Foreign buyer tax won’t fix Toronto housing crisis + MORE Mar 13th

Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX:WEED) is being added to the influential S&P/TSX Composite Index in another milestone for Canada’s fledgling marijuana industry.
The cannabis producer will be added to the index’s health-care sector prior to the start of trading on March 20, S&P Dow Jones Indices said late on Friday. It said it will be the first marijuana company to join the index.
Big institutional investors and index funds use the index to guide buying decisions, so being included can lead to more demand for a stock. Canopy shares were up 2.2 per cent at $11.07 late on Monday.
“Canopy’s inclusion upon the next rebalancing expected this Friday March 17, 2017 will likely drive more investors to the name, and the sector as whole,” Daniel Pearlstein, an analyst at Eight Capital who covers the marijuana industry, said in an email.
In order to be eligible for inclusion in the index, companies have to meet specific requirements with regards to market capitalization and liquidity…

Q: I borrowed from my RRSP and used the Home Buyers’ Plan to buy a home 21 years ago.  I then sold the home due to divorce shortly after that. I’ve never owned a home since. Am I able to purchase RRSPs now and use the money for the Home Buyers’ Plan once again? What do I need to know?
—Danita
A: You didn’t annul your marriage, but in a weird way you sort of annulled that first home purchase, at least in the eyes of the government.
Even if you previously participated in the Home Buyers’ Plan, you may be eligible to do so again. The Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) David Walters says that if “your HBP balance is zero on January 1 of the year during which you plan on making another HBP withdrawal; and you meet all the other HBP conditions that apply to your situation” you may be able to use the program again. What you need to do now is to call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281 and have them review your specific case to be sure.
Because it has been over two decades, here is a reminder on the basics:  The Home Buyers’ Plan allows you to borrow from your RRSP, up to a limit, to help fund your first home…

CBC.caTD Bank on defensive after CBC stories, stock plungeCBC.caTD Bank says it is reviewing "all of the concerns raised" by recent CBC News stories that revealed unscrupulous sales tactics by front-line bank employees. "TD is in the trust business. We know we must earn our customers' trust before we earn their …RBC's Janice Fukakusa sets pay benchmark for Canada's female bankersFinancial PostTD shares regain some ground after 'PR nightmare' sales target reportBNNTSX, US stock markets steady ahead of Fed interest rate decisionCTV NewsToronto Star -The Globe and Mail -Seeking Alpha -Baystreet.caall 52 news articles »

TORONTO — A new report suggests a foreign buyer tax alone can’t solve Toronto’s soaring housing prices.
The report, titled “In High Demand” and released Monday by Ryerson University’s City Building Institute, favours a tax on foreign buyers — similar to the one introduced in Vancouver last summer— but suggests it should be implemented in addition to a “progressive surtax” on expensive homes owned by people who aren’t paying income tax, including people with foreign capital.
“The surtax essentially gets wiped out if you’re earning money locally and paying taxes locally or in Canada,” said report author Josh Gordon, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University.

Foreign buyers aren’t driving Toronto real estate »

It’s a system that hasn’t been implemented elsewhere, Gordon said, though it was first proposed several months ago by his colleague Rhys Kesselman.
The surtax would target foreign buyers who don’t contribute to the local labour market, as well as wealthy Canadian citizens who have “aggressively evaded taxes,” the report said…

Canada’s big bank headquarters on Bay Street in Toronto. (Adrian Veczan/CP)
This article originally appeared in Maclean’s.
Royal Bank of Canada Chief Executive David McKay flattered some Bay Street reporters with rare interviews the other day, having just conducted another clinic in money making by guiding his 148-year-old institution to a record quarterly profit of $3 billion. What better time for a banker to subject herself or himself to scrutiny than amidst a flurry of zeroes?
.cbR{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:100%;margin:1em 0;border:1px solid #bbb;padding:.5em}@media (min-width:480px){.cbR{width:250px;margin:0 0 1em 1em;float:right}}Toronto isn’t growing fast enough to justify its bubbly house prices
Judging by the headlines, the scribes were either underwhelmed or uninterested by what McKay had to say about banking. He made news by talking about Toronto real estate. Not so long ago, Royal’s chief executive was fairly sanguine about Canada’s big-city housing bubble…