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Billionaire's Row, a collection of super-tall residences for the uber-rich mostly on West 57th Street in New York City.
Hard Numbers: Canada probes diplomat’s “billionaire” digs, Bread price-fixing charges prove costly, US passport power tumbles, Sofa sex hoax spreads
9 million: Canada’s consul general in New York is in the hot seat amid an inquiry into the government’s recent purchase of the $9 million dollar Manhattan condo where he lives. Tom Clark, who has served in the post since last February, is one of several witnesses who will be called before parliament in a scandal that could also involve Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly. The pricy three-bedroom apartment is located on the stretch of West 57th Street known as “Billionaire’s Row.”
500 million: Food retail giant Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. have reportedly agreed to pay $500 million over allegations of bread price fixing. A class-action suit was brought against the two companies and several other retailers, alleging that the firms were part of a 14-year price-fixing conspiracy that artificially hiked bread prices.
8: The global power of the US is clearly in decline … at least when it comes to the country’s passport. The little blue book has slid to eighth place in the annual Henley Passport Index, which counts the visa-free travel destinations open to citizens of every country. A US passport holder can currently show up without a visa in 186 of the world’s 225 countries. In first place is Singapore with 195. It wasn’t always this way: A decade ago, the US shared the top spot with the UK.
0: Despite a deluge of internet memes claiming the contrary, there is zero evidence that Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance ever had sex with a couch. A fake scan of several pages from the Ohio Senator’s 2016 bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy,” a memoir about his Appalachian upbringing, seemed to show he’d confessed to having had the curious congress with his cushions as an adolescent. But the entire thing was fake. That didn’t stop it from being shared hundreds of thousands of times. Whatever your politics, be careful out there on the internet: Hilarious hoaxes abound.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets dental students during his visit to the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry in London, Ontario, Canada, December 1, 2022.
Hard Numbers: “Missing teeth,” US-Canada inflation jinx, Kyiv calls out fatal footdragging, New border plan hits critical barrier, Toronto taxes rattle renters
4.4: What’s more unpleasant than a trip to the dentist? Not being able to afford to go to the dentist at all. A new report, amazingly titled “Missing Teeth,” says Canada’s new national dental insurance plan leaves out some 4.4 million Canadians — more than a tenth of the population — because the income ceiling for eligibility is set too low. In the US, meanwhile, nearly 70 million adults have no dental insurance, according to data from 2023.
3.4: Jinx! Canada’s December inflation reading is out, and it’s exactly the same as the US number from last week: 3.4%. That, like in the US, was above expectations, marking an increase from 3.1% in November. The readout undercuts hope that the Canadian central bank might start to cut rates again early this year.
53: Has Canada’s foot-dragging cost Ukrainian lives? A top Ukrainian security official suggested Tuesday that Canada’s 53-week-long delay in fulfilling its promise to purchase a major air defense system from the US for Kyiv had led to needless deaths, including — perhaps — that of his own nephew, who was killed near the front lines earlier this month.
2: A new two-year pilot plan to create preclearance posts along the US-Canada border — in which Canadian guards would work in US posts, and vice-versa — has run into pushback. NDP public safety critic Peter Julian says the plan, billed as a way to streamline flows of people and goods into Canada through a pre-clearance system, hasn’t been properly vetted by border guard unions or lawyers. He is threatening to uncork a formal parliamentary review.
10.5: Toronto’s government has proposed a new budget with an “extraordinary” 10.5% property tax increase. Officials say it’s needed to plug a budget shortfall of nearly $2 billion, and they predict that given the low existing tax rates, most homeowners will see an increase of only $30 per month. But tenants rights groups are bracing for any higher costs to be passed through to renters — an unwelcome prospect at a time when Toronto is already suffering a housing shortage.