The country's bank regulator is looking into whether uninsured mortgages of more than 25 years pose a risk to lenders and the broader house market given recent concerns about soaring consumer debt levels.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is now in the process of talking to lenders and assessing potential risks in deciding whether it should take action, the Globe and Mail reported on Monday.

Annik Faucher, spokeswoman at OSFI, said the regulator routinely reviews mortgage portfolios with institutions to assess its guidance and effectiveness with industry.

"We are looking at the issue and doing some preliminary consultation with financial institutions. We are working to determine the desirability of some changes given current conditions in housing markets and recent trends in household indebtedness," said Faucher in an e-mail statement.

"A decision in that regard would be taken once we hear back from the industry. Any proposed changes to our mortgage guideline that

Canada's economy added 12,500 mostly full-time jobs in April and the unemployment rate held steady at 7.2 per cent, Statistics Canada said on Friday in a report that was characterized as reasonable following a couple months of wide-ranging volatility.

The report follows March's estimated loss of 54,500 jobs and a report in February that showed a gain of a similar amount.

"A reasonable-looking Canadian employment report for a change following some wild prints ... in the prior two months," Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a research note. "Mediocre job growth is consistent with a still-sluggish economy, and does little to change our view on the Bank of Canada."

Other market observers held similar views. "After two very volatile months where the net impact on hiring was virtually nil," said David Tulk, chief macro strategist at TD Securities.

The mixed report showed full-time employment was up 36,000, but the private sector shed some 20,000 jobs. Employment in the

Tax cheats beware: There will soon be a team of accountants and investigators given “unprecedented ability” by the federal government to track you down.

Ottawa says it’s making good on its recent budget promise to crack down on tax evasion and “aggressive tax avoidance,” by introducing a $30-million investment and a dedicated team to get the job done.

The team will be headed by a senior tax manager and will include about 10 staff from across the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with a mandate to “work exclusively and full‑time” to find people avoiding paying tax in Canada.

With its new, more aggressive stance on tax evasion, Ottawa is hoping to recoup billions of dollars that it says can be used to help pay down the country’s debt.

“Those who don’t pay their taxes by hiding money overseas place an unfair burden on law-abiding, hardworking Canadians,” stated Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue.

“International tax evasion is a serious issue, and we are dedicated to cracking down on those who

The fate of Toronto’s condo market has been a favourite conversation among Torontonians in recent years. Is it a bubble, or isn’t it?

A new report from CIBC calls Toronto’s condo market “reasonably balanced,” but one that “has not yet faced its ultimate test.”

That will come starting in 2014, which CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls “a turning point in the condo market.”

It’s when condo completions are expected to reach 35,000, which Tal calls “uncharted territory,” well surpassing the average 15,000 completions per year over the past 10 years.

That will put Toronto’s condo market in oversupply for the first time. Still, Tal said the impact on prices will depend on the reaction from both investors and developers.

“Overbuilding ... does not mean an inevitable crash,” said Tal, adding that it will spur a slowdown in supply, which has already started.

Earlier this week, Toronto research firm Urbanation Inc. said 2,728 new condos were sold in the first quarter of 2013, down 29 per

Housing starts in Canada dipped in April from March, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Wednesday, on a decline in urban multiple starts and is the latest report to point to the country's cooling house market.

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts was 174,858 units in April, down from 181,146 in March, roughly in line with economists' expectations. Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, noted starts were down 31 per cent from April 2012, which marked a four-year high.

"Canadian homebuilders are facing the new reality that the decade-long housing boom has ended, and are retrenching in orderly fashion," Guatieri said in a research note.

He added residential construction will act as a "mild headwind" for Canada’s economy this year, after adding 0.4 percentage points to growth in 2012.

It accounts for 6.9 per cent of GDP, compared with a three-decade norm of 5.7 per cent, suggesting plenty of room for moderation, he added. As a result, Guatieri sees

Mid-sized cities are feeling the bumps of Canada’s rocky economic recovery, with nearly half yet to bounce back from the recent recession, a new report shows.

The Conference Board of Canada’s first Mid-Sized Cities Outlook 2013 says 21 of 46 mid-sized Canadian cities studied have not recovered all the jobs lost during the 2008-09 economic downturn.

“This is a troubling turn of events, given that these mid-sized cities play an important role as economic engines in their respective regions,” said Mario Lefebvre, director of the Centre for Municipal Studies.

The report says the economies of many of these smaller places, from Corner Brook, Nfld. to Vernon, B.C., were ticking along nicely before the recession. When the recession hit, two-thirds of them saw a drop in economic growth. Ontario was particularly hard hit with all 11 cities studied suffering economic setbacks, while 10 cities in Atlantic Canada were spared, the report says.

In 2010, all but six mid-sized cities across Canada saw

Ontario drivers are crossing their fingers for a proposed 15-per-cent cut in their auto insurance rates, one of the few perks presented in the provincial budget unveiled Thursday.

Other incentives being offered by the minority Liberals - in hopes of getting their budget passed - include a 1 per cent increase in social assistance and a $200-per-month earnings exemption for people receiving disability support.

The Ontario government, under new leader Kathleen Wynne, is also vowing to invest $295 million over two years in a youth job strategy to get about 30,000 young people in the province into the workforce.

While these few budget goodies are seen as political olive branches to get the NDP to pass the budget, economists say some measures can help to stimulate Ontario’s struggling economy.

Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa said in his budget speech that auto rates are not only “hard on people’s wallets but it also presents a drag on our economy.”

The proposed 15-per-cent savings, which

Ontario's minority Liberal government released a budget that forecasted a smaller-than-expected 2013-14 deficit with spending measures aimed at luring opposition support in a bid to avoid an election.

The first budget under Premier Kathleen Wynne forecasts a deficit of $11.7 billion in this fiscal year. The budget, presented by Finance Minister Charles Sousa on Thursday, predicts a return to balance in 2017-18.

"Let me make it clear: our government believes eliminating the deficit is the single most important step we can take to grow the economy and create jobs," Sousa said in his budget speech, noting it is the fourth consecutive year government has beat its deficit targets.

"Eliminating the deficit makes resources available for strategic investments that will boost economic growth that leads to job creation."

To pass, the budget needs the support of New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath, who has said she will consult Ontarians before making a decision on what to do next. Progressive