ETA Canada News

The strike by federal officials is over, but the aftereffects are not so great.

As soon as they return to work on the 1st, civil servants from Service Canada and the passport office are dealing with the accumulated work while sweating hard about passport applications.

Service Canada predicted that “the number of applicants for new issuance or renewal of passports will increase rapidly, and the processing speed will slow down.”

He added that waiting times for phone consultations could be much longer than before the strike.

It usually takes 10 to 20 days for passport issuance or reissuance by Service Canada and passport offices, but it is expected to take longer than this for the time being.

Meanwhile, Service Canada and the passport office said they would prioritize processing documents and express applications that arrived before the strike.

Starting in May, hundreds of fewer restaurants will participate in Toronto’s outdoor dining program than last year, a city study found. It seems that the number of restaurant owners who want to participate has decreased due to the changes in the city’s new requirements and regulations.

The application fee to participate is $865. From this year, we must create a patio that takes accessibility into consideration so that people with disabilities, such as wheelchairs can use it easily. Of course, the owners must pay for this renovation work, but they can also receive state subsidies of up to $7,500.

About 500 restaurants and cafes have agreed to these rules and applied for participation. The number of participants has decreased considerably compared to last year’s number of 837. The city had expected a lower figure but hopes that outdoor dining will continue to gain popularity as a summer tradition.

SPC Group’s bakery brand Paris Baguette opened its first store in Toronto in March.

It has been three years since the announcement to enter the Canadian market, and the number of overseas countries where Paris Baguette opened has increased to 10.

The first store in Canada is located on the first floor of the Young Shepherd Center (4841 Yonge St.), which has a high foot traffic, and has 20 seats.

It sells a variety of breads, strawberry whipped cream cakes, salads, and sandwiches.

Paris Baguette is aiming to open an additional seven stores in Canada in 2023 with hopes to open over 1,000 stores in North America, including the United States and Canada, by 2030.

SPC is currently operating over 450 global stores in 10 countries.

Huh Jin-soo, president of Paris Baguette’s global business, said, “Canada is strategically very important for global business as it is an English-speaking market but encompasses the French culture as well.”

Will we see single-seat, three-wheeled electric vehicles on the roads of Toronto?

The Ontario government is reviewing a plan to allow the operation of small three-wheeled electric vehicles even by revising the road traffic law.

To this end, the state government plans to verify the safety of three-wheeled electric vehicles through pilot projects.

The reason why the state government wants to allow the operation of single-seater three-wheeled electric vehicles is that they are cheaper than ordinary cars and judge that they help protect the environment.

If the pilot project operation plan passes, drivers with a G license can drive three-wheeled electric vehicles.

The downside of the three-wheeled electric car is that the top speed is only 32 km/h. Because it is so slow, it can cause traffic congestion on normal roads.

The width is narrow, so you can run on the bike path, but the risk of accidents is high.

Currently, the state government is collecting public opinion on three-wheeled electric vehicles.

1. Changes in housing types in Canada

Looking at the transaction volume of the Toronto Real Estate Association last year, approximately 45% of detached houses, 31% of condo apartments, 16% of freehold & condo townhouses, and 8% of semi-detached houses occupies In particular, the proportion of detached houses in Toronto is decreasing more than in suburban areas, but the proportion of condominium apartments will continue to increase as the land to build houses becomes scarce and the price of single-family houses rises. About 60% of new residential buildings to be built in Toronto in the future will be condominium apartments and less than 25% will be single-family homes.

2. The boom in purchasing condominiums for investment spread like a trend

As the type of residence in large cities in Canada shifts to condominium apartments, real estate investors are paying attention to condo apartments that are convenient for rental management in the housing market. According to Statistics Canada data for 2020, about 20% of Ontario residents who own a home own another property for investment purposes. In Nova Scotia, it is about 32%, and real estate investment is now common throughout Canada, where you buy and rent a second home for investment in addition to your own home. 42% of residents who purchased investment real estate for rental in Ontario purchased condo apartments, and about 45% of new condominiums in downtown Toronto appeared for investment purposes, not actual demand.

3. Increased investment risk for resale of pre-sale condominium

Assignment is the transfer of all rights and obligations of a new condominium unit to another person before registering ownership of the completed building. They usually resell for reasons such as difficulty in raising the balance or job transfer. If you buy a new condominium, you pay about $10,000 at the time of signing the contract, and after the Cooling Period (cancellable period), you pay only an amount equivalent to 5% of the sale price, including the down payment already paid, to become a formal contract. After that, if you pay the interim payment in installments of about 2.5% to 5% at intervals of 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 15 months according to the construction progress, only about 20% of the total fund will be invested, so if the condominium tax rises in the meantime, leave a profit It is an investment method that can expect a greater return on investment through resale in the middle. The amount of money invested until the resale is small, but if the market moves significantly, a greater leverage (leverage) effect can be expected.

However, while the construction of the condominium was in progress, the mortgage loan regulations became stricter, and the interest rate continued to rise. The mortgage interest rate, which was less than 3% at the time of sale, has risen to more than 5% now, and even if a high interest rate of 7% or more added by 2% is applied, a stress test to verify whether you can pay off the monthly repayment amount with your income (Stress Test) to qualify for a mortgage loan. In addition, as the Canadian government regards resale transactions as speculative transactions, taxation regulations under the Income Tax Act have also been strengthened.

Even if the loan is approved, if the ROI calculated at the time of the sale may not come out, you should consider whether it is appropriate to continue holding it. The problem is that if the mortgage loan is not paid and the balance is not paid, the down payment or interim payment may be taken off depending on the terms of the contract at the time of sale. Therefore, it is necessary to consider whether to dispose of it through resale or to sell it after first completing ownership registration with a non-bank loan (Private Loan), even if it pays a higher interest rate on the debentures.

4. Things sellers should consider when selling as a resale

Buyers who have signed contracts for newly built condominiums to be moved this year may not have as large a profit as they think through resale, even if condominium prices have risen to some extent over the past several years. Looking at resale-related expenses, (1) In the past, 13% was paid for resale margin and down payment and interim payment paid to builders. You pay 13%. (2) Real estate brokerage fees also cost about 4%. (3) Pay the builder a repurchase fee of about $5,000 to $8,000. (4) Attorney’s fees shall cover not only the seller’s expenses to resell, but also the builder’s attorney’s fees. (5) Lastly, if there is profit after deducting expenses, you must file an income tax return in the following year. In this case, it is 100% taxable, so it is combined with your other income for the year and the progressive tax rate is applied. So, if you’re having trouble financing your mortgage, you should also consider other lending options to weigh the pros and cons and opportunity costs of reselling.

5. Things to keep in mind for buyers when purchasing presale products

Is it really a good choice to buy a pre-sale condo just because it was sold at a good price? There are a few things to consider in making this decision. Often, we only look at the price of monopolized condominiums, but there are other hidden costs that must be borne. In addition to the acquisition tax, HST, and attorney fees we know, there are closing costs that must be paid until the balance is paid and ownership is registered. Although it varies depending on the size of the unit, the approximate utility connection and opening cost [about $ 700 ~ $ 1800], Tarion Warranty fee (about $ 1,000 ~ $ 2,000), administrative fee of the builder (about $ 1,000) , Development Charges (approximately $5,000 to $25,000) will be added.

Passport/immigration work and tax reporting are disrupted.

The National Public Service Alliance (PSAC) announced on the 18th that it would hold picket demonstrations at around 250 locations across the country from the 19th when collective bargaining with the federal government failed.

The strike will involve 155,000 federal employees, including 35,000 IRS union members.

If the strike is prolonged, passport, immigration, and tax reporting operations will inevitably be paralyzed.

The civil servants union, which has been confronting the federal government demanding better treatment, plans to strike but continue negotiations.

The union is demanding a 13.5% increase over the next three years, while the government has proposed a 9% increase over the next three years.

On the other hand, the National Tax Service requested, “Please use the online service as much as possible.”

The National Tax Service said that there would be disruptions to offline tax reporting, but that there is no major problem with online tax reporting, which is automatically processed.

The pent-up demand in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market has exploded.

According to March data released by the Toronto Real Estate Board on the 5th, 6,896 homes were traded in Greater Toronto last month, up 44% from the previous month (4,765).

Although the transaction volume is much lower than the 10,862 units in March 2020, the real estate industry is taking the significant increase from February this year as an encouraging phenomenon.

The average price of a home sold in Greater Toronto last month was $1,108,606, up $12,087 from the previous month.

The average price by type is detached house $1,468,651 semi-detached $1,087,924 townhouse $935,626 condo $703,566. Except for condos, all of them increased slightly compared to February.

The Real Estate Commission diagnosed that the recent announcement by the central bank that it would not raise the key interest rate for the time being had a great impact on consumers.

It is said that demand surged as consumers who had been watching while preparing for the housing market felt relieved that the mortgage interest rate would not rise and jumped into the housing market.

The Consulate General is warning that thieves are targeting valuables in cars.

No matter which city you travel to, if you leave valuables in your car, they can be stolen right away. Even if you lock the car door. Montreal is no exception.

The Consulate General in Montreal (Consul General Lee Jae-wan) said, “As tourists increase after the corona, theft crimes targeting valuables in vehicles are rampant.” In public places where a lot of people gather, such as personal items, you must be extra careful.”

According to Dong-A Ilbo’s coverage, a Korean on a business trip to Montreal last month parked his car in a downtown parking lot, but the criminals broke the window and stole his bag and laptop. Damages amounted to thousands of dollars.

Even the passport in the bag was stolen, and the traveler managed to return home with an emergency passport issued by the consulate general.

The Consulate General said, “Due to the lack of police force in Quebec, if you are in a simple theft accident in Quebec City or Montreal, you have to wait 1 to 2 hours for the police to dispatch.” he emphasized.

Last year, 220,000 jobs were approved, a 68% increase from the previous year.

Temporary foreign workers are a major driver of Canada’s economic growth.

Employers’ demand for expatriates is soaring amid record-low unemployment and labor shortages.

After the federal government last year expanded companies’ ability to hire migrant workers, employers were approved for more than 220,000 jobs through the Temporary Foreign Worker program.

According to a recent report by the Federal Ministry of Employment and Social Development, the approval of temporary foreign workers last year increased by 68% compared to the previous year. About 69,000 jobs were filled in the fourth quarter alone. They were mostly farm and food processing plant workers, and included software designers, engineering technicians, cooks, truck drivers, construction workers, and nursing assistants.

Canada’s largest population growth in decades has been driven by increased employment through companies’ temporary foreign worker programs. According to data from the National Statistical Office, Canada’s population increased by more than 1 million last year, the highest annual growth rate since 1957 of 2.7%.

Non-permanent residents alone increased by 600,000, including international students and temporary workers outside of the TFW program.

The Census Bureau report notes that while the federal government is seeking more immigrants to increase the labor supply as the population ages, the growing number of permanent residents will pose challenges for housing, infrastructure, and transportation services.

Economists also feared the program could “help companies avoid paying high wages and lead to the exploitation of migrant workers who are tied to their employers.”

In connection with the expansion of dental treatment support for low-income families within this year, it is expected that residents who have not received proper treatment for a long time will flock to dental hospitals across the country at once.

Accordingly, dental hygienists are preparing for visits by patients who have not received professional treatment for several years or even decades.

The dental industry expects a surge in appointments from people without private insurance for tartar removal and gum disease treatment.

On the 28th of last month, Federal Treasury Secretary Christia Freeland announced a plan to help pay for dental care for about 9 million people across the country with household incomes of less than $90,000 per year.

Last year, children under the age of 12 were eligible for support, and this year, the scope will be expanded to include those under the age of 18, seniors and the disabled. The government plans to expand the recipients of support to all adults by 2025.

The National Association of Dental Hygienists said, “There are enough dental hygienists to cope with the surge in dental visitors nationwide.”

Meanwhile, the specific timing of subsidy payment will be announced later.