Busy day? Here are five stories to help you catch up.
The vitamin D dilemma
The vitamin D debate is back. This time sparked by a series of advertisements claiming that we aren’t getting enough of the stuff. So just how much vitamin D should we be taking?
Why do we need it? Vitamin D’s best-known role is helping the body absorb calcium and phosphorus from foods, which are critical nutrients for building and maintaining bone. Low levels of vitamin D can speed up bone loss and increase the risk of fractures.
The controversy: Researchers from the University of California at San Diego and Creighton University said earlier this month that the current daily recommended intakes (RDAs) for vitamin D are “only about one-tenth” of what’s needed to cut vitamin-D-deficiency related diseases.
So how much do we need? Osteoporosis Canada advises healthy adults aged 19-50 consume 400-1,000 IU daily.
Health Canada’s safe upper limit is 4,000 IU per day.
Is there such thing as too much? Yes. Because vitamin D is stored in fat cells, excess doses can build up to harmful levels, causing high blood calcium and damage to the heart, blood vessels and kidneys.
What about the sun? It’s estimated that up to 15 minutes of daily sun exposure on the hands, arms and face around 12 p.m. during the spring, summer and early fall can provide light-skinned Canadians with 1,000 IU of vitamin D.
Conclusion? Because Canadians aren’t getting enough from the sun and our food, everyone agrees that a vitamin D supplement is necessary. But taking megadoses is not only unwarranted, it may be unsafe.
Tax breaks: now you see them, now you don’t
So long, tax break. Provincial governments are wasting little time snatching back the breaks the federal government gave taxpayers, Michael Babad writes.
The latest estimates from BMO Nesbitt Burns predict the provinces will have taken back some 75 per cent of the $4.5-billion in Ottawa’s relief on taxes and fees by the time the provincial budget season is over.
The four provincial budgets to date have already chalked up more than $2-billion in tax and fee hikes for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
And there’s going to be more, says senior economist Robert Kavcic.
“Most of what Ottawa will be returning to one taxpayers’ pocket, the provinces will take out of the other,” he said in a recent report.
The next budget comes tomorrow, in New Brunswick, and tax hikes are expected.
Crystal Myths: Behind the ROM’s philanthropic facade
When The Royal Ontario Museum embarked on an ambitious renovation 13 years ago – the polarizing Michael Lee-Chin Crystal - it needed all the philanthropic help it could get. But some of its key donors still haven’t paid out their pledges and the institution is mired in debt, Greg McArthur, Kate Taylor and Jacquie McNish found out.
A Globe and Mail investigation has revealed:
- The ROM owes the Ontario government $33-million in loans for the project, and has incurred penalties for missed loan payments, having had to pay more interest than expected because of the partly fulfilled pledges.
- The museum is still owed $23-million in unpaid pledges by donors – all of whom were given substantial recognition
These donors include:
- Shreyas Ajmera, who only made a significant contribution toward his $5-million pledge after phone calls from a Globe reporter
- Alex Shnaider, who told The Globe through a lawyer that his $5-million pledge was contingent on the success of his investment in the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto, and that he still hoped to pay it
- and Michael Lee-Chin, who has more than $10-million left to pay on a $30-million pledge he made in 2003
Ontario taxpayers have assumed the debt the ROM initially owed to CIBC.
While it’s not unusual for donors to take several years to honour significant pledges, it is rare for one of the country’s most prominent cultural institutions to have so many uncollected donations for so many years.
“I have not come across this; I have not heard of this in the past,” said Bruce MacDonald, chief executive officer of Imagine Canada, which acts as a service organization and advocate for charities.
Forget mortgage rates. What mortgage features can you offer?
Is the mortgage rates game over?
In today’s era of low rates and fierce competition, the rate specials banks offer shave only a few basis points off a competitor’s product. And some are no longer seeing the point or marketing value, Tamsin McMahon reports.
“Money is on sale right now,” said David Stafford, Scotiabank’s vice-president of home financing solutions.
“Take a mortgage at 2.74 per cent and compare it to a mortgage at 2.69 per cent and you’re talking on average a savings of about $6-7 a month.”
Instead, the trend is turning toward highlighting other services that only banks can offer, like attractive rates on deposit accounts and credit cards for consumers who also sign up for a mortgage.
Royal Bank of Canada is launching a campaign this week to lure customers in with employee pricing, without advertising a particular number. The Bank of Nova Scotia doesn’t even have plans to come out with a new rate in time for the spring housing rush.
While many consumers care about mortgage rates, they also care about other mortgage features, such as the ability to break their mortgage early or make extra payments.
‘Daily Show’ gets a new host
Comedy Central has named Trevor Noah as Jon Stewart’s successor on the popular parody newscast “The Daily Show.”
So, who is he? Born to a South African mother and Swiss father, Noah grew up in Johannesburg’s Soweto township.
The 31-year-old is a relative newcomer to U.S. television. He’s appeared as a “senior international correspondent” on 'The Daily Show' just three times.
On Twitter Monday morning, Noah said:"No-one can replace Jon Stewart. But together with the amazing team at The Daily Show, we will continue to make this the best damn news show!"
Stewart also commented on the news on Twitter, saying: “Very excited to welcome our next host: @Trevornoah! That’s right - another guy in late night from Soweto.”
In choosing Noah, the comedy network said it was looking for “a fresh voice who can speak to our audience with a keen take on the events of the day, and we found that in Trevor.”
Stewart, 52, announced last month that he was leaving the job he’s held since 1999, but gave no specific plans for his next career move.
Follow Kat Sieniuc on Twitter: @katsieniuc