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Monday’s CPI Could Decide Your Next Mortgage Payment

  Canada lost 68,000 jobs in September. Inflation is sitting at 3%. The Bank of Canada has to decide on October 28 which of those facts matters more, and on Monday morning one more number lands to help it choose. If you carry a variable-rate mortgage, a HELOC or a renewal this winter, that number has a price tag. Two reports pulling in opposite directions The jobs data came first. Statistics Canada reported on October 9 that employment fell by 68,000 in September, pushing the unemployment rate to 6.5% from 6.4%. It followed a drop of about 42,000 in August, which means more than half of the 181,000 jobs gained between April and July have now been wiped out. Ontario shed 20,000 positions on its own. Markets reacted within hours: the odds of a quarter-point Bank of Canada hike on October 28 dropped to roughly 25% from about 40%, according to LSEG data reported by Reuters. Inflation is telling the opposite story. The consumer price index rose 3.0% year over year in August, matching Ju...
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Quebec Pushes Secularism Further with Ban on Prayer Rooms



The Quebec government is preparing to introduce a new bill that would ban prayer rooms in public institutions, including universities and CEGEPs. The legislation, led by Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge, is intended to reinforce the province’s commitment to keeping religion separate from public spaces.

The proposed bill goes beyond prayer rooms. It also seeks to restrict religious-based meals in public institutions, expand bans on face coverings in subsidized daycares, and prohibit the use of religious symbols in official communications. These measures build on the controversial Bill 21, passed in 2019, which barred certain public employees from wearing religious symbols while at work.

Students at Concordia University, where the prayer room is used by hundreds daily, have voiced concerns that the ban unfairly targets Muslim communities and will force them to find alternative spaces for worship. Critics warn that the legislation risks marginalizing religious minorities and undermining inclusivity in Quebec’s education system.

Supporters of the bill argue that it is a logical extension of Quebec’s secular model, designed to ensure neutrality in public institutions. Premier François Legault has previously stated that public spaces should not be used for religious practices, reinforcing the government’s stance on keeping faith private.

The bill is expected to spark heated debate in Quebec, where secularism has long been a defining political issue. If passed, it will mark another significant step in reshaping the province’s relationship between religion and public life.

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