The Importance of Provincial Budgets: Elbows Up and No Bracket Creep!

Some of the right things are happening in Nova Scotia, from the perspective of improving standards of living in that province.  And that’s important news because according to the Fraser Institute, Canadians have suffered the worst five-year decline in their standard of living over the 2020-to-2024 period since the Great Depression.  It notes, our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person decreased by 2.0% (0.4% annually) ; this despite aggregate GDP growth of 1.5% over the period.  Further, all ten provinces are experiencing stagnation, which is unique in our history.  So what’s the good news in Nova Scotia, at this critical juncture?

Evelyn Jacks was pleased to introduce Lewis Kent, this year’s New Advisor Award winner at the Distinguished Advisor Conference 2021. His incredible and inspirational story, below.  And yes, the search is on for the 2022 winner, who will win a free registration and main stage speaking opportunity at DAC 2022 in Niagara Falls October 16-18.  Check out Lewis’ amazing story:

Most advisors know that everyone should have a will and power of attorneys for property and health. But should everyone have a trust as part of their estate plans?  According to best-selling author Christine Van Cauwenberghe who is also VP, Tax and Estate Planning at IG, trusts are not for everyone. 

Global Families: Beware the Multi Million Dollar Tax Traps By Terri Williams What does the great wealth transfer look like post-pandemic and after tax?   The trend may be that sharing money and assets with the next generation will happen sooner rather than later,  according to a recent CIBC survey.

Investment Planning – What if Conventional Wisdom is Wrong? By Terri Williams According to Dr. Jack Mintz, who spoke at last week’s Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC), the global economy faces a very uncertain future because of the impact of the pandemic induced supply shock. 

On October 21, just a whisper before  many of the pandemic support programs for individuals and business were set to expire two days later, including the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) and Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), the federal government announced some transitional provisions. Now, new targeted COVID-19 support benefits are being introduced. Read on for details:

Trouble keeping or engaging staff?  It’s a common issue, but there may be a simple solution, according to Dr. Paul Bates, who kicked off the educational portion of the Virtual DAC (Distinguished Advisor Conference) agenda Sunday evening with an inspiring overview of what leaders need to do to create a workplace which leads to complete human flourishing.