Canada's employment continues upward trend in March
Darpan News Desk IANS, 06 Apr, 2023 03:40 PM
Canada's employment grew by 35,000, or 0.2 per cent, in March, following little change in February and strong growth in January and December, Statistics Canada said.
Employment has generally trended up since September 2022. Over that period, the number of people employed has increased by 383,000, or 1.9 per cent, the national statistical agency added on Thursday.
Employment gains in March were concentrated among private sector employees and there was little change in the number of public sector employees and self-employed workers, the agency said.
According to the agency, for the fourth consecutive month, the unemployment rate was five per cent in March, just above the record low of 4.9 per cent observed in June and July of 2022, Xinhua news agency reported.
Total hours worked rose 0.4 per cent in March and were up 1.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis, the agency said.
Average hourly wages rose 5.3 per cent to 33.12 Canadian dollars ($24.5) on a year-over-year basis in March, compared with 5.4 per cent in February, Statistics Canada added.
It says the victims and those accused of reported hate crimes are most often men and boys. In British Columbia, religious hate crime reports more than doubled to 150 in 2021, while in Alberta they tripled to 91 incidents.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne has tabled legislation that would create a corporate beneficial ownership registry. The prospective registry is expected to have the goal of making it easier to identify owners of corporations who launder money, commit financial crimes or evade taxes.
The deadline to apply for a three-year emergency visa was originally March 31, but Ukrainians and their family members will now be able to apply until July 15. After that date, Ukrainians will still be able to apply for traditional work, study and visitor permits to come to Canada after the application period expires, but they will be charged the usual fees associated with those applications.
In downtown Ottawa Wednesday, about 20 police vehicles circled the area as U.S. flags were strung up near Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's official office and the main street in front of Parliament Hill. Meanwhile, workers were busy installing fences to prepare for the visit.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Wendy Baker's judgment says the defamation claims had "substantial merit," but found Stewart's statements were not malicious and were fair game because the issues were in the public interest and had been widely reported.
The federal government says it will spend up to $1.5 billion over the next three years to improve access to drugs used to treat rare diseases. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says up to $1.4 billion of that money will be used to help provinces and territories expand coverage of new and existing drugs that treat rare diseases.
