XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ab.politics   
   XPost: sk.politics, man.politics, mtl.general   
   From: Panca@nyet.ca   
      
   So much for Harper's 'economic record', eh?  The Cons must be referring to a   
   long-play record on a turntable in his home somewhere . . .   
   The only ones that have come out ahead under this government are the oil   
   companies and foreign workers.  Canadians are sucking wind.   
   _________________________________________________________   
   The Canadian Press - December 15, 2014   
      
      
   Canadian household debt climbs to record levels   
      
      
   TORONTO - Canadian household debt hit a record high during the third quarter,   
   as it grew at a faster pace than disposable income, according to the latest   
   figures from Statistics Canada.   
      
   The total amount of credit market debt — which includes mortgages,   
   non-mortgage   
   loans and consumer credit — held by Canadian households increased to 162.6   
   per   
   cent of disposable income during the quarter, from a revised 161.5 per cent in   
   the previous quarter.   
      
   That means Canadians owed about $1.63 for every dollar of disposable income in   
   the third quarter.   
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   The previous record of 161.7 per cent was set in the third quarter of 2013.   
      
   RBC economist Laura Cooper said the high ratio of debt relative to net worth   
   will reinforce the Bank of Canada's cautious approach to raising its benchmark   
   interest rate.   
      
   "Consumers have amassed record levels of outstanding debt as a protracted   
   period of depressed borrowing rates has sustained buoyant housing market   
   activity," Cooper said in a note.   
      
   The bank's overnight rate, which generally influences the interest rate charged   
   by lenders for variable rate mortgages and lines of credit, has remained at one   
   per cent for more than four years.   
      
   Cooper noted that more timely data from the Bank of Canada suggests the   
   accumulation of mortgage debt has settled into a more steady pace, although   
   non-mortgage loans have picked up some of the slack.   
      
   "Notably, the Bank of Canada perceives the risk of an unwinding of household   
   imbalances as still low and against a strengthening economic backdrop is   
   expected to raise the overnight rate in small, incremental hikes beginning in   
   mid-2015," Cooper said.   
      
   "We anticipate that while outstanding credit balances will likely rise further,   
   this will be accompanied by steady income gains, resulting in the   
   debt-to-income ratio stabilizing, albeit at elevated levels in upcoming   
   quarters."   
      
   During the quarter, households borrowed $27.4 billion, primarily mortgages.   
      
   In total, Canadian households had $1,805 billion in credit market debt at the   
   end of the third quarter — an increase of about 1.5 per cent.   
      
   The increase was on par with the gain made during the previous quarter.   
      
   Meanwhile, the debt service ratio — the amount of interest paid on mortgage   
   and   
   non-mortgage debt as a proportion of disposable income — declined to 6.8 per   
   cent, an "all-time low," according to Statistics Canada.   
      
   Both the mortgage debt service ratio and the consumer credit debt service ratio   
   edged down during the quarter.   
      
   Household net worth climbed 1.3 per cent during the quarter, after a 2.2 per   
   cent increase in the previous quarter. Household net work was $232,200 on a per   
   capita basis.   
      
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