Reporter Jen St. Denis on the news stories that caught her eye this week.
Image: if Black Monday got you down, you could forget your troubles at Diner en Blanc. Photo: Dan Toulgoet, Vancouver Courier
Remember the scene in the Lord of the Rings where Gandalf is battling a fire demon in the Mines of Moria? Just when Gandalf thinks he’s vanquished the beast, the monster’s fiery whip snakes up from deep in the darkness to pull the wizard back down.
Whether China’s slowing economy results in a “soft landing” or something more like that fiery tendril, pulling the global economy back down just when we’d thought we’d escaped the lingering effects of the 2008 financial crisis, remains to be seen.
In rare good news for the Canadian economy, exports were up in June; on the downside, a Statistics Canada report on corporate profits showed that save for the financial services sector, there was been little growth in the second quarter. Meanwhile, a new report is predicting oil prices will stay low for the next three years.
The stuttering economy was front and centre in the federal election campaign, as Liberal leader Justin Trudeau unveiled a plan to spend big on infrastructure projects across the country — and said he would run three years of deficit budgets to pay for it.
Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson applauded the plan, saying Canada’s cities desperately need money for transit and affordable housing.
Stephen Harper got all fired up over the idea of planning to run a deficit, while NDP leader Thomas Mulcair also shook his finger at the idea. Meanwhile, economists Kevin Milligan and Stephen Gordon debated whether Canada’s economy needs this kind of stimulus at this time.
If Black Monday made you anxious, you could take your mind off your troubles by dressing in white and paying $37 for the privilege of eating fancy food outside with 4,500 other lucky guests who had managed to score tickets to Vancouver’s fourth annual Diner en Blanc, held this year at Canada Place. Business in Vancouver took a look at the unusual business model behind this increasingly popular event.
In a Jets-vs.-Sharks showdown, some Vancouverites dressed in black and gathered at Gastown’s CRAB Park to show you don’t need to pay to picnic and discreetly drink wine in a public park.
If neither black nor white suits you, Diner en Plaid sounds like a whole lot of fun.
Speaking of inclusivity and exclusivity, social media had something to say about Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s decision to speak at the men’s only Cambridge Club in Toronto this Wednesday. Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland decided to crash the event, a man in a bathrobe showed up, and Oliver cancelled his speech.
Because when it comes to the economy, we’re all in this together, right Joe?
@jenstden
