and defeat Donald Trump, but our leaders need to be bold enough to fight for us," the 18-year-old added. "The time for empty promises is over. We are ready to do whatever it takes to win a better world."

The 10 Richest People’s Wealth Increased by $64 Billion the Day After Trump Win


Trump mega-donor Elon Musk saw the largest gains, receiving $26.5 billion the day after the election.

By Chris Walker ,

Truthout

PublishedNovember 8, 2024

Elon Musk on stage before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, on October 27, 2024.Jabin Botford / The Washington Post via Getty Images

The 10 richest people in the world saw their wealth increase by a record margin just one day after former President Donald Trump won the 2024 election, a sign that already wide wealth disparities will likely grow even wider over the next four years due to Trump’s stated economic goals.

According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, those 10 individuals saw their wealth rise by up to $64 billion on Wednesday. That’s the highest daily increase among the 10 wealthiest people in the world ever seen in a single day since Bloomberg started tracking those people’s worth in 2012.

For comparison, the $64 billion figure is equivalent to the annual wages earned by 800,000 American households making the U.S. median income of $80,000 per year.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person (and someone who Trump suggested could play a significant role in his administration), saw the biggest increase in riches , receiving $26.5 billion the day after the election. Other tech business leaders, like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and others, also saw huge gains in their wealth.

Much of the increase was due to a surge in the U.S. stock market after Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, a sign that investors expect his low-tax and deregulation policies to be quickly implemented when he enters office.

Related Story

Sanders Warns Trump Is a Fascist Who May Let Musk Control the Presidency
Sanders’s warning comes the same day as the Tesla CEO is scheduled to headline a Trump rally in Madison Square Garden.
By Olivia Rosane , CommonDreams

October 27, 2024

The stock market, of course, is not a proper indicator of how well the economy is doing, especially for the half of all households in the U.S. whose members do not own any stock, including 401K retirement plans, and are therefore not impacted by positive performances on Wall Street the same way the ultra-rich are.

Economists who understand that the gains by the top 10 wealthiest individuals on the planet do not translate well to the rest of the world were quick to point out that the widening of economic disparities were soon to become a regular feature of the incoming Trump administration.

“Make no mistake: the ultra-wealthy and Wall Street will make out like bandits during the second Trump term,” former Labor Secretary Robert Reich said on the social media site X.
“Everyone else will be left behind.”

University of Wisconsin sociology professor Jessica Calarco said it will be important to keep an eye on wealth disparities and how the Trump economy will largely benefit the uber wealthy.

“As we try to deduce how we got here, we shouldn’t forget the billionaires who’ve spent decades promoting myths to delude us into accepting inequality and to keep us divided by race, class, gender, religion & politics so we don’t challenge their power,” Calarco wrote on X.

What the Bible actually says about abortion may surprise you

The Conversation
November 9, 2024

Closeup of a young woman reading a Bible (Shutterstock)

In the days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had established the constitutional right to an abortion, some Christians have cited the Bible to argue why this decision should either be celebrated or lamented. But here’s the problem: This 2,000-year-old text says nothing about abortion.

As a university professor of biblical studies, I am familiar with faith-based arguments Christians use to back up views of abortion, whether for or against. Many people seem to assume the Bible discusses the topic head-on, which is not the case.
Ancient context

Abortions were known and practiced in biblical times, although the methods differed significantly from modern ones. The second-century Greek physician Soranus, for example, recommended fasting, bloodletting, vigorous jumping and carrying heavy loads as ways to end a pregnancy.

Soranus’ treatise on gynecology acknowledged different schools of thought on the topic. Some medical practitioners forbade the use of any abortive methods. Others permitted them, but not in cases in which they were intended to cover up an adulterous liaison or simply to preserve the mother’s good looks.

In other words, the Bible was written in a world in which abortion was practiced and viewed with nuance. Yet the Hebrew and Greek equivalents of the word “abortion” do not appear in either the Old or New Testament of the Bible. That is, the topic simply is not directly mentioned.
What the Bible says

The absence of an explicit reference to abortion, however, has not stopped its opponents or proponents from looking to the Bible for support of their positions.

Abortion opponents turn to several biblical texts that, taken together, seem to suggest that human life has value before birth. For example, the Bible opens by describing the creation of humans “in the image of God”: a way to explain the value of human life, presumably even before people are born. Likewise, the Bible describes several important figures, including the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah and the Christian Apostle Paul, as having been called to their sacred tasks since their time in the womb. Psalm 139 asserts that God “knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

‘The Creation of Adam’ from the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the Vatican, painted by Michelangelo. GraphicaArtis/Getty Images

However, abortion opponents are not the only ones who can appeal to the Bible for support. Supporters can point to other biblical texts that would seem to count as evidence in their favor.

Exodus 21, for example, suggests that a pregnant woman’s life is more valuable than the fetus’s. This text describes a scenario in which men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and cause her to miscarry. A monetary fine is imposed if the woman suffers no other harm beyond the miscarriage. However, if the woman suffers additional harm, the perpetrator’s punishment is to suffer reciprocal harm, up to life for life.

There are other biblical texts that seem to celebrate the choices that women make for their bodies, even in contexts in which such choices would have been socially shunned. The fifth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, for example, describes a woman with a gynecological ailment that has made her bleed continuously taking a great risk: She reaches out to touch Jesus’ cloak in hopes that it will heal her, even though the touch of a menstruating woman was believed to cause ritual contamination. However, Jesus commends her choice and praises her faith.

Similarly, in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ follower Mary seemingly wastes resources by pouring an entire container of costly ointment on his feet and using her own hair to wipe them – but he defends her decision to break the social taboo around touching an unrelated man so intimately.
Beyond the Bible

In the response to the Supreme Court’s decision, Christians on both sides of the partisan divide have appealed to any number of texts to assert that their particular brand of politics is biblically backed. However, if they claim the Bible specifically condemns or approves of abortion, they are skewing the textual evidence to fit their position.

Of course, Christians can develop their own faith-based arguments about modern political issues, whether or not the Bible speaks directly to them. But it is important to recognize that although the Bible was written at a time when abortion was practiced, it never directly addresses the issue.

Melanie A. Howard, Associate Professor of Biblical & Theological Studies, Fresno Pacific University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Evangelicals see Trump as God’s warrior in their battle to win America from satanic forces

The Conversation
November 9, 2024 7

Chris Straub, prays with the congregation during an ‘Election Eve Service of Prayer,’ in support of Republican Presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump at Suncoast Liberty Fellowship in Largo, Florida, U.S., November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Octavio Jones

A growing movement believes President-elect Donald Trump is fighting a spiritual war against demonic forces within the United States. Trump himself stated in his acceptance speech on Nov. 6, 2024, that the reason that “God spared my life” was to “restore America to greatness.”


I have studied various religious movements that seek to shape and control American society. One of these is the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR, whose followers believe that they are waging a spiritual battle for control of the United States. NAR is an offshoot of Protestant Christian evangelicalism.

NAR advocates claim they receive divine guidance in reconstructing modern society based on Christian spiritual beliefs. In 2015, an estimated 3 million adult Americans attended churches that were openly part of NAR. Some scholars estimate that the number of active NAR adherents may be larger, as the movement may include members of Protestant Christian churches that are not directly aligned with the NAR movement.
The beginning of the movement

NAR emerged in the late 1990s when theologian C. Peter Wagner popularized the term “New Apostolic Reformation.” Wagner argued that God was creating modern-day apostles and prophets who would lead Christianity in remaking American society.

The roots of the New Apostolic Reformation can be traced to the broader charismatic movement that sees spiritual forces as an active part of everyday life.

This view does not separate sacred experience from regular everyday life. For the much larger network of charismatic Christians and Pentecostal movements that emphasize a personal relationship with God, the world is full of the active presence of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts and direct divine experiences.
Core beliefs

Central to NAR is the belief that Christian religious leaders should be the main source of cultural and political authority in America.

NAR proponents argue that select leaders receive direct revelation from God, guiding the direction of churches and fighting spiritual warfare against demonic influences, which they believe corrupt the behavior of individuals and nations.

NAR advocates for a hierarchical structure in which religious leaders and their political allies hold authority in society.

They believe in “The Seven Mountains Mandate,” a way to represent Christian control of society through a strategy that Christians should infiltrate, influence and eventually control seven key areas in society – business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, family, and religion – to bring about cultural transformation.

By doing so, NAR proponents believe they can establish a pure and true form of what they believe is a society ruled by divine guidance and strict adherence to biblical ideas.

Lance Wallnau, a prominent Christian author, speaker, social media influencer and consultant associated with NAR, has promoted the idea that such engagement where NAR Christian leaders hold authority through a government tied to divine will is essential for advancing societal transformation.

Wallnau has been a vocal supporter of Trump, viewing him as a significant figure in NAR’s vision.
Spiritual warfare

Followers of the NAR believe that they must engage in spiritual warfare, which includes prayers and actions aimed at combating perceived demonic influences in society. 

Evangelist Lance Wallnau speaks during a September 2022 rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano in Chambersburg, Pa. Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

This practice often involves identifying “strongholds” of evil, around cultural issues, such as gay marriage, transgender rights and LGBTQ+ activism, and working to dismantle them. An example of this is a recent series of religious-based political rallies led by NAR leaders known as “The Courage Tour” that advocated directly for Trump’s second election.

The NAR emphasizes that Christians should expect to see miraculous signs, where extraordinary events, such as Trump’s survival of an assassination attempt, are interpreted to be explained only by divine or spiritual intervention.

The movement’s adherents also believe in faith-based healing and supernatural experiences, such as prophetic utterances and speech.
Trump as divinely ordained

Many NAR leaders and followers support Trump, viewing him as a divinely appointed figure who would facilitate NAR’s goals for societal reconstruction, believing he was chosen by God to fulfill a prophetic destiny.

They position Trump as a warrior against a so-called demonically controlled – and therefore corrupted – “deep state,” aligning with NAR’s emphasis on spiritual warfare and cultural dominion as outlined in the “Seven Mountains” mandate. NAR leaders followed Trump’s understanding of a corrupt government.

The NAR led a “Million Women” worship rally on Oct. 12, 2024, to Washington, D.C., in which the organizers sought to encourage 1 million women NAR adherents to come to pray, protest and support Trump’s campaign. The event was promoted as a “last stand moment” to save the nation by helping Trump win the election as a champion against dark, satanic forces.

Several prominent politicians, legislators and members of the judiciary, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, have flown the NAR-based “Appeal to Heaven” flag.

For NAR evangelicals, the presidential election is interpreted through a Christian apocalyptic rhetoric. In this rhetoric one candidate is a force for good, a warrior for God – Trump – and the other is led by demonic forces such as Harris. Trump’s 2024 win is seen as a critical moment of spiritual warfare where the forces of God defeat the forces of evil.
Criticism from many Christian denominations

Despite its growing popularity, NAR faces substantial criticism. Many mainstream Christian churches argue that the movement’s teachings deviate from traditional Christian orthodoxy.

Critics highlight abuse of authority by people who claim God is directing their actions and the potential for abuse of authority by those claiming apostolic roles. The embrace of Trump raises concerns about blending evangelical faith and political ambition.

Critics argue that the NAR’s support for Trump compromised the integrity of the gospel, prioritizing political power over spiritual integrity. The events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol further complicated this relationship, exposing the potential dangers of conflating religious beliefs with partisan politics.

Moreover, the NAR’s emphasis on spiritual warfare and the idea of taking control over society has raised other Christian groups’ concerns about its potential to foster an “us versus them” mentality, leading to increased polarization within society.

The New Apostolic Reformation represents a significant development, blending charismatic practices with a strong emphasis on politics and cultural transformation.

However, a large majority of Americans disagree that society should be remade based on religious theology. Thus, for now, the NAR movement’s fundamental views about religion and government are starkly at odds with most Americans.

Art Jipson, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Dayton

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2024/11/time-to-read-mikhail-bakunin-god-and.html

WAIT, WHAT?!

AOC praises Johnson’s 'honesty' after he admits plan to repeal bill that created 115K jobs

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) in Buffalo, New York and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) speaking to MSNBC host Chris Hayes on November 1, 2024 (Image: Screengrabs via @lukeradel / X and MSNBC / YouTube)

Carl Gibson

November 02, 2024

ALTERNET

During a recent campaign stop in upstate New York, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told a local reporter that he planned to repeal the CHIPS and Science Act, which is the law that strengthened the computer chip manufacturing industry in the United States. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) seized on that quote to stress the importance of voting in Tuesday's election.

Johnson was in New York's 22nd Congressional District to stump for Rep. Brandon Williams (R-New York), a freshman lawmaker running for a second term after winning by less than 3,000 total votes in 2022. While Johnson and Williams were standing together, Syracuse University student Luke Radel asked the speaker whether he planned to repeal the CHIPS Act given that former President Donald Trump has been campaigning against it.

"I expect that we probably will, but we haven't developed that part of the agenda yet," Johnson said.

Notably, Williams directly contradicted the speaker in front of the media, and vowed that he would not be in favor of repealing the CHIPS Act. Johnson then looked down and bit his lip as the New York Republican said he would remind Johnson "night and day how important the CHIPS Act is."The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard

During a Friday night appearance on MSNBC host Chris Hayes' "All In," both Ocasio-Cortez and United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain blasted Johnson's remarks on the CHIPS Act. Ocasio-Cortez said that Speaker Johnson's comments should be taken seriously and that voters who benefited directly from jobs created by the CHIPS Act should know what would happen if Republicans were victorious on Election Day.

"Some people may hear CHIPS Act, or some kind of vague policy, but people in Buffalo, people in upstate New York, people in Michigan, they hear about the plant they work at," she said. "And when you have the speaker of the House, the Republican speaker of the House roll up to Buffalo, New York and say, 'we are going to shut down the plants that give you all your jobs,' you better believe people know what he is talking about."

"And what I love about it, and what I would like to thank Speaker Johnson for, is his honesty and his forthrightness about what they plan to do with a Republican majority in the House of Representatives," she added. "And I want everyone in Buffalo to know: You heard it straight from the horses mouth. And we will see exactly what happens if we allow a Republican majority in the House and a Donald Trump presidency."

Johnson's comment about the CHIPS Act was eventually tweeted by Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign X (formerly Twitter) account, where it has been viewed more than 1.3 million times in less than three hours. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) seized on Johnson's remarks and reminded his followers of the real impact that the potential repeal of the CHIPS Act would have on his constituents.

"First Donald Trump and now Speaker Johnson," Kelly tweeted. "Make no mistake: If they win, they are coming for the CHIPS Act — and tens of thousands of Arizona jobs."


President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law in 2022, which appropriated roughly $30 billion across 15 states to fund 23 projects for semiconductor manufacturing. According to the Department of Commerce, the CHIPS Act will have created approximately 115,000 jobs in both the construction and manufacturing industries by the time funds have all been allocated in December of this year.

Watch Ocasio-Cortez's segment below, or by clicking this link.

One of the biggest policy changes': A 'grave miscalculation' may have been fatal for Dems

Carl Gibson, 

AlterNet
November 9, 2024 

President Joe Biden (AFP)

Democrats and pundits have offered a multitude of explanations to try to explain Vice Presidet Kamala Harris' loss to President-elect Donald Trump this week. But one political data expert is offering a different take on why so many voters rejected Harris.

In a Saturday essay for the Guardian, Ben Davis — who worked on the data side of Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vermont) 2020 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination — argued that all of the current explanations for Trump's rout are incomplete. He noted that while the prevailing consensus is that Trump had the better economic message and Democrats were too focused on identity politics, Harris' campaign was actually laser-focused on kitchen-table issues while identity was rarely discussed.

Rather, Davis opined that President Joe Biden's decision to quietly sunset pandemic-era safety net programs may have been what stuck out the most in voters' memories of Biden's economic oversight. He wrote that when programs that helped prevent Americans from being evicted, provided them with direct financial assistance and granted them other emergency benefits colored voters' perceptions of the economy more than anything else. And when they were suddenly taken away, it paved the way to Trump's eventual victory.

"The massive, almost overnight expansion of the social safety net and its rapid, almost overnight rollback are materially one of the biggest policy changes in American history," Davis wrote. "For a brief period, and for the first time in history, Americans had a robust safety net: strong protections for workers and tenants, extremely generous unemployment benefits, rent control and direct cash transfers from the American government."

Davis went on to explain how, despite the ongoing mass death and isolation associated with the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, "Americans briefly experienced the freedom of social democracy." He noted that laid-off workers "had enough liquid money to plan long term and make spending decisions for their own pleasure rather than just to survive," and that pandemic-era safety nets allowed them "to look for the jobs they wanted rather than feel stuck in the jobs they had."

"At the end of Trump’s term, the American standard of living and the amount of economic security and freedom Americans had was higher than when it started, and, with the loss of this expanded welfare state, it was worse when Biden left office, despite his real policy wins for workers and unions," Davis wrote. "This is why voters view Trump as a better shepherd of the economy."

In the first weeks after Covid-19 was designated as a global pandemic, millions of American workers lost their jobs after businesses shut down due to the public health emergency. Congress passed several emergency measures aimed at helping workers like the eviction moratorium, extended unemployment assistance and an expansion of the child tax credit, among other things that Trump signed into law. But Davis observed that Biden had no "political pathway" to justify keeping these programs in place after ending the federal Covid-19 emergency, meaning many Americans were stripped of safety nets they had grown accustomed to.

"[T]he material reality is that when Trump left office, this safety net existed, and by the time of the 2024 election, it had evaporated," David wrote. "How could Democrats have countered this? One way was by making it a central issue, fighting publicly and openly to keep these protections and messaging heavily and constantly that Republicans were taking them away while Biden fought for them. An enormous body of research has established that social programs, when implemented, are difficult and highly unpopular to take away. These were universal programs, beneficial at all income levels."

"The political miscalculation the Biden administration made was that, lacking the political ability to implement these policies permanently, it was best to have them expire quietly and avoid the public backlash of gutting welfare programs and the black mark of taking a public political loss," he added. "This was a grave miscalculation."

Click here to read Davis' essay in full.

'Biggest change in our political world': Expert says 'key' election factor being ignored

David McAfee

RAW STORY
November 9, 2024 

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris (AFP)

Most people analyzing the 2024 election results are ignoring a "key factor," a news expert said on Saturday.

Steven Waldman, chair of the Rebuild Local News Coalition, wrote a piece for Politico over the weekend in which he argues that most post-election "post-mortems" are ignoring a "key factor" in how people vote.

"Latinos, young men, non-college-educated white people, suburban women. The exit polls and political analysis invariably focuses on the changing behavior of demographic groups," Waldman said.

The expert then continued:

"That ignores a big determinant of political behavior: where people get their news and information. It’s odd how little attention has been given to this, given that in the past decade we’ve had a revolution in how information flows."

Waldman went on to say, "The exit polls did not ask about media consumption, so we need to look for indirect clues."

"NBC asked the question in April when President Joe Biden was still in the race, and the results were dramatic. Among people who got their news from 'newspapers,' Biden was winning 70-21. Among people who got their news from 'YouTube/Google,' Trump led 55-39," he wrote in the news article. "The exit polls this week did show that some of the biggest shifts in voting patterns came among young people and Latinos, two groups whose media consumption differs from the national average."

Other evidence includes that "Biden won 18- to 21-year-olds by 60-36 percent; Harris won only 55-42 percent."

"There’s no group where the information consumption has changed more than young people. While 3 percent of seniors get their information from social media, 46 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds do," Waldman wrote.

Waldman shared the article on social media, saying, "My piece in politico points to the biggest change in our political world: how information flows."

"Latinos and young people, who shift led right, disproportionately get news from social media," Waldman added.

Read the report here.

Canada Post to launch chequing and savings account with Koho

By Ian Bickis and Rosa Saba, 

The Canadian Press

November 08, 2024

Two years after the failed launch of a lending program, Canada Post is making another foray into banking services.

The postal service confirmed Friday that it will be offering a chequing and savings account in partnership with Koho Financial Inc.

The accounts will be launched nationally next year, though Canada Post employees will be offered early access as the product is tested.

Canada Post spokeswoman Lisa Liu said in a statement that there are gaps in the banking and savings products available that the Crown corporation looks to fill.

“Canada Post is uniquely positioned to fill some of these demands. Many of our existing financial products help meet the needs of new Canadians and those living in rural, remote and Indigenous communities, but we believe more is required.”

The MyMoney offering will be a spending and savings account where customers will be able to choose between features like high interest rates, cashback rewards and credit-building tools.

A document briefly posted to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers website said it would use a prepaid, reloadable Mastercard that will use money from the account like a debit card but offer the features of a Mastercard.

It said there will be a range of account tiers, including no-fee accounts and paid accounts with more features.

The plans comes after Canada Post launched a lending program with TD Bank Group in late 2022, only to shut it down weeks later because of what it said were processing issues.

Liu said the postal service has since been exploring other possible financial service offerings.

“Utilizing what we’ve learned, we are making a strategic shift from loans toward products more aligned with our core financial service products.”

The new account will be delivered with financial technology company Koho. A few months ago the company paired with Canada Post to allow its customers to deposit cash into their account through post offices.

Koho is also working to secure a Canadian banking license to expand its services.

Koho chief executive Daniel Eberhard said in a statement that he was thrilled to be working with an institution that shares the company’s values and view of the future.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Canada's permanent employees earning more, according to latest jobs data

Honda employees work along the vehicle assembly line in Alliston, Ont., on Thursday, April 25, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Promit Mukherjee
Reuters
Staff
Contact
Updated Nov. 8, 2024

Canada added a fewer-than-expected 14,500 jobs in October and wages of permanent employees rose, data showed on Friday, as the economy struggled to absorb the slack built up due to a rapidly increasing labor force.

The unemployment rate stayed unchanged from September but hovered around a 34-month high of 6.5 per cent, Statistics Canada said.

Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated a net addition of 25,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to edge up to 6.6 per cent.

Canada's business investment and hiring have been muted even after four rounds of rate cuts as high interest rates and inflation have throttled demand, and as the labor force has continued to grow, fueled by immigration, which crossed 7 per cent of the overall population in the third quarter, an all-time high.

This has increased the number of people in the labor force seeking jobs and not landing any, resulting in a steady fall in the employment rate, or the number of people employed out of the total working age population of 15 years and above.

Canada's labor force has swelled by 2.4 per cent since last year but the employment rate shrunk to 60.6 per cent in October, its sixth consecutive monthly decline, StatCan said.

"The October jobs report is very much consistent with an economy that is still grinding out modest growth, and wage gains that are slightly hot for comfort," Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said last month after the rate cut decision that layoffs had remained modest but business hiring had been weak, and that has hit young people and newcomers to Canada.

However, Macklem expressed hope that continued interest rate cuts would help to grow the economy and increase employment.

The jobless rate amongst those aged 15 to 24 fell 0.7 percentage point in October to 12.8 per cent, the statistics agency said, adding that the employment rate for this group rose for the first time since April.

The Bank of Canada has reduced its key policy rate by a cumulative 125 basis points to 3.75 per cent, with a super-sized cut of 50 basis points last month, in a bid to prop up economic growth and absorb the excess labor supply.

Financial market bets for a rate cut of 50 basis points on Dec. 11 fell to 58 per cent from 62 per cent before the jobs report was released.

The Canadian dollar extended losses and weakened by 0.41 per cent to 1.3918 to the U.S. dollar, or 71.85 U.S. cents. Yields on two-year government notes rose 0.3 basis point to 3.072 per cent.Follow the CTV News channel on WhatsApp(opens in a new tab)

The average hourly wage growth of permanent employees rose to an annual rate of 4.9 per cent in October from 4.5 per cent in September, the agency said.

The wage growth figure is closely watched by the BoC and a rise could dissuade against another deeper cut next month, economists said.

There will be one more jobs report, inflation and GDP data before the next rate decision.

The increase in jobs came entirely from full-time employment, while part-time employment shrunk. The additions were broad based with both the goods-producing sector and services sector showing healthy growth.

(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Dale Smith; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Mark Porter)

 

Only three out of 121 grads offered jobs despite critical nursing shortage, says union

Posted: November 9, 2024 
— By Web Team

The Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland & Labrador is calling on the provincial government and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services to urgently address the concerning employment challenges faced by soon-to-be graduating nurses.

On Friday morning, RNU Vice President Kim Parsons presented to a group of 121 engaged and frustrated fourth-year nursing students at the Centre for Nursing Studies. Despite over 600 vacancies in our healthcare system, only three of these students have received job offers. The RNU says it’s a stark contrast to statements by government officials and NLHS that over 90% of nursing graduates have been hired.

One student shared that an NLHS manager in central Newfoundland stated that he prefers hiring private agency nurses because they are easier to make happy. Even more concerning, says the union, he admitted to not posting available positions at all, as it is simpler for him to bring in agency nurses.

“These students are eager to work in Newfoundland and Labrador, but they are being dismissed and overlooked by recruiters,” said Kim Parsons, Vice President of RNU. “We have a serious nursing shortage, yet our new graduates are being denied opportunities. This is outrageous and needs to change immediately.”

The union says none of the students have been offered the rural incentives that the government has widely promoted to attract nurses to remote and underserved areas.

“Why aren’t these incentives being extended to our soon-to-be graduates?” Parsons questioned. “This is a major missed opportunity to strengthen healthcare in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.”

The students expressed their desire to work in Newfoundland and Labrador but are being ignored or disregarded by recruiters. It is essential for NLHS to take recruitment seriously and take immediate action to retain our future workforce and address the nursing shortage.

INFLATION

Annual rental prices fell for the 1st time in over three years, but only in big cities

Average cost of rent is down just $50 a month from June's record high

Jenna Benchetrit · CBC News · Posted: Nov 07, 2024 

The exterior of an apartment building in North Vancouver, B.C. Canadian rental prices fell 1.2 per cent in October compared to the same time last year. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

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Canadian rental prices fell 1.2 per cent in October compared to the same time last year, marking the first time that annual rents have declined since July 2021, according to a new report.

The decline is mostly concentrated in urban centres in Ontario and British Columbia, according to a national rent report released on Thursday by Rentals.ca and real estate data firm Urbanation. 

The average cost of rent around the country is now $2,152 per month. That's down $50 a month from June's record high of $2,202 per month.

Throughout the summer, CBC News heard from seniors, young people, newcomers and many others about their struggles to afford housing during the rental affordability crisis.

For perspective, when the last annual decline was recorded in July 2021, the average cost of rent was $1,752 per month — $400 less per month than in October 2024.

• Where can you afford to rent? Use CBC's rental interactive to find out.

"The downward trend is great, but we've got a long way to go to get back to kind of some semblance of affordability or the standards that tenants used to enjoy," said Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations in Toronto.

Declines in big cities, prices up in smaller markets

Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary each saw decreases in October. However, rental prices in smaller mid-sized markets were still on the rise, reflecting a spike in demand as Canadians seek housing in less expensive markets.

"It is a rare occurrence for rents to decline at the national level," said Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand in a press release.

"This is happening as the key drivers of rent growth in recent years — a strengthening economy, quickly rising population, and worsening homeownership affordability — are beginning to reverse."

Hildebrand said he expects the downward trend will continue as more apartment construction is completed.

Steve Pomeroy, an industry professor at McMaster University's Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative, said that Canada has seen "a very significant increase in rental construction over the last five or six years."

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation noted in a fall housing supply report released in September that several major cities saw record apartment completions as developers cleared their backlogs. Montreal and Vancouver were an exception.

"What we're now seeing is the beginning of those units coming onto the market. So that additional supply is helping to to meet the demand," said Pomeroy, adding that the federal government's revised policies around temporary foreign workers and international students have also eased pressure on housing demand.

'There isn't much else to go'

Some landlords, especially in rental condo-heavy markets like Toronto, have also dropped rental prices to fill units.
Prices have "already gone up to what the market can currently bear, there isn't much else to go," he said.

And those factors together have created the conditions for rent to come down, he said.

Dent, the tenant advocate, says the market forces of the last year are having an effect. "And it's finally putting downward pressure on rents."