The past lahoo.ca Chinese New Year's Eve night became more and more lively, some people watched the lantern show, some people went to DT to count the countdown to the New Year! Some people took a bus to see the night view of Wufan Hotel on the other side from the north bank. Downtown Vancouver, major shopping malls, snow-capped mountains and casino countdown events are crowded!
The streets of downtown Vancouver are lit up:
Picture from: Little sweet potato @ big chestnut on January 1, 2024
Picture from: Little sweet potato @ Shimizu on January 1, 2024
Picture from: Little sweet potato @ Third Eye January 1, 2024
Picture from: Little sweet potato @ Third Eye January 1, 2024
松鸡山（Grouse Mountain）上烟花绽放：
Picture from: Little Sweet Potato @ North American Lao Xu Javier on January 1, 2024
River Rock Casino, the hotel pulls the whole atmosphere to the full:
Picture from: Little Sweet Potato on January 1, @Shirley2024
All the overhead trains, buses, and sea bus gates on Chinese New Year's Eve will be opened for free at 5 p.m. on December 31, and Vancouvers can be said to enjoy the carnival!
May we all be able to fulfill our heart's desires in the new year.
The battery of an electric bicycle caught fire and "exploded" on the Toronto subway!
On Chinese New Year's Eve, the Toronto TTC subway suddenly "exploded". The investigation found that the "explosion" was caused by an overheating of the e-bike battery and caused a fire. The owner of the car was taken to the hospital, but fortunately there was no life-threatening situation.
Picture from: x January 1, 2024
It happened at 3 p.m. on New Year's Eve when a rider brought his e-bike into a compartment at Yonge-Sheppard Station. Suddenly, the bicycle exploded and caught fire, the fire spreading bizarrely fast, and the smoke quickly spread throughout the open six-car carriage.
TTC staff shouted "get out" to people in an effort to evacuate passengers from the massive subway fire.
However, the fire became quite terrifying at one point. In Toronto, an e-bike battery problem in the subway has caused widespread fires like never before. Although there have been multiple reports of e-bike battery fires before, from homes to parking lots, and even on cargo ships.
The Toronto Fire Department has rushed to the scene to carry out rescue. However, the fire still caused serious damage to the carriage. Although some citizens have protested against electric bicycles entering the cabin, these owners seem to have no way to be caught, let alone ticketed.
TTC subway fire on Chinese New Year's Eve (Picture from: x January 1, 2024)
The bigger problem may be that, in some cases, tram batteries generate too much heat, so when they explode, it is likely to be "quite exaggerated".
In Toronto in 2023, there are dozens of fires caused by overheating e-bike batteries. One of them took place on Yonge St. In an apartment, two people were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. An industrial safety source has cautioned to be careful when an e-bike's battery explodes, as nothing else in the house burns as quickly as they do. At the time of the explosion, everything around the bike was likely to be destroyed.
The Toronto Fire Department has been warning about this issue. Because it's not new to them. Toronto Fire Deputy Chief Larry Cocco said, "The fire spread very quickly. At that moment, not minutes, but seconds, a spurt of hot air enveloped the entire room. You can't survive in that kind of environment."
In 2024, these will go up in price!
Over the past year, the soaring prices of everyday items in Canada have triggered a cost-of-living crisis.
So, will excessively high prices continue, or will they ease in 2024?
Statistics Canada analyst Andrew Barclay said that 2024 will be an important year, and there is a high probability that there will be no more inflationary effects of the epidemic and COVID in this year.
Entering 2024, experts believe that the prices of the following areas will rise and fall.
In terms of food, Barclay believes that food prices will start to slow overall, but depending on the category, the price of some food items will slow more than others.
In 2023, food prices have risen significantly, but at a slower pace and at different rates. For example, the prices of commodities such as fresh fruits, vegetables, chicken and beef have not fallen as much as the prices of pork and wheat products.
图自:Cole Burston/CBC
"We've seen food prices fall month-on-month for three months in a row," Barclay said. "
In December 2023, more than 30 experts from Dalhousie University, University of Guelph, University of Saskatchewan and UBC University jointly released a report estimating that food inflation will fall to 2.5% to 4.5% in 2024 from 5% to 7% in 2023.
Barclay said prices for meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables were on a "deceleration trend", which was good news for shoppers, but there were some minor issues to be aware of.
He pointed out that edible oils and bakery products affected by Russia's war in Ukraine have a higher inflation rate in 2023 compared to other products. However, this is starting to change, so it may ease in 2024.
On the property front, Zoocasa's agent and industry relations officer, Lauren Haw, said the past year had been an "interesting" one for the property market. And 2023 is a year of returning to normal, with sales rebounding after the March holiday and slowing down in the summer.
图自:加新社/Nathan Denette
Haw believes Canadians shouldn't expect prices to fall in 2024 for detached homes near downtown. Compared to the demand for this type of property, there is a severe shortage of detached homes located in good neighborhoods and school districts. She also doesn't think this type of property will collapse because there is too much demand.
However, for other types of real estate, the "price weakness" that began in 2023 is likely to continue into 2024.
Prices for properties around BC, including homes close to ski slopes and more remote areas, are starting to drop. This is due to the fact that people who worked remotely from home during COVID are now back in the office and back to city life.
Also, during COVID, interest rates were very low and many people qualified for a second mortgage and were able to purchase a resort-type property. And after a few years, their mortgage interest rates are likely to be much higher.
Haw noted that luxury home markets like Whistler, B.C., are an exception to the decline in resort home prices.
Another thing to keep an eye on is that more newly-built apartments that were previously purchased as investors could enter the market in early 2024 due to poor returns on investment.
At current interest rate levels, the rewards for being a one-bedroom apartment landlord tend to be that if you only make the minimum required down payment, then the cost of your holding shrinks.
As landlords face higher mortgage rates when renewing, their tenants may also be affected. Some renters are expected to have higher rents in 2024.
In 2023, Canadians are seeing an increase in average rent per month for new leases. It has reached its highest level in 30 years, and this is likely to continue into this year.
Other costs may go down. Statistics Canada analyst Barclay noted that Canadians are still choosing to spend their money on household durables as the cost of everyday items rises.
As a result of supply chain improvements, the cost of products such as passenger cars, furniture, and appliances has begun to rise slightly or fall significantly.
He said the cost of some services, including cell phone plans, is one of the fees that Canadians are starting to pay less.
Canadians still spend money on travel despite the higher cost of living, suggesting that consumers do have some savings and that they are willing to spend them.
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for October, flight prices fell 19.4% year-on-year. However, it is also difficult for experts to predict whether this trend will continue into 2024.
In Barclay's words, "In times of recession, or when people are really frugal, you tend not to see people traveling. But this is not the case (at the moment). ”