Media releases

• Tax holiday: Helping hand or inflationary harbinger? Brock expert weighs in

  Tuesday, December 17, 2024 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY – December 17, 2024 – R0144

  As consumers prepare for the final shopping blitz before the holidays, many were eagerly looking to the federal government’s newly implemented GST/HST pause to help trim down their spending.

  But Ernest Biktimirov, Professor of Finance in Brock University’s Goodman School of Business, says the government policy may ultimately contribute to a rise in the price of goods — and increased inflation — in the long run.

  “The combination of lower interest rates and the tax break is expected to boost consumer spending, thereby supporting Canada’s economic growth,” says Biktimirov. “However, these measures may also intensify inflationary pressures.”
  

  The Tax Break for All Canadians Act came into effect on Saturday, removing taxes on items like groceries, restaurant meals, drinks, snacks, children’s clothing and gifts until Feb. 15, 2025. The policy also came on the tail of the Bank of Canada’s announcement last week that it was cutting its policy rate to 3.25 per cent.

  The two measures combined were meant to “stimulate economic activity by reducing borrowing costs and encouraging both consumer spending and business investment,” Biktimirov says.

  While the Bank of Canada expects the tax holiday and interest rate cut will temporarily lower inflation in January, the long-term implications may be different, Biktimirov says.

  “Increased consumer spending will drive higher demand for goods, potentially exceeding supply and pushing prices upward,” he explained. “Additionally, the sudden removal of the tax may prompt retailers and restaurants to take advantage of the situation by increasing their prices.” 

  While this may be a well-intentioned measure of relief for Canadians at a time when expenses are typically high, Biktimirov also says “the temporary nature of the tax break suggests that any increase in spending could be short-lived, with a potential slowdown once the measures end.”

  Brock University Professor of Finance Ernest Biktimirov is available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University sackles@brocku.ca or 289-241-5483

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases

• COVID-19 saw more residents transfer to Canadian long-term care on ‘inappropriate’ antipsychotics: Brock-led study

  Tuesday, December 17, 2024 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE – December 17, 2024 – R0143

  A disproportionately high number of people admitted to long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic’s first year were on antipsychotic medications, recently published Brock-led research has found.

  The newly arrived residents, who mostly came from hospitals and community settings, were also prescribed these drugs without a psychosis diagnosis, says the study’s lead author, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences Luke Turcotte.

  “When a person doesn’t have any indications of psychosis, then we consider these medications to be potentially inappropriate for this population,” he says. “Because people on antipsychotic medications are at greater risk of falls, stroke and all-cause mortality, these shouldn’t be the first line of treatment for persons living with dementia.”

  In their study, “Antipsychotic Medication Use Among Newly Admitted Long-term Care Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada,” the research team identified about 84,000 people who were newly admitted to long-term care facilities in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario between March 5, 2018, and March 4, 2021.

  New admissions were grouped into categories based on the referral sources, including hospitals, assisted living facilities and private homes, in-patient continuing care and rehabilitation facilities, psychiatric wards and other sources.

  Using data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the research team compared antipsychotic medication use among people admitted before and during the COVID-19 period who had not been diagnosed with psychosis, as well as where they came from.

  The rate of “inappropriate prescriptions” for newly admitted residents rose from 22 per cent in 2018-19 to 27 per cent in 2020-21, the study says.

  The researchers also found fewer residents underwent a process called “deprescribing,” where patients are taken off medications that may no longer be needed or could be causing harm.

  Turcotte says antipsychotic medications are often used “off-label” to manage behaviours such as agitation, aggression and resistance to care, which are ways that persons living with dementia may express unmet needs and concerns.

  “It’s unclear why antipsychotic use in hospitals increased,” he says. “It’s likely that visitor restrictions limited families’ ability to support and advocate for their loved ones in the unfamiliar and potentially distressing hospital environment.”

  This latest research follows up on a previous study Turcotte published last year. It examined the impact of the pandemic on numerous measures of quality of care in Canadian long-term care homes and found an increase in antipsychotic drug use was widespread in Canadian long-term care facilities during the first year of the pandemic.

  The current study, published last month, did a deeper dive on this issue. It revealed that some of this increase was due to people arriving at long-term care facilities already on the antipsychotic medications coupled with a lower deprescribing rate within the first three months of their stay.

  Turcotte says delirium prevention initiatives, like Ontario Health’s Delirium Aware Safer Healthcare (DASH) campaign, are part of the solution.

  “These medications are often first administered to treat delirium, and their use can persist after the person leaves the hospital,” he says. “It’s important that we continue to empower health-care professionals to use person-centred approaches that put an emphasis on understanding each person’s life story and tailoring care to their individual needs.”

  Led by Turcotte, the research team includes researchers from St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Western University, the Lawson Research Institute in London, Dalhousie University in Halifax, SE Health in Markham, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, St. Joseph’s Health System, and Sinai Health, Toronto.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University sackles@brocku.ca or 289-241-5483

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases