HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-09-21, Page 5Wednesday, September 21, 2016 • News Record 5
Debts will sink many if interest rates rise
Canadians have enjoyed
cheap credit for so long it
will be an immense shock
when interest rates begin to
rise, although that's not
likely to happen anytime
soon.
On Wednesday, the Bank
of Canada announced its
key interest rate of 0.5 per
cent would remain
unchanged and would con-
tinue as it has since mid -
2015. The key interest rate
has remained at one per
cent or less since 2009, an
extraordinary seven-year
stretch that has effectively
punished savers and
encouraged the accumula-
tion of private and public
debt.
Interest rates have been
suppressed to encourage
economic growth, but there
has been collateral dam-
age. Today, a great number
of Canadians are mired in
debt while finding it diffi-
cult to save.
Indeed, a survey released
Wednesday, the same day
as the Bank of Canada
announcement, says 39 per
cent of its respondents
(more than 5,600 employed
Canadians who were polled
earlier this summer) find
themselves overwhelmed
by their debt. Most of them
cite mortgages, followed by
credit card debt, car loans
and debt from a line of
credit. An incredible 11 per
cent believe they'll never
be debt -free.
Of course, the survey, con-
ducted on behalf of the
Canadian Payroll Associa-
tion, isn't entirely about
debt. It's also about income,
or rather a lack of income
among respondents. Forty-
eight per cent said they live
paycheque to paycheque,
and about 25 per cent said
they wouldn't be able to find
$2,000 to cover an emer-
gency situation.
About half of those
polled said they are able to
save five per cent or less of
their income. But with
increased debt (22 per cent
admit to finding it difficult
to pay off their credit card
balance) it remains a
struggle.
Any incentive to save
money within such
an economic landscape is
difficult to pinpoint,
although there are Canadi-
ans who save and some
who save prodigiously. One
of the legacies of the Ste-
phen Harper government is
the Tax Free Savings
Account, a financial device
that encourages the saving
of money with the promise
that it won't be subjected to
taxation once placed into a
TFSA. But again, the bank
rates on a TFSA are tiny;
meaningful growth comes
only with the careful invest-
ment of those same funds.
The situation is a far cry
from the early 1980s when
borrowing charges were
approaching 20 per cent.
We'll never see a return
to those rates, as they were
the response to an era of
historic inflation. But at
some point, interest rates
will be nudged upward,
and the impact on those
who now say they're over-
whelmed by their debt will
likely be catastrophic.
- Peter Epp,
Postmedia Network
Postmedia Network
Courtroom camera for verdict a good call
PAMELA ROTH/EDMONTON SUN)
Accused killer Travis Vader, 40, at Edson court May 15, 2012.
A remarkable event
unfolded in Alberta
Thursday: For what is
likely the first time in that
province, the verdict in a
Queen's Bench criminal
trial was broadcast live.
It's a win for the media
(Postmedia, which owns
this newspaper, was part
of a group of news organi-
zations that requested the
live broadcast), but also a
win for openness in the
court system, although the
decision by a judge to
allow the live broadcast
applies to this one case
only.
The cameras showed
only Justice Denny
Thomas of the Alberta
Court of Queen's Bench
presenting an overview of
his verdict. The accused,
Travis Vader, wasn't
shown.
The decision to let the
cameras roll is the right
one. The case was of
intense interest to both
Albertans and the rest of
Canada for six years. Lyle
and Marie McCann van-
ished in July 2010 and
their bodies have never
been found. As the
Edmonton Journal's Paula
Simons noted last week,
the case is about every-
thing from the McCanns'
disappearance to police
competence to the speed
of the justice system.
"Vader is on trial here. But
so is the rule of law itself,"
Simons wrote.
Fundamentally, Cana-
dian justice operates on the
principle of open courts.
Journalists can attend, and
so can the public. The
media can tweet the trial
and sometimes reporters
can record (though not
broadcast) audio to ensure
accuracy of their stories.
There have been some
experiments in video -
streaming court proceed-
ings. In 2007, Ontario
broadcast online 21 cases
but the pilot project went
nowhere. Broadcast of
court proceedings is forbid-
den under the Courts of
Justice Act, although judges
have final authority over
their courtrooms.
With the exception of the
Supreme Court of Canada,
which broadcasts all pro-
ceedings, other courts have
infrequently allowed live
broadcasts. The hesitation
behind live broadcasts
includes questions about the
privacy of witnesses (or
juries), the sensationaliza-
tion of trials, and logistics
such as cost and bandwidth.
Back in 2014, the Justice
Department studied Canadi-
ans' perception of our justice
system. They felt that the
courts were too easy on
criminals and that Canadi-
ans didn't really understand
how justice and corrections
work. So, there's value in
being able to witness live a
judge's reasoning in a
verdict.
There's no good argu-
ment against a further
opening up of our courts in
any province. There are
common-sense ways to
protect the integrity of the
justice system at work,
while respecting one of the
most important values in a
democracy: That justice can
be seen happening.
- Postmedia Network