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1 in 4 Canadians say they can’t afford the holidays amid COVID-19: report

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Well into the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, one quarter of Canadians have reported they won’t be celebrating the holidays this year, according to a released by Credit Canada.

The survey, conducted by Angus Reid in late October, revealed that 24 per cent of people across the country will not be partaking in any celebrations this year and that 21 per cent do not think they will have consistent income over the next six months.

Further, 44 per cent of those surveyed said they don’t think they will be able to accumulate savings over the next 12 months.

“While the holiday season is undoubtedly going to look different this year, it’s not all doom and gloom, and in fact these numbers aren’t that shocking given the trying times we’re in,” Keith Emery, a CEO of Credit Canada, said.

Shannon Lee Simmons, a Toronto-based financial planner and finance expert, agreed.

“I think that it’s absolutely something that is expected this year,” she said. “Some people have completely lost their income and they are on government programs and not entirely sure what their industries are going to look like, so of course those people are feeling the pinch in a huge way. Holiday spending is going to look absolutely different for them in a way that they probably never expected.”

She added that a recent found that Canadians are spending less in general on the holidays this year, all across the board.

“For people who didn’t lose their jobs, who could work remotely, whose industries are still relatively intact, I’m also seeing on the front lines that they’re feeling the pinch because they’re trying to prioritize other savings,” she said. “I think everyone is nervous about the uncertainty of the future.”

Simmons outlined some tips for families to get through the holiday season:

Get creative

Simmons said there are a host of ideas that families can partake in that are inexpensive or free, such as planning activities to do around the house, hosting your own holiday concert in the living room, or participating in any community events that emerge in your neighbourhood, such as a festive scavenger hunt.

“It’s just about making sure that we’re taking time to make it special,” she added.

Simmons said one idea that has been circulating this year is making a “favourites list” for every member of the family and then spending one day for each person over the holidays, doing their favourite things.

Be OK with spending less

Simmons said this is a year when it’s more acceptable for families to kick back and release themselves from the regular holiday pressures and stress that come with gift exchanges, parties and gatherings — and so they should.

“This is an interesting year because there’s none of that pressure this year so there’s no events, there’s no Christmas party, there’s no … endless hosting guests — there’s no events that usually cost money and add to some of that stress,” she said. “And that’s totally OK. I think that it gives people a moment to pause.”

Remove automatic credit card credentials online

Any online accounts that have your credit card data stored and allow you to click and purchase items within seconds, may not be the best idea for those wanting to save during this time of year, Simmons said.

She added that with more people at home and working remotely, online shopping has increased dramatically for many of her clients. And with credit card information stored and ready to go, it’s easy to make unnecessary purchases.

“Give yourself a 24-hour embargo and then if you still think that that was the right thing to do then go ahead and do it,” she advised.

Prioritize emergency accounts (if possible)

For those who do have an income and can save a little bit over the holidays, Simmons recommends putting aside some emergency funds, in order to start off 2021 on the right foot — and have a bit of a contingency plan amid an uncertain future.

“I think everyone wants to have a good January and I think that the holidays is real critical piece to how you feel about stuff in January,” she said.

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Conservative MP warns the Bank of Canada risks becoming too political. Not likely, experts say

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OTTAWA–The Bank of Canada is pushing back against Conservative questions about its independence from the federal government, saying its inflation target — not politics — is guiding its response to the .

The central bank was pulled into the pandemic political fray Thursday when Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre suggested the bank was enabling the Liberal government’s deficit-spending habits.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Poilievre warned the central bank to avoid acting as an “ATM” for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s emergency pandemic programs.

At issue is the bank’s unprecedented purchase of billions of dollars worth of government bonds in an effort to stabilize the economy, which has been rocked by rolling lockdowns during the COVID-19 crisis. The bank has committed to buying $5 billion in government bonds each week during the crisis, a policy known as “quantitative easing” which is intended to inject cash into the economy.

Poilievre called the practice — which has been employed on a massive scale by central banks around the world during the crisis, including in the U.S., U.K., and Australia — “printing money,” and suggested it was a “pyramid scheme.”

“Expanding the bank’s balance sheet during a short-term, once-in-a-lifetime pandemic lockdown is different than perpetually buying and inflating the financial assets of the wealthy at everyone else’s expense,” Poilievre said in a written statement to the Star.

“Trickle-down economics does not work. We need a bottom-up, worker-led recovery.”

The bank has said it will stop its quantitative easing efforts once the economy has recovered after COVID-19.

Poilievre’s characterization was challenged by independent economic analysts who spoke to the Star on Thursday.

“Every central bank is probing the outer limits of monetary intervention to an extent we’ve never seen before, but the Bank of Canada is hardly alone in this intervention,” said David Rosenberg, the chief economist at Rosenberg Research. “I mean, look what’s happened in the world around us.”

Rosenberg pointed out that the bank’s counterpart, the U.S. Federal Reserve, is openly calling on Washington for more fiscal stimulus to weather COVID-19’s economic storm.

“Is Canada behaving irresponsibly? I don’t see that,” Rosenberg said. “Is (Bank of Canada governor) Tiff Macklem somehow political? I find that really hard to believe,”

The Bank of Canada is not typically drawn in to the cut and thrust of partisan politics. As a Crown corporation, it operates at arm’s-length from the government and has legislated independence to set the country’s monetary policy with an eye to keeping inflation low.

While the bank’s efforts to stabilize the Canadian economy during COVID-19 are unprecedented, they should not be viewed as political said Scotiabank chief economist Jean-François Perrault.

“There is no question that central banks around the world … have needed to undertake absolutely exceptional measures to try and stabilize economies and put them on a path to recovery,” said Perrault, who previously worked at the central bank and in government.

“The bank is obviously an inflation targeting organization. That’s job number one, that’s its mandate. I’m 100 per cent convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the actions that they’ve taken were all done with the objective of stabilizing inflation.”

In a statement, the Bank of Canada said it has been “consistently clear that the policy actions taken by the bank during the COVID-19 pandemic are always guided by our mandated inflation objective.”

Alex Paterson, a spokesperson for the central bank, also pointed to a previous statement that the bank intends to continue its policy of quantitative easing until the recovery from COVID-19 is “well underway.”

The Liberal government was less guarded in its response to Poilievre’s charges.

“The Conservatives are recklessly politicizing the role of the independent, and widely respected Bank of Canada,” wrote Katherine Cuplinskas, a spokesperson for Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Alex Boutilier is an Ottawa-based reporter covering national politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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