Immigration:Canada's Express Entry Benefits Low Incomers

In its first year, the Express Entry program allowed more cooks and food workers than engineers and professors to apply. Launched in 2015, the Express Entry system aims to fast track permanent resident applications for immigrants who meet certain criteria. The goal is to match the supply of immigrant labour with the demand for skills in Canada.

The results of a new immigration program meant to match the flow of foreign workers with Canada’s job market should be a wakeup call for policymakers, experts say. Under the new Express Entry system, immigrants applying for low-wage, precarious jobs in Canada are being favoured over those applying for more professional positions, said Toronto immigration consultant Parmjit Mangat.

Mangat worries the policy means new immigrants may not find stable jobs and could be at risk of having their rights violated by employers. The problem is particularly acute in Toronto, which is both a top destination for immigrants and a growing hub for precarious employment – more than half of workers in the city are in part-time or contract jobs, according to a 2013 United Way report.

File Income Tax By May 5, CRA Extends Deadline Due To Human Error

Janyce McGregor, CBC 
Canadians have been given five extra days to file their 2014 income tax returns, thanks to a "human error" at the Canada Revenue Agency.

Last Friday, the CRA issued a statement saying the deadline for filing tax returns electronically was May 5 at 3 a.m.

That was a mistake. On Monday, the agency issued a new statement, saying this year's deadline is, in fact, April 30.

'Canada Is In Serious Trouble' As Debt, House Prices Climb,

Daniel Tencer | Huff

It was little more than a year ago that Deutsche Bank declared Canada’s housing market to be the most overvalued in the world, and on Thursday the German-based bank doubled down on its bearish assessment of Canada.

Residential real estate in Canada is overvalued by 63 per cent, according to research from Deutsche Bank chief international economist Torsten Slok.

Canadians Spend More Of Their Income At The Gas Station Than Almost Everyone

Jesse Ferreras | Huff
Household debt isn't the only area where Canadians outshine their southern neighbours.

We also spend more of our money on gasoline than Americans do, according to Bloomberg data released Dec. 1.

Canadians spent 2.89 per cent of their income on gasoline in the fourth quarter of 2014, while Americans spent 2.27 per cent.

The proportion of our income spent on filling up our cars is largely a factor of consumption; we're second only to the U.S. when it comes to how much gas we use.

We also rank sixth in the world when it comes to how much of our annual income goes to paying at the pump.

South Africans stood on top of the world when it came to spending their income on gasoline, at 5.17 per cent.