Juno News - Study finds Liberal spending to blame for inflation

00:00:00.000 A new study found that government spending during the COVID pandemic was

00:00:07.600 quote, primarily responsible for the 2021-22 inflation surge.

00:00:13.360 The Ontario branch of CUPE, a public sector union, released an action plan which focused on

00:00:18.880 more socialist revolutionary ideas than bread and butter union issues,

00:00:23.040 such as improving wages and working conditions.

00:00:25.280 A 14-year-old boy is wanted by police after a 70-year-old woman was fatally stabbed

00:00:31.360 during a suspected robbery in Ontario.

00:00:33.920 Hello Canada, it's Monday July 21st and this is the True North Daily Brief.

00:00:38.160 I'm Isaac Lamoureux.

00:00:39.440 And I'm Wally Temtan.

00:00:41.040 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.

00:00:43.440 Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.

00:00:50.800 A new study claims the Liberal government's reckless spending during COVID was quote,

00:00:54.800 primarily responsible for the 2021-22 inflation surge, arguing the Bank of Canada was largely

00:01:01.040 powerless to stop it.

00:01:02.640 Two economists at the C.D. Howe Institute published their findings on Thursday,

00:01:06.880 which criticized the Trudeau government's massive quote,

00:01:09.520 helicopter drops of funding into the private sector.

00:01:12.960 According to the study, money doled out during the pandemic via government programs totaled an

00:01:17.360 estimated $270 billion or roughly 12.5% of Canada's gross domestic product.

00:01:24.240 That money has since grown to about $360 billion.

00:01:28.240 The report said quote,

00:01:29.840 Whether this wealth takes the form of new money or new debt is largely irrelevant.

00:01:34.240 While inflation remained subdued in 2020 as the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada,

00:01:40.080 it began to accelerate suddenly in the spring of 2021, breaking through the bank's control range in

00:01:45.440 April. It said quote,

00:01:47.440 The acceleration continued more or less steadily until the summer of 2022,

00:01:51.680 after reaching a peak of 8.1% in June 2022.

00:01:55.360 Prices jumped 11.4% between January 2020 and December 2022,

00:02:00.800 with gasoline being one of the hardest hit commodities, increasing by more than 50% over that period.

00:02:06.880 Food and transportation also saw an increase of between 15 and 20%,

00:02:10.880 while appliances and rent went up 10 and 15% respectively.

00:02:14.800 However, prices have remained high in the years that have followed.

00:02:17.600 So, Waleed, we hear a lot of explanations for inflation from various competing political views and groups,

00:02:22.640 but is the revelation that government spending was the leading cause of inflation surprising?

00:02:27.600 Well, not really. I mean, it pretty much confirms what a lot of us have already suspected,

00:02:32.400 that the government's COVID response was economically reckless. I mean, you've mentioned the figure,

00:02:37.520 270 billion dollars pumped directly into the private sector. No real long-term guardrails.

00:02:45.200 It's no surprise that it cooked the economy. And now we're living with the consequences today.

00:02:49.840 Prices didn't just spike and fall back down. They haven't fell back down, actually. They reset higher.

00:02:55.680 That's permanent. I mean, that's what the City House study is saying.

00:02:58.640 We're on a permanent, elevated price path. Groceries, rent, appliances, everything costs more,

00:03:06.080 and it's staying that way. What's interesting is the study doesn't let the Bank of Canada off the hook,

00:03:11.200 entirely at least. But it basically says, look, when fiscal policy is out of control,

00:03:18.240 the central bank can't mop up the floor fast enough without risking a full-on recession.

00:03:23.840 So in a sense, the Trudeau government and the Liberal government didn't just trigger inflation.

00:03:30.320 They triggered inflation and they boxed the bank into a corner where it could no longer solve the issue.

00:03:36.400 So yeah, I think the study gives real weight, intellectual weight, data to what many Canadians

00:03:42.240 already know and feel, that the cost of the crisis we're in is not just some mysterious global force.

00:03:47.440 It isn't Ukraine. It's not even the US. It has Canadian fingerprints all over it. 0.74

00:03:52.720 And those fingerprints belong to the Liberal government.

00:03:59.200 The Ontario branch of the Canadian Union for Public Employees has released its 2025 action plan.

00:04:05.200 And instead of focusing on bread and butter union issues, such as working wages and conditions,

00:04:10.800 it calls for partisan action, demeans conservatives, and focuses quite heavily on an anti-Israel agenda.

00:04:17.200 The document often reads more like a revolutionary manifesto than a strategy to improve the working

00:04:22.000 conditions of Ontario's public employees. Echoing Marxist-Leninist ideologies, it advances the

00:04:27.680 notion that Canada's economy and political woes are orchestrated by a small group of elites.

00:04:33.200 The plan said, quote,

00:04:34.560 The disorientation is deliberate, manufactured by billionaires, their political allies to keep

00:04:39.360 us off balance, isolate us, and prevent effective resistance. Canada's struggle against corporate

00:04:44.560 greed is inseparable from the struggle against imperialism and global exploitation. The union

00:04:49.120 demanded a, quote, fundamental redistribution of wealth expropriated from corporations and the rich

00:04:55.600 and given to the working class. The group targeted anti-free market policies, such as tariffs,

00:05:00.960 as the failure of capitalism, and called fiscal conservatism, quote, class warfare waged by

00:05:07.520 corporations and the elite who refuse to pay their fair share, with the aim of dismantling our public

00:05:13.760 services for private profit. QP Ontario claimed, quote, our fight is not against trade itself,

00:05:20.560 but against capitalism and the 10 corporations wielding these deals as weapons, often used to impose

00:05:26.400 crushing austerity on the global south. The union mentioned the need for

00:05:30.480 militant worker-led initiatives and organizing three times in the plan. QP Ontario did not respond

00:05:37.200 to true-notes requests for clarification or comments. So question for you, Isaac.

00:05:41.840 How did the unions get to this point? Have they always been vehicles for socialist activism?

00:05:46.960 Yeah, tough question, Waleed. Ontario's largest public sector union released their new

00:05:51.520 strategic blueprint for 2025 that shifts its priorities toward aggressive political activism

00:05:57.200 and international advocacy campaigns. QP's Ontario division outlines a broad range of objectives in

00:06:02.560 the document, many of which depart from traditional labor-focused concerns. Instead of centering on

00:06:07.360 employment standards or bargaining issues, the plan emphasizes confrontational tactics, ideological

00:06:12.640 messaging, and controversial geopolitical positions. Among the themes advanced in the document are the

00:06:17.680 rejection of market-based economic models, the endorsement of wealth seizure from affluent entities,

00:06:22.960 and the promotion of grassroots organizing tactics framed as large-scale confrontations. The union

00:06:28.400 outlines plans to cultivate a long-term network of activist engagement capable of escalating political

00:06:33.680 pressure through coordinated mobilization. The publication also singles out right-leaning groups

00:06:38.640 and politicians as targets of opposition and ties modern media and artificial intelligence tools

00:06:44.240 to the growth of those political movements. It warns against what it calls reactionary coalitions,

00:06:49.040 which the union says must be challenged by counter movements rooted in progressive ideology. In

00:06:54.160 addition to domestic political aims, the document dedicates a substantial portion of its content to

00:06:59.040 foreign policy concerns, particularly surrounding the Middle East. The plan supports advocacy aligned with

00:07:04.960 Palestinian political movements and criticizes definitions of anti-semitism that have been adopted

00:07:10.560 by several Western governments. The union aligns itself with alternative frameworks that it says are better

00:07:16.560 suited to address perceived forms of prejudice in the ongoing Israel-Palestine discourse. Jewish community

00:07:22.560 organizations have raised concerns about the balance of the union's approach. According to representatives

00:07:27.280 from B'nai B'rith Canada, the organization's positions risk downplaying contemporary manifestations of

00:07:32.560 anti-semitism and appear inconsistent with existing definitions that are designed to protect minority rights

00:07:38.400 globally. The action plan also includes calls to reframe equity policies within the union itself,

00:07:43.520 acknowledging the limitations of existing diversity practices, and calling for broader inclusion

00:07:48.480 based on personal identity markers. Despite its expansive scope, the document makes only limited

00:07:54.000 reference to direct improvements in members' working environments or compensation structures. Critics

00:07:59.280 argue that the union's focus may no longer reflect the immediate needs of public employees across the

00:08:03.920 province. While organized labor in Canada has historically included elements of left-leaning advocacy,

00:08:08.720 documents like QP Ontario's 2025 plan illustrate how some unions have evolved into broader political

00:08:14.560 actors, prioritizing ideological campaigns and global activism over collective bargaining. This shift

00:08:21.360 reflects a decades-long trend in parts of the labor movement where workplace representation is

00:08:26.320 increasingly fused with social justice and anti-capitalist objectives. Police are searching for a 14-year-old

00:08:35.600 male who is wanted after allegedly stabbing a 71-year-old woman to death in North York on Thursday. During

00:08:41.120 a news conference on Friday, homicide investigators identified the teenage suspect as Kamani Wint and

00:08:46.560 released his photo. Due to provisions in the Criminal Code and Young Offenders Act, it is extremely rare

00:08:52.000 and unusual for police to release the name and picture of a suspect still considered a minor. However,

00:08:57.280 in this case, Detective Matthew Pinfold said police were able to obtain judicial authorization to identify Wint

00:09:03.600 as he is on the run and considered to be dangerous. Wint is wanted for second-degree murder in the

00:09:08.640 stabbing death of Shanaz Pistanji. Since the homicide, police have conducted an extensive and urgent search.

00:09:16.320 We've been canvassing door-to-door using canine units and drones, as well as reviewing surveillance

00:09:22.400 footage in the area, as well as from transit through the TTC. According to police, the 71-year-old was

00:09:29.360 loading groceries into her car in the parking lot of a commercial plaza on Parkway Forest Drive,

00:09:34.480 south of Shepherd Avenue East, when she was attacked and stabbed. Pistanji was transported

00:09:39.520 to the hospital but succumbed to her injuries and died. Pinfold noted, quote,

00:09:44.160 Through reviewing the video surveillance, speaking with witnesses, and observing the person's movement

00:09:48.960 prior to the attack, we believe that the person intended to rob Ms. Pistanji. Toronto police have

00:09:53.760 speculated it was, quote, a robbery that escalated into attack. The suspect remains at large and is

00:09:59.280 believed to be using public transit to travel throughout the city, he added. So, Walid, is

00:10:03.760 Toronto getting less safe? How has crime gotten worse in the city since 10 years ago? Well, first of all,

00:10:09.680 an update on this case. Toronto police have now arrested the suspect. The accused is underage,

00:10:15.040 therefore his name and image have been removed from power coverage and other coverage in the media

00:10:19.760 in order to comply with the Youth Criminal Justice Act. This, for me, really mirrors a situation that

00:10:25.600 also happened in the GTA area. I believe it was in Durham, where in June, a 14-year-old male was

00:10:30.800 charged with first-degree murder of 83-year-old Eleanor Donny and, of course, that's also shocked the

00:10:36.960 community over there. So, whether the numbers suggest a steady increase from 2016, I believe there has been

00:10:44.080 an increase of the overall amount of homicides that have happened since 2016. So, 75 homicides happened

00:10:50.720 in 2016 and 2024, that number is now 86. For the last couple of years, that has always been above 79.

00:10:58.400 So, it is a concerning trend where more and more victims are being caught in these armed robberies,

00:11:05.760 in these attempted robbery situations, as old as our elderly and as vulnerable as they are,

00:11:11.920 and involving perpetrators that are minors, and very often the case, unfortunately. So,

00:11:17.120 I do believe not only Toronto, but many major cities in the country have seen a spike in crime,

00:11:22.560 but unfortunately Toronto has seen a spike in violent crime, and specifically in the summer season,

00:11:28.240 we've seen a spike in crime involving youth against our seniors. So, perhaps a generational trauma

00:11:34.480 that is really shocking our communities, unfortunately.

00:11:37.360 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday

00:11:45.440 by subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it, make sure to

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Juno News - July 21, 2025

Study finds Liberal spending to blame for inflation

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