Tav's Headline News Reviews Weekly Roundup June 7th - Episode #154

Join Tav as he breaks down the biggest news stories of the week in his comprehensive weekly news review. From current events to trending topics, Tav got you covered with in-depth analysis and commentary. Whether you're looking to stay informed about what's happening around the world or just want to hear a fresh perspective on the news, this video is for you. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

It's on Sunday, June the 7th, and today we're trying something new. We're doing a weekly roundup. And basically, we take the top five stories and basically give you a briefing on each of those stories that occurred this past week. Take a look at the five stories we're gonna take a look at today. Story number one is Canada adds 87,800 jobs, economic comeback or a statistical surprise. Story number two is Kearney launches AI for all, 250,000 jobs or a risk, risky tech gamble. Story number three is Trump targets Canada again with forced labor terrorist threat. Four is Canada's technical recession fight, Kearney versus Palio. Story number five will be grocery benefit payment lands June 5th, which is this Friday, this past Friday, as affordability pressure continues. We begin the roundup with the headline that shocked many economists and also shocked me. Canada added 87,800 jobs in May, far above what analysts had predicted. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.6% after sitting at 6.9% in April. The good news is that it had nothing to do with part-time workers. So that is good news that it's slightly come down. That's a major shift because Canada had been dealing with months of economic weakness, job loss, and recession warnings. So given that all of the all of the data that we've been getting these last couple of months that have been pretty bleak, this is somewhat good news. The data showed full-time employment jumped sharply while part-time work actually declined. That makes this report harder to dismiss. And we have to be feeling good about it, that's for sure. The strongest sectors included construction, transportation, information culture, and recreation, and the food services. But this doesn't mean that the economy is suddenly fixed. Canada's still dealing with uh weakness in the GDP, growth, high housing costs, and the uncertainty regarding the U.S. trade policy. As far as cost of living, it's definitely everything's costing more, and people are feeling it. So this is sort of um a little bit of good news. I think people are sort of on the fence. They don't know how to feel about this news. The youth unemployment rate remains high, even though it improved in this last report. Uh politically, the jobs numbers gives uh Prime Minister Carney's government briefing room uh after so much bad news these last couple of months. It lets uh Prime Minister Kearney argue that Canada's economy is more resilient and stable. So this is good news, not bad news, and um hopefully next month it will improve even more. Second story, which is a major one for Prime Minister Mark Carney, is the national AI strategy, the PLAM calls for AI for all. The government says it could help create 250,000 jobs by 2031 and boost Canada's GDP by around 3%. So now instead of depending on other countries for AI and other companies, we are now going to be doing it in-house here in Canada. And it's all part of Prime Minister's uh strategy regarding building here in Canada, our industries creating more jobs for Canadians, and uh will prevent us from falling behind uh against other countries that are developing their AI, especially in the United States and in Europe. Uh Prime Minister Carney wants uh to focus on the building of the AI platform, and it wants Canada to control more of its own digital infrastructure. And that's the main goal on on this story. It's all about jobs. AI is already integrated in many companies now, um, but there is some worry. There is some worry like where the jobs are gonna be coming from, who's gonna get those jobs, uh they real jobs or just projections. And there's always that fear that AI will be taking jobs away from uh people that are in the workforce now. I can tell you right now that that's gonna happen. AI will be taking jobs, it's already taking jobs that were traditionally uh done by someone, they've lost their job, and now AI is taking, you know, I can tell you that I've seen lots of examples in the workforce of people using AI to make them more productive, uh, respond quickly, provide better customer service. So AI is here to stay and it's only going to get bigger. That's why uh Prime Minister Kearney is warning about foreign AI platforms uh that are are moving forward faster than Canada, and he wants basically to get things going. He's trying to frame AI as part of Canada's national security, not just a business plan. He thinks that it's essential that Canada be building its own AI infrastructure and systems and control it from within Canada and create jobs in many sectors because of AI to replace the jobs probably that we're gonna be losing because of AI. But there will be a transition of new skills that will need to be developed to uh work in the AI sector. Uh but the the biggest question is this is whether this becomes Canada's technical tech breakout moment or just another plan that Prime Minister Carney is putting on the table uh as a reaction to the rest of what's going on in the world. So the third story that brings Canada back, right back to the US trade storm. And we just talked about this last week and you know how I feel about the current negotiation team for Canada led by Ms. Minister LeBlanc. No sooner did he go down to Washington last week to meet with James Greer, the lead trade negotiator for the United States, he leaves that meeting, and as soon as he leaves that meeting is on his way back to Canada. There we go. We get hit with an announcement that the United States will be proposing a new tariff. I think it's around 10%, it's gonna start at 10%. For not just Canada, but many countries around the world. And the reason given is the force forced labor enforcement. So a lot of countries have laws in the books uh regarding for buying products that are created or made by forced labor, and but we're not enforcing it. Canada's one of them. We have laws in the books, but we're not aggressively enforcing it. Unlike the United States, they are very aggressive in enforcing buying products or letting products into their country that are made by forced labor. Now, for me, the way I look at the story is that this is just an excuse for Prime uh for President Trump to impose tariffs that were taken away from him by the Supreme Court. As you remember, the Supreme Court struck down uh Trump's reciprocal tariffs that he had for all a bunch of countries all over the world. And this is sort of a replacement. So he basically went to the legal team and said, Find me a reason to impose tariffs on countries to make up for the ones that we lost because the Supreme Court ruled against us. And this is what they come up with. It's sort of like if you remember when the when the tariff started or the war started last year, uh then Trump was saying that it was about bentanol and the border. Well, now it's about forced labor. So those tariffs, these are new tariffs, and he's using this excuse, and his legal team has finally told them that the Supreme Court will be able to reverse this because it's within the preview of the president. And so that's what I think this is. It's also a huge political angle for the president of the United States, especially in negotiating the Kuzma agreement. Here's another another issue that he's bringing to the table. And Prime Minister Kearney has been uh trying to position Canada as a less dependent, less dependent on the United States. Uh, but here we are getting hit again with another tariff. Now, we've given up a lot the streaming uh tax that uh they want to impose. It looks like we're backwheeling on that now. Canada wanted to impose or has been fighting to impose a tax on streaming of services like Netflix and all that. And now it sounds like they're back, they're they're backwheeling on that. If you remember last year, Prime Minister Khani at the last minute dropped the digital tax again on many uh technical uh tech companies like Google and Meta. And um he gave up that concession, and here you uh here we are doing it again. It seems like we keep giving and the United States keeps taking and it shows uh shows that we're in a in a weak position. So hopefully um it's only proposed, it hasn't been uh brought into effect, but uh this can be become another major flashpoint Canada and the United States and the trade relations that and negotiations that are going on with Cuzma. As far as Kuzma goes, the United States is currently negotiating with Mexico, and I've told you all if if they strike a deal, if the United States strikes a deal with Mexico, it's gonna put Canaan in a very good position. Time is running out, but I don't see any movement coming our way with the United States. Uh and I I think that deadline of July 1st will come and go and it will not get renewed. Story number four is the story regarding the political battle between Prime Minister Mark Khanny and the leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Palio. The battle's over the Canadian economy, but whether we are technically we're technically in a recession, it really doesn't matter. It's we are in a slight recession. The economy is slightly stable. We've got some good news on the job front, and I think considering everything that's going on with our economy, the uncertainty and everything, it's uh the fact that we're uh our economy is somewhat stable, but there's a lot of uncertainty. We're slightly into a recession because Canada uh a recession is basically uh defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction, and Pierre Pollier, the leader of the opposition, is just waiting to pounce on something, and he immediately sees the opportunity and called for an emergency meeting in the House of Commons to discuss what's going on. The the fact is is that of the G7 countries, we are the only Canada is the only country that is in a quote unquote technical recession or in a recession right now, if if you want to it's described. But a slight recession, we might come out of it in the next quarter. So let's see what happens. If we're still in a recession in the next quarter, or we still have more contraction in the next quarter, then I think you know, I think the the drums are gonna start to beat and they're gonna be loud be beating very loud in the House of Commons. Um Canadians are struggling across everywhere. Uh cost of living's up, the house housing market's out of control, they'll really afford to buy a house, at least young people. You can't even dream about owning their own house. It's just just out of reach. And um there's a lot of people concerned about their jobs, especially in the sectors, in the sectoral sectors, and everybody's hanging by pens and needles to see at least those sectors are like the auto industry, the steel industry, waiting to find out what's going to happen with with Kuzma, supply management. Farmers are worried as well. So there's a lot of uncertainty in our economy, and um and this argument that's going back and forth and whether we are in a set recession or not. I think the truth is that we're in slightly in a recession. But let's see what happens in the next quarter, the next couple of months, the statistical data on unemployment and how the economy is doing, that's really what's what's going to tell distorted. But we should be focused on jobs, housing, uh, the price of food, and uh the weak growth in our GDP. That's the focus of the things that we should be focused on, not whether uh the definition of a recession. But we are in a slight recession, and there's a lot of uncertainty that things still cost more. So the fifth story is one that will hit all Canadians across Canada, and that's the grocery benefit payment that most Canadians should have received this past Friday if you qualify. And that depends on how basically your tax return, what your where you sit as far as your income goes. And you should be getting those checks. You should have got those checks on Friday or those payments on Friday. This is a good good thing. Those Canadians that are eligible for the benefit, it helps at least compensate the Canadians for the GST and A HST. It is a sort of credit towards that. But to tell you the truth, seeing family members and and friends, it's not enough. People still struggling a lot. This is really not enough. There should have been more done. I think taxes on food completely should be eliminated during this time. Same thing with gas. Taxes should be eliminated from gas as well to help uh the everyday Canadian get by while we're going through this uh Middle East and we're under attack by the United States on the tariffs. So more has to be done. I don't think this is enough. I think this is just a political ploy. Um it helps. Listen, I think it's a step in the right direction. It's just not enough. And I think the government could be doing a lot more to help Canadians that are struggling. It's just whether they have the fortitude to do it or the bravery to do it, because it will cost taxpayers a lot of money. Money that we don't collect will have to be made up somewhere else. Especially now that we are trying to move forward on the infrastructure programs and the military and building up our economy. We need privers private sector investment and benefit helps a little bit, but it's not enough. And that's the the real story about this benefit that everybody boasts people. Um just remember that this is a one-time payment. It's temporary relief uh that does not fix the cost of living crisis. Both arguments will connect with different audiences, and it's it's just temporary relief to help in a very small way. So in my closing comments, I made a couple of notes that I want to just after we've covered these five stories briefly. So here's the big picture for me. Canada's economy is sending mixed signals and a warning signal. Mixed signals, we are steady considering all of the things that are attacking our economy. Warning signal is the recession, the quote unquote technical recession. On the other hand, we got a grey, not a great, but good, strong jobs report, and that's good news. Prime Minister Carney is still selling the long game to build the AI, uh build manufacturing, support our manufacturing base, steel, aluminum, wood, uh auto industry, uh the aviation industry, sovereignty in the Arctic, but building the military, our military, and trading diversification by trading with other countries around the world and not just focusing on the United States. Pierre Polyev, the leader of the Conservative Party, is still trying to keep focus on the economy, the pain of the economy, the government's accountability regarding the aca economy. Trump's latest tariff threats adds even more pressure to Canada's trade future and negotiations. And I think it's just, you know, bad timing, but it seems like as soon as our Minister Leblanc left Washington, it's almost like he's waiting for that meeting, and as soon as he left, boom, there's a story hitting the airways that uh going to hit us with another tariff. The grocery benefit, like I said, shows how affordability remains one of the most politically sensitive stories in Canada. It's not enough. We could be doing more. Uh is Canada entering recovery? No. But it is a sort of a temporary bright spot if you want to look at it as that the economy is stable given everything we're going through, and and maybe the technical recession, like I said, is maybe a warning. One thing I've noticed is when President Trump attacks our country, the numbers, I've been saying this for a while, the favorability numbers for the Prime Minister Mark Carney goes up. And that's been going on for a while. But one thing I noticed this past week is that when we give something up, Providence Carney gives something up to the United States because of pressure, like the streaming tax, his numbers start going down. So it goes to my point that Prime Minister Carney is living on his success is on what the President of the United States does. If he attacks us, his numbers go up. Because we feel good that Prime Minister Kearney, he's a numbers man, Bank of Canada, Bank of England, Rookfield Asset Management, and he should know how to manage the economy. We feel good with him at the controls. But if he starts giving concessions to the United States, or we get a bad deal, oh, Fruzma, or if people perceive it as a bad deal, his numbers are gonna plummet and they're gonna plummet fast. Anyhow, let me know your comments on any one of these five stories. I hope you like this segment. It's something I like doing, and I will be doing it every weekend. And you know, drop your comments, and I'd like to hear what you think of any one of these stories or the segment, and I will reply. Uh, don't forget, if you like my segments that I put, my episodes that I put on my channel in different news stories, please subscribe so you don't miss an episode and hit the bell icon. It helps the channel. Thanks for watching, be safe, and we'll see you on the next one.