Canada avoids recession, what will recovery look like?💰

Featured

🇨🇦 Canada’s avoided recession! Canada’s economy is set to start recovering in the second half of 2024. That means that the worst of interest rate hikes, layoffs and inflation might be behind us. Canadian economy is faring better than Japan and the UK who’s officially in recession; however, the sky-high costs of housing are still putting pressure on our everyday life (BNN)

🌓 Tomorrow (Monday, April 8th) is the day of a total solar eclipse in Canada! The last event of this kind of was in 1979, 45 years ago. If you don’t mind traffic or GO Train crowds, the best place to view the Solar Eclipse is in Niagara Falls. Another great, though less popular spot is in Sherbrooke, QC - just make sure you have the right equipment - like Solar Eclipse Glasses - to protect your eyes. Make sure to check out tips on how to stay safe on this day and keep your pets safe too.

🏛️ The federal government is implementing new policies to help renters. Soon Canadians’ on-time rental payments will count towards renters’ credit scores. Another step in the right direction is the Renters’ Bill of Rights, which would require landlords to disclose their rental’s pricing history and create a standard nationwide lease agreement.(Global News)

🏥 Queens Medical School announced they will start using a lottery system to determine who gets interviewed for admissions. This innovative approach for admissions process is aimed to create more diversity in the program. Historically, the traditional “credentials and accomplishments requirements” put up barriers to students who, for various reasons including socio-economic disadvantage, haven’t been able to develop a portfolio of accomplishments that gets them to the interview stage.” This is good news for newcomers who hope to continue their medical career in Canada (Globe and Mail)

🎩 Career Tips

Last week we’ve discussed what makes a compelling Elevator Pitch, today we dive deeper into a framework on how to craft a captivating career story that makes employers want to know more about you.

The framework we like to use is: present, past, future.

Here's how this framework works:

1. Present (Who You Are Now)

   • This part of your elevator pitch focuses on introducing yourself and highlighting your current role, expertise, and key strengths.

   • Present your unique value proposition, emphasizing what sets you apart from others in your field. This could include skills, certifications, industry knowledge, or specializations.

   • Highlight any current achievements or ongoing projects that showcase your capabilities and demonstrate your impact.

   • Example: “Civil engineer with 7 years experience building LEED certified high-rise buildings in fast growth cities. Delivered 10+ large scale building projects focusing on sustainable construction practices, environmental assessment and project management”. 

2. Past (What You've Accomplished)

   • Tell a brief story of your most relevant experience and accomplishments.

   • Share 1 or 2 specific examples of relevant projects, challenges you've overcome, and results you've achieved.

   • Use quantifiable metrics to add credibility and demonstrate the tangible value you've delivered in your career.

   • Example: "Streamlined international distribution processes, to reduce lead time by 20% and improve inventory forecasting accuracy by 15%. Overall, achieved cost savings of $500,000 annually by implementing diverse strategies and building supplier relationships ." (Logistics Coordinator)

     3. Future (Where You're Going)

   • Convey your goals, and vision for your next career step.

   • Discuss your areas of interest, and how you plan to leverage your strengths and experiences to make an impact in the future.

   • Example: “In my next role, I look to join an early stage Marketing team in a B2B SaaS company where I can help build a marketing department from the ground up using content marketing and coach junior team members.” ( Marketing Manager)

💥 Want to get feedback on your Elevator Pitch? - join our community in Slack and share yours in #superpowers channel.

Deep Dive: Carbon Tax

What is Carbon Tax? 🌍

Carbon tax is a fee that the Canadian government charges on activities that produce carbon emissions, like using fossil fuels for transportation or heating. This fee is designed to encourage individuals and businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and switch to cleaner energy alternatives.

Who's Impacted? 🚗

Everyone. Everyone who uses fossil fuels, like gasoline for driving or natural gas for heating, is impacted by carbon tax. Both companies and individuals are taxed.

How does Carbon Tax Affect me?

Your gasoline price will go up by 3.3 cents/litre each time you will gas up. If you use natural gas for heating your hope, you will pay an additional 2.9 cents/cubic metre. If you' like to do BBQ, the cost of propane to make that steak will go up by 2.3 cents/litre. Corporations are also likely to pass the increases in fuel costs to the consumer, so there is a secondary inflationary effect to the consumer.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding this Carbon Tax. Many say it drives inflation even higher, however, the secondary effects are complex, and a lot more diluted. In fact, the Bank of Canada calculated the Carbon Tax contributes to a measly 0.15-0.2% of inflation.

How much is that in human terms?

The short answer is - it depends. It depends on how much you spend. The more your drive and buy goods and services, the more you will be affected by the Carbon Tax. According to this Parliamentary Budget Office data here’s an approximate annual impact of Carbon Tax, broken down by province, before the Tax Rebates are issued. In short, 80% of Canadians, make extra income thanks to the Carbon Rebate, while the top 20% income earners end up losing a few hundred bucks a year. Taxing the rich much?

What is the Carbon Tax Rebate?

The Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR), formerly known as the Climate Action Incentive Payment, is a tax-free benefit to help offset the cost of federal carbon pricing. All residents of 19 years old and older in participating provinces receive this rebate every 3 months. Just make sure you’re registered for Auto-deposits with CRA

Here is a breakdown of the current base amount of each quarterly payment:

Why bother having a Carbon Tax?

Carbon taxes can effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by incentivizing individuals and businesses to cut back on activities that produce carbon emissions. When the tax is high enough to influence behaviour, it can lead to a decrease in carbon-intensive activities, stimulate innovation in clean technologies and encourage investments in renewable energy sources.

Opponents of the tax believe that it’s a drop in the ocean and it will not significantly impact climate change, unless it’s fully supported by the rest of the world.

So, is it good or bad for ME?

It depends. Carbon Tax has become a key political weapon in the battle for the upcoming election. Some believe it’s good for Canadians and our climate, while some believe it’s useless, it’s an additional inflation and tax on the poor.

The truth is always somewhere in the middle.

💼 Job Highlights

Xanadu, one of Canada’s leading Quantum computing companies is hiring across Canada across diverse roles from engineering & hardware, to marketing and education.

Kinaxis, an international Supply Chain Software company, with offices in Canada has plenty of technical and sales roles open on-site and fully remote. They also have a few internships!

Bombardier has 300+ positions open, with 15 positions opened just last week. They’re hiring in Aircraft Engineering, Analytics, Supply Chain, QA & Project Management

Ferrero, the yummy chocolate company, is hiring for skilled trades and shift-work positions in Brampton.

AI Cartoon of the Week