Author: Richard Starr

Despite record in-migration median age of most of Nova Scotia continues to rise

Despite record in-migration median age of most of Nova Scotia continues to rise

Posted by | Jan 24, 2021 | , |

Until capable handling of the pandemic boosted ratings, the McNeil government had precious little it could credibly point to after seven years as evidence of success. Reduced wait times for elective surgery? No, not yet. A family doctor for everyone? Not quite. Poverty reduction and growing incomes? Not so much. Balanced budgets? Past their best-before. But in recent years there has been one reliable set of statistics to trot out to demonstrate progress – population and immigration growth. And the beat goes on. Detailed data released this month by Statistics Canada confirm that Nova Scotia’s population was up almost...

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Starr’s Point Index #6

Starr’s Point Index #6

Posted by | Jan 19, 2021 | |

Pandemic Number of countries reporting more cumulative cases of COVID-19 than Canada to Nov. 30, 2020: 28 Number of Countries reporting more cases than Canada to Jan. 15, 2021: 21 Canada’s increase in cumulative COVID-19 cases Nov. 30-Jan. 15: 85.3% Number of top 30 countries with faster rates of increase than Canada Nov. 20-Jan.15: 3 Country with fastest rate: Turkey 272.6%[1] Number of reported COVID-19 deaths in England as of Jan. 18, 2021: 78,636 [2] Number of reported COVID-19 deaths African continent to Jan. 14, 2021: 76,480[3]   Business insolvencies Number of insolvency filings by Canadian businesses second and...

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CEWS update: More misses from a poorly targeted program

Posted by | Jan 15, 2021 | , |

Much high dudgeon has been displayed about travelling during the pandemic. Public backlash against the practice took down a dozen or so politicians, and then the finger pointing moved in a different direction. The news hounds uncovered yet another loophole in the federal government’s pandemic relief program, one that would allow returning travellers to claim $500 a week while quarantining for 14 days following forbidden getaways. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Employment were quick to say that was not what the benefit was for, but were unclear about how they would put a stop to the practice....

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Update on health transfers: Conservative do a flip flop

Update on health transfers: Conservative do a flip flop

Posted by | Jan 10, 2021 | , |

Any momentum towards an improved deal on federal health transfers to the provinces seems to be slowing. First it was the Justin Trudeau government telling the provinces to wait. And now it seems the official opposition Conservatives are losing their enthusiasm for a sizeable increase in transfer payments. In an interview last week with Brunswick News, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole refused to be pinned down to a dollar or percentage increase in transfers. This represented an about-face from the startling position taken earlier by the deputy leader of the Conservatives, discussed here. Back in October, Manitoba MP Candice Bergen...

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Pandemic Update: Another month of troubling numbers

Pandemic Update: Another month of troubling numbers

Posted by | Jan 3, 2021 | , |

It’s déjà vu all over again. As has been the situation for some months, what’s left of the Atlantic bubble did its job in December while the country’s overall rate of increase in COVID cases was once again higher than the United States. Confirmed cases in Canada increased by 53.8 per cent in December, compared with an increase of 46.4 per cent in the U.S. On a positive note, the rate of increase in both countries in December was down from November. And as the table shows, Canada’s rate of increase in December was 7.4 percentage points less than...

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Richard Starr, The man behind the Point

About Richard

RICHARD STARR has had careers as a journalist, public servant, broadcaster, political staffer and freelance policy adviser. He is author of numerous newspaper and magazine articles, a former radio and TV producer and weekly newspaper editor, and the author of three non-fiction books. Starr has lived in Dartmouth for more than 30 years.

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