In the news today: Trump signals tariffs may be coming Feb. 1

The February date comes after Trump officials, speaking anonymously, suggested to reporters that the Republican president would only sign a memorandum telling federal agencies to study trade issues, including alleged unfair trade and currency practices by Canada, Mexico and China.

An executive order from the president late Monday ordering the studies sets an April 1 deadline for the reports — well after his suggestion that tariffs will happen in February.

Federal and provincial officials in Washington were relieved that tariffs on Canadian goods were not part of Trump’s inaugural speech. But many said Canada can’t afford to be complacent ahead of what could be a brutal hit to the economy.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Leadership hopefuls back away from carbon pricing

The three frontrunners in the Liberal leadership race have all backed away — to one degree or another — from the Liberal government’s keystone climate policy in a bid to take a major Conservative line of attack off the table.

The Liberals first campaigned on a carbon price in 2008 and moved to make it happen following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s election win in 2015.

It was first implemented in 2019 and is a critical piece of the federal climate plan. It also has been a political football and a favourite target of Conservative attacks.

Liberal leadership candidates Chrystia Freeland, Karina Gould and Mark Carney have all cooled on consumer carbon pricing in recent weeks.

An analysis published in March 2024 by the Canadian Climate Institute found Canada’s carbon price could slash greenhouse gas emissions by more than 100 million tonnes a year by 2030, but only about one-fifth of that would come from the consumer carbon price.

StatCan set to release December inflation figures

Statistics Canada is expected to release its December consumer price index report this morning.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the annual inflation rate for December to remain unchanged from the prior month at 1.9 per cent, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

Some economists are predicting the headline inflation number could be as low as 1.5 per cent thanks to the federal government’s GST tax holiday, which began mid-December.

Inflation has moderated significantly from its recent highs and is now stabilizing around the Bank of Canada’s two per cent target.

After cutting its key interest rate aggressively to 3.25 per cent, the Bank of Canada could cut again later this month.

Signs of thawing permafrost take hold in tundra

A new study suggests regions of the Arctic tundra are now releasing more planet-warming gases than they absorb, upending a millennia-old trend.

The study published in academic journal Nature Climate Change suggests many tundra regions may have started to release more carbon dioxide than they absorb, calling it a “noteworthy shift in carbon dynamics.”

The study suggests one of the main drivers of that shift could be thawing permafrost, frozen ground that covers almost half of Canada’s land mass and in some areas has remained below zero Celsius for hundreds of thousands of years.

As permafrost thaws, long-dead plant matter begins to decompose and release planet-warming CO2 and methane back into the atmosphere, setting off a positive feedback loop that can further contribute to global warming.

The study says while the region comprised of the boreal forest and the Arctic increased how much carbon it can hold in its plants and soils from 2001 to 2020, about a third of the region had become a net source of carbon dioxide as permafrost thaws and soils dry out.

Yet, when the authors factored in emissions from wildfires, they suggested the Arctic-boreal zone, taken as a whole, no longer absorbed a statistically significant amount of carbon emissions.

Build small homes for long-term care: aging group

Before Allan Dugas moved into long-term care, he feared he’d be forced to share a bedroom in an impersonal, institutional building, where a regimented schedule would dictate when he ate and what time a staff member would “barge in” to get him out of bed early every morning.

So after he was hospitalized for a fall, he chose to be discharged to a facility that health-care workers told him they’d be comfortable placing their own parents — a “small care home” in Digby, N.S., made up of 10 houses, each with nine residents and a small group of designated staff.

Dugas called the last four years of his life at Tideview Terrace “wonderful.”

He has his own bedroom and bathroom, and the freedom to get up and go to bed when he wants. He even has a drum set in his bedroom, where his only roommate is his cat, Jones.

“Life isn’t over, it’s just a different chapter,” said 59-year-old Dugas.

”It’s about respect and autonomy and making this our home.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2025.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In the news today: Trump signals tariffs may be coming Feb. 1

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