Students and pedestrians are photographed walking along Gould St. on the Toronto Metropolitan University campus on Jan 22. The federal government has announced a two year cap on international student visas to help ease pressure on housing and health care.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.
Ottawa announces two-year cap on international student visas
Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced this week that Ottawa will place an immediate cap on the number of international study visas over the next two years. The move is meant to ease pressures that immigration is having on services such as housing and health care, Marieke Walsh and Marie Woolf report. The number of international students in Canada has grown rapidly in recent years to more than one million – 1,028,850 – by the end of 2023, with just over half of them in Ontario. Economists say the housing shortage is so pronounced that the number of new rental and housing units is not keeping up with demand. Meanwhile, as Joe Friesen reports, the main critics are universities and colleges, who say the cap will hurt their bottom lines.
Bank of Canada keeps key rate at 5%
In its first policy announcement of 2024, the Bank of Canada kept its policy interest rate steady at 5 per cent for the fourth consecutive time. Governor Tiff Macklem did not rule out further rate hikes, but suggested they were unlikely if inflation and economic activity developed in line with the bank’s projection, Mark Rendell reports. There was also a notable change in the bank’s language, which downplayed the odds of further rate hikes and opened the door to the possibility of rate cuts. Bay Street analysts expect the central bank to start cutting interest rates in the coming quarters, while most are betting the first quarter-point cut will happen in April or June.
Peak pot? Cannabis sales growth is going up in smoke
After years of strong growth, cannabis sales are faltering. According to Statistics Canada data, sales have not only stagnated in the industry, but recently they’ve faded from all-time highs. Michael Armstrong, an associate professor of business at Brock University, says the industry has reached a peak. He offers several theories as to why, including slowed retail expansion and supply chain disruptions. “Cannabis is becoming more ordinary,” he said. Matt Lundy takes a closer look in this week’s Decoder.
TD Bank faces stiff penalty from FinTRAC
Canada’s financial-crimes watchdog, FinTRAC, is considering handing a stiff penalty to Toronto-Dominion Bank after an examination found the lender had faulty anti-money-laundering controls, Rita Trichur and Stefanie Marotta report. The monetary penalty is expected to exceed $10-million, which would be the largest ever levelled by the Canadian regulator. The bank is also facing scrutiny from law enforcement and regulators over its anti-money-laundering practices in the United States.
BMO bankers terminated after allegations of homophobic harassment
Bank of Montreal has terminated four mining bankers in Toronto and another two resigned after allegations of bullying and homophobic harassment, Tim Kiladze reports. The targeted individual working with BMO’s mining unit was subject to homophobic slurs, both in person and virtually on Teams chats, according to sources. BMO said the victim raised concerns, and after an internal probe, the bank terminated a number of individuals who allegedly engaged in the behaviour. “We take matters of misconduct very seriously. An investigation was launched immediately. Six individuals are no longer with the bank,” John Fenton, head of media relations with BMO, wrote in a statement to The Globe.
Estimated quarter of businesses missed CEBA repayment deadline, Ottawa says
The first major repayment deadline for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program was on Jan. 18, but the federal government estimates that more than a quarter of businesses missed that deadline. The widely-used pandemic support program for businesses sent out loans of $40,000 or $60,000 to nearly 900,000 companies in 2020 and 2021, Chris Hannay reports. The loans are due in full on Dec. 31, 2026. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez announced this week, however, that an estimated 75 per cent of CEBA recipients had closed their accounts with the government. That number includes businesses that refinanced their loans with their bank or an alternative lender.
Now that you’re all caught up, test your knowledge with our weekly business and investing news quiz and prepare for the week ahead with the Globe’s investing calendar.
Abigale Subdhan