Terry Fox on the $5, big money for the border — what we learned from the economic statement
CBC
The Liberal government unveiled $21.1 billion in new spending in its fall economic statement (FES) Monday — much of it going to border security and the promised GST tax break.
The FES also announces some lower-profile policy and spending decisions. Here are five things you need to know:
The federal government has estimated that 90,000 vehicles are reported stolen every year in Canada. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reports that in 2022 alone, 105,000 vehicles were stolen across the country.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says thefts were down in 2024 by almost a fifth, but the Trudeau government has said combating auto theft remains a policy priority.
The FES includes a few measures to deal with auto theft, including a promise to amend the Criminal Code to make bail and sentencing laws stricter.
The FES sets aside $1.3 billion to help secure the border. The document says that some of that money will help authorities crack down on trafficking in stolen vehicles, drugs and guns at the border.
The government said it will also amend the Customs Act to give the CBSA additional powers to inspect goods destined for export.
"This will include obligating warehouse operators and shippers to provide adequate accommodations for CBSA officers to carry out their mandate," the FES says.
The FES says the federal government is putting Canadian hero Terry Fox on the new $5 bill to honour his Marathon of Hope and his efforts to raise money for cancer research.
"By February 1981, the Marathon of Hope had raised $24.7 million or $1 for every Canadian," the FES says. "His run was interrupted just past the half-way point when the cancer reached his lungs, and ultimately took his life.
"Through his efforts, the 22-year-old showed Canadians the difference that an ordinary person could make through sheer willpower and determination."
Former Liberal prime minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier will be moved from the $5 bank bill to the next version of Canada's $50 bill.
The Liberal government announced $90 million in funding over six years, and then $20 million per year after that, to improve access to abortion and reproductive health services.
"Across the country, anti-choice groups are working to restrict a woman's right to choose what's best for her body," the FES says. "In rural, remote and other under-served communities, access to sexual and reproductive health services is often limited."
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.