Study finds Liberal spending to blame for inflation
Episode Stats
Words per minute
159.24829
Harmful content
Hate speech
1
sentences flagged
Summary
A 14-year-old boy is wanted by police after a woman was fatally stabbed during a suspected robbery in Ontario. A new study found that government spending during the COID pandemic was primarily responsible for the 2021-22 inflation surge. The Ontario Branch of CUPE, a public sector union, released an action plan which focused on more socialist revolutionary ideas than bread and butter union issues such as improving wages and working conditions.
Transcript
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
00:00:33.920
Hello Canada, it's Monday July 21st and this is the True North Daily Brief.
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
00:01:02.640
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.
00:01:29.840
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
00:01:47.440
The acceleration continued more or less steadily until the summer of 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.
00:04:34.560
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
00:11:50.160
hit us with a 5 star rating and please leave a review.