Notley pleads with political foes, allies to support Alberta pipeline projects + MORE Nov 23rd

A 0 percent balance transfer card can help you pay off debt more quickly and boost your score in the long run, but your credit may take a ding at first if you max out the credit limit

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Not every record is worth celebrating. Instead, there are some dubious achievements that should prompt sober self-reflection. This is one of those times: A report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that Canadian households are among the most indebted in the world. In fact, Canada tops the list of countries surveyed.
Household debt is more than 100 per cent of GDP in Canada, according to the report, surpassing other developed countries such as South Korea, the U.S. and U.K. While most countries have seen their levels of indebtedness fall since 2007, Canada is a rare exception, digging itself deeper into the red. The OECD states the obvious: rising debt levels don’t imply immediate doom, but definitely increase a country’s vulnerability to economic shocks.

Some developed countries are absent from the above chart, notably Australia. Like Canada, Australia is dealing with frothy real estate markets and consumers who have an insatiable appetite for credit…

OTTAWA _ Alberta Premier Rachel Notley issued warnings to all political parties to take off their partisan blinders or both the environment and Canada’s energy industry will fail.
Notley was in Ottawa on Tuesday as part of a national outreach effort to get more buy in for pipeline expansions in Canada. In a speech at the Economic Club of Canada and a roundtable discussion with The Canadian Press, she pleaded with political allies and foes alike to work with her.
“You know that this issue transcends political divides,” Notley said.
She said the federal Liberals may get credit for approving Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion but now they have to get off their duffs and sell their decision to a skeptical public in British Columbia.
She demanded the Conservatives in Ottawa and Alberta stop pretending climate change isn’t real because it’s getting in the way of getting pipelines approved.
She saved some of her starkest words for members of her own party in Ottawa and other provinces, whose efforts to protect the environment cannot come at the expense of people…

Photo credit: Vancouver Airport AuthorityBack in June we brought you the news that the SkyTeam Alliance would be opening their first business class lounge in the Americas right here in Canada in Vancouver. Great news is the lounge opened up on November 15th to the travelling public and is now the 7th SkyTeam lounge globally. (Source YVR) Access is as follows per the SkyTeam Lounge website:Lounge Access PolicyFirst and Business ClassAll First and Business Class passengers traveling on, or connecting to/from, a same-day international flight operated by a SkyTeam member airline have access to a lounge. Lounge access will be provided only at your departure and transfer airports, and not on arrival. For connecting customers, both the domestic and international flights must be operated by a SkyTeam member airline and all segments need to be booked in First or Business Class. Simply present your First or Business Class boarding passes for the lounge agent to validate for admission.SkyTeam Elite PlusRegardless of their travel class, SkyTeam Elite Plus members traveling on, or connecting to/from, a same-day international flight operated by a SkyTeam member airline have access to a lounge…

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