Senin, 31 Juli 2023

New cigarette warning labels on individual cigarettes in effect this week - Toronto Sun

Canadian Press

Christopher Reynolds

Published Jul 31, 2023  •  3 minute read

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New Health Canada regulations that require warning labels to be printed on individual cigarettes are coming into effect tomorrow. An example of cigarette packaging with expanded warnings, including a warning printed on the cigarettes themselves, is shown on a screen after a news conference, in Ottawa, Friday, June 10, 2022.
New Health Canada regulations that require warning labels to be printed on individual cigarettes are coming into effect tomorrow. An example of cigarette packaging with expanded warnings, including a warning printed on the cigarettes themselves, is shown on a screen after a news conference, in Ottawa, Friday, June 10, 2022. Photo by Justin Tang /The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — A fresh set of Health Canada regulations that require warning labels on individual cigarettes is set to come into effect Tuesday.

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The move, announced earlier this year, makes Canada the first country in the world to take that step in the ongoing effort to help smokers kick the habit and deter potential puffers from picking it up.

The wording on every cigarette, written in English and French on the paper around the filter, ranges from warnings about harming children and damaging organs to causing impotence and leukemia. “Poison in every puff,” cautions one.

The labels will dissuade teens leaning toward taking up the habit and push nicotine-dependent parents looking to fight it, predicted Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society.

“For youth who experiment by ‘borrowing’ a cigarette from a friend, it’s going to mean they will see the cigarettes — even if they may not see the package — where the warnings appear,” he said in a telephone interview. “It’s going to prompt discussion, including by smokers during smoke breaks: ‘What warning have you got today?’

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“Often it’s kids who are urging their parents to quit, and this provides new information and messaging,” Cunningham said.

Dozens of studies in Canada and elsewhere show the effectiveness of printing warnings on each cigarette, he noted.

Tobacco use continues to be one of Canada’s most significant public health problems and is the country’s leading preventable cause of disease and premature death, then-health minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in a May 31 statement announcing the new warning labels.

Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are banned in Canada and warnings on cigarette packs have existed since 1972.

In 2001, Canada became the first country to require tobacco companies to print pictorial warnings on the outside of cigarette packages and include inserts with health-promoting messages.

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More than 130 countries have followed suit, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Not all smokers view the escalating warnings favourably.

“I don’t think that will really change much. A lot of people will continue to smoke,” said Giovany Lincourt. “When I see a photo of a black lung, it hits me, but I still continue because it’s a bad habit.”

The 40-year-old Montrealer, who sampled his first cigarette at age 16, said still higher taxes would make a better deterrent. A pack of 25 typically costs between $11 and $16, depending on the brand and province.

“It hurts the wallet, because it costs $400, $500 a month,” Lincourt said.

Organizations funded by tobacco companies have opposed the push toward stronger messaging, including the latest step.

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The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco warned in June that cheaper, colourful black-market packs free of health warnings _ federal rules ban packaging that includes brand colours or trademarks — attract young smokers and funnel more money to organized crime.

Much of the coalition’s funding comes from the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council, made up of three of the biggest cigarette companies active in Canada: Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc., Imperial Tobacco Canada and JTI-Macdonald Corp.

While big tax hikes or outright sales bans would indeed benefit the black market, gradual price boosts and more strident messaging can bring down smoking rates, Cunningham said.

“The only real reason that they can oppose something is because it’s going to have a reduction in sales — and that is exactly the point,” he said of the manufacturers.

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King-size cigarettes will be the first to feature the warnings and will be sold in stores by the end of July 2024, followed by regular-size cigarettes and little cigars with tipping paper and tubes by the end of April 2025, Health Canada said in May. Blunt statements, including “Tobacco smoke harms children” and “Cigarettes cause cancer,” will be among the first six messages.

A second set of six is expected to be printed on cigarettes in 2026.

The Canadian Cancer Society and other advocacy groups are calling for a comprehensive strategy of beefed-up taxation, legislation and programming to bring down smoking rates — Health Canada’s goal is less than five per cent of the 15-plus population by 2035. Price promotions and flavoured products — allowed in some provinces _ should be banned, Cunningham said.

In May, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Lung Association and the Heart and Stroke Foundation published an open letter to premiers of all 10 provinces saying they should push for efforts to reduce smoking during settlement negotiations with three major tobacco companies that they sued years ago to recoup health-care costs.

Provinces are collectively seeking $500 billion in damages, and the three advocacy groups said at least 10 per cent of the money from a settlement should go toward smoking cessation efforts.

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2023-07-31 11:28:21Z
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Montreal to South Shore light-rail line opens | CTV News - CTV News Montreal

The new Réseau express métropolitain (REM) between Montreal and the South Shore officially entered service at 5:30 a.m. on Monday.

On Saturday and Sunday, tens of thousands of people used the new light rail system, which was open to the public free of charge.

Since Monday morning, five REM stations have been open on the segment between Central Station in downtown Montreal and Brossard station on the South Shore.

Bus transport over the Samuel-de-Champlain bridge has been halted, but several routes on the South Shore were redesigned so that buses converge on the REM stations.

Eventually, the network will have 26 stations stretching over 67 kilometres.

It is the biggest public transport development in Montreal since the metro was built in the 1960s.

The REM's prime contractor, CDPQ-Infra, a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, claims that the journey between Montreal and Brossard will take 18 minutes, 20 to 30 minutes less than the journey by car at rush hour.

The plan is for REM trains to be in service every day, 20 hours a day, and they will be connected to the three main lines of the Montreal metro.

Three other REM routes are still under construction, including lines to suburban municipalities to the west and north of Montreal, due to open towards the end of 2024, and an airport link to Dorval, which will not be operational until 2027.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 31, 2023.  

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2023-07-31 11:03:00Z
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Breakthrough in B.C. port dispute as new tentative deal is reached - CTV News

VANCOUVER -

A late-night breakthrough could herald an end to British Columbia's long-running port dispute, with the longshore workers' union and the employers' association announcing a new tentative agreement.

Details of the deal haven't been released, but both sides say in a joint statement issued Sunday night that they are recommending their members to ratify it.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the BC Maritime Employers Association say the new tentative deal was reached with the assistance of the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

The dispute, which saw workers walk off the job at more than 30 port terminals and other sites for 13 days at the beginning of July, entered a new phase late Friday night when members of the union rejected a previous potential agreement with employers.

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan announced Saturday he was directing the industrial relations board to determine if a negotiated end to the dispute was still possible, and if not, to impose an agreement or final binding arbitration.

Pressure had been mounting for federal intervention if a deal failed to eventuate.

Parties including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the Business Council of Canada and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business have all urged the federal government to legislate an end to the dispute if it continued.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2023.

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2023-07-31 10:14:00Z
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New tentative deal reached in B.C. port strike - Vancouver Sun

The two sides involved in a labour dispute affecting about 7,400 port workers in B.C. say they’ve reached another tentative deal.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and B.C. Maritime Employers Association issued a joint statement late Sunday saying a deal has been reached with help from the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which had been tasked with ending the dispute that had dragged on since the beginning of the month.

A joint statement from the union and the employers association offers no details on the new deal but says both sides are encouraging members to ratify the agreement.

The breakthrough in the dispute came after union members voted Friday to reject a previous deal, prompting federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan to intervene and direct the board to determine if a negotiated agreement was still possible.

O’Regan said that otherwise the board was to “impose final binding arbitration.”

The dispute over a new collective agreement saw workers strike from July 1 to 13, stalling billions of dollars worth of cargo from moving in or out of some of the country’s busiest ports.

Support our journalism: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 per week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.

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2023-07-31 05:26:15Z
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Metro grocery workers strike through weekend after rejecting tentative deal - The Globe and Mail

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Lana Payne, the Unifor National president, shouts alongside workers at a picket line outside a Metro grocery store in Toronto as workers rejected a tentative deal triggering a strike of nearly 3,700 grocery store workers in the Greater Toronto Area, on July 29.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press

About 3,700 grocery workers in the Greater Toronto Area set up picket lines outside Metro Inc. stores this weekend after rejecting a deal that the union’s president says didn’t adequately address wages and working conditions.

The company closed 27 of its stores on Saturday. However, pharmacies remain open through the strike.

The strike by members represented by Unifor Local 414 comes amid concern among workers that their wages haven’t increased much over the years while big grocers have seen large profits. The Competition Bureau said in a June report that the country’s largest grocers – Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Sobeys Inc. and Metro – reported more than $100-billion in sales in 2022 and earned more than $3.6 billion in profits.

Lana Payne, Unifor’s national president, said in an interview on Sunday that any agreement reached with Metro’s striking employees will set a “very important pattern” for the grocery sector, where other union locals will be negotiating. Workers at Metro rejected a tentative deal, the union said on Friday.

“They know that they’re not just fighting for themselves. They’re fighting for every grocery store worker and every retail worker out there,” Ms. Payne said.

Outside a Metro store in east Toronto on Sunday, about two dozen striking workers cheered as drivers honked their cars.

Eman Chaudhry has worked part-time as a cashier for four years. She and her family struggle to make ends meet to live in the city. As a part-time worker, she doesn’t receive any sick days. Ms. Chaudhry characterized the deal that was presented to members last week as “unfair.” She had hoped that the company would at least reinstate the $2-an-hour pay premium that workers temporarily received in 2020.

Ross: From actors to dockworkers: This summer of strikes is actually good for the economy

“They make millions of dollars every year … and they can’t afford to give their workers a couple of extra dollars to keep them living in their homes,” she said.

“We can’t even shop at our own grocery store. We can’t afford to,” Ms. Chaudhry added.

Marie-Claude Bacon, spokeswoman for Metro, said in an e-mail statement on Sunday that the grocer was “committed” to negotiating.

During the strike, perishable products that can still be sold would be transferred to other stores outside the Greater Toronto Area, Ms. Bacon said. Products that can’t be sold elsewhere but can still be consumed are donated to food banks.

Ms. Bacon said that the two sides had reached a “mutually satisfactory agreement that they unanimously recommended to employees” last week. The four-year agreement proposed wage increases above inflation. She also said that part-time employees who want a full-time position have “opportunities.”

But workers were not satisfied with the agreement. Responding to an offer that included wage increases above inflation, Ms. Payne said workers have fallen further behind in their earnings over the last few years, while inflation has steadily increased. About 70 per cent of striking members work part-time.

The workers want “decent pay and decent work hours to be able to support themselves,” she said.

Further, “this loss of the pandemic pay is something that is not sitting well with our members. They really felt that they went above and beyond during the pandemic to make sure that these stores could stay open,” she said, adding that grocers earned “historic profits.”

“We’re in a moment when working people really recognize their value to society and the pandemic did that for us,” Ms. Payne said.

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2023-07-31 01:37:33Z
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Minggu, 30 Juli 2023

Workers remain on strike at 27 Toronto-area Metro locations - CP24

Several Metro locations across the Greater Toronto Area remain closed today as thousands of workers at the grocery chain enter day two of a strike.

Some 3,700 members of Unifor Local 414 walked off the job Saturday after rejecting a collective bargaining agreement, effectively shuttering operations at the 27 stores where they work.

Stores affected by the strike include locations in Toronto and its suburbs, Brantford, Orangeville, Milton, Oakville, Brampton and Mississauga.

Metro says the affected stores will be closed for the duration of the strike, but pharmacies will remain open.

Metro has voiced disappointment with the job action, while Unifor says frontline grocery workers need Metro to come back to the table with an improved wage offer that addresses the significant affordability challenges they face.

Neither the company nor union has indicated when bargaining talks may resume.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2023.

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2023-07-30 16:17:00Z
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Sabtu, 29 Juli 2023

Western Canada dock workers union rejects labor contract - Reuters Canada

OTTAWA, July 29 (Reuters) - Dock workers in Western Canada have rejected a proposed labor contract that would have ended a dispute that has already affected trade and could have more economic repercussions by disrupting operations at the country's busiest ports.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, representing about 7,500 dock workers, had been negotiating a new contract with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) for months.

"The membership of the ILWU Canada Longshore Division has said no to the terms of the settlement," the workers' union said in a statement early on Saturday and called on its direct employers to come to the table for negotiations.

"We must bring stability back to our BC ports for the workers and businesses that depend on them," Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan Jr said.

The BCMEA said it was disappointed that the ILWU rejected a tentative agreement that would have provided a compounded wage increase of 19.2% and increased retirement payouts in 2026 to C$96,250 ($72,625) for eligible retiring employees, over and above employees’ pension entitlements.

The proposed deal also provided a signing bonus of C$1.48 per hour worked to be paid to each employee - equivalent to about C$3,000 per full-time worker - and an 18.5% increase to a Modernization and Mechanization retirement lump sum payment, the BCMEA said.

The BCMEA also said it would await further direction from the federal government on the next steps and that the ILWU had not communicated its next steps and would retain the ability to provide 72-hour strike notices.

The leaders of the dock workers union in Canada's Pacific region had last week backed the tentative contract deal with employers.

Some 7,500 workers walked off their jobs for 13 days earlier this month over disagreements about issues including wage increases and expanding the union's jurisdiction to regular maintenance work on terminals.

The strike has upended operations at two of Canada's three busiest ports, the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert, which are key gateways for exporting natural resources and commodities and bringing in raw materials.

Economists warned that the strike could trigger more supply-chain disruptions and fuel inflation while the Bank of Canada tries to cool the economy.

The world's biggest fertilizer producer, Nutrien (NTR.TO), has already reported an impact on business, while more than half of small Canadian business owners said in a survey their operations were expected to be affected.

"Enough is enough," Perrin Beatty, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce lobby group said in a statement, saying the country cannot face further disruption.

"To get our ports working again, we need to get Parliament back to work."

($1 = 1.3253 Canadian dollars)

Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Gokul Pisharody in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Mark Potter and Deepa Babington

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2023-07-29 15:22:00Z
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27 Metro stores in GTA close as workers begin strike after rejecting tentative deal - CBC.ca

Grocery store workers at 27 Metro locations in the Greater Toronto Area are on strike after rejecting a tentative deal.

Unifor said in a statement that front-line grocery workers at 27 Metro stores began strike action on Saturday at 12:01 a.m.

The union says the strike action comes after members of Unifor Local 414 voted to reject a tentative collective agreement reached last week.

Local 414 represents some 3,700 workers across the GTA.

Unifor says stores affected by the strike will include those in Toronto, Brantford, Orangeville, Milton, Oakville, Brampton, North York, Islington, Willowdale, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Newmarket and Scarborough.

Metro Ontario Inc. a subsidiary of Metro Inc., said in a statement that it is "extremely disappointed" that employees at the 27 locations rejected the agreement even though the union bargaining committee unanimously recommended it to its members.

"The company has been negotiating with the union for the past few weeks and reached a fair and equitable agreement that meets the needs of our employees and our customers while ensuring that Metro remains competitive," Metro Ontario said in the statement.

"The settlement provided significant increases for employees in all four years of the agreement, as well as pension and benefits improvements for all employees, including part-time employees."

Metro Ontario said the 27 stores will be closed for the duration of the strike, but pharmacies will remain open.

Tentative deal not enough, says union leader

The union has said its priorities for Metro workers were improving pay and access to benefits, as well as improving working conditions and stability.

Unifor national president Lana Payne said in a statement that the tentative agreement was brought to members because it contained "considerable gains" but they have made it clear that it isn't enough.

"This decision to go on strike comes after years of these workers being nickelled and dimed while facing increased precarity and eroded job quality," Payne said.

"It comes after having pandemic pay stripped away. It comes at a time of record profits and soaring CEO compensation. It comes at a time when life has become simply unaffordable for so many of these workers who risked their health and safety during the pandemic."

Gord Currie, president of Unifor Local 414, said in the same statement that front-line grocery workers deserve respect.

"You know the system is broken when front-line workers can't afford food, rent or gas," he said.

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2023-07-29 12:58:20Z
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Jumat, 28 Juli 2023

Threads has lost half its users since launch, Zuckerberg tells staff - CBC.ca

Meta Platforms executives are heavily focused on boosting retention on their new social media app Threads, after it lost more than half of its users in the weeks following its buzzy launch, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees on Thursday.

Retention of users on the text-based app was better than executives had expected, although it was "not perfect," said Zuckerberg, speaking at an internal company town hall, the audio of which was heard by Reuters.

"Obviously, if you have more than 100 million people sign up, ideally it would be awesome if all of them or even half of them stuck around. We're not there yet."

Zuckerberg said he considered the drop-off "normal" and expected retention to grow as the company adds more features to the app, including a desktop version and search functionality.

Meta is looking at adding more "retention-driving hooks" to entice users to return to the app, like "making sure people who are on the Instagram app can see important Threads," said chief product officer Chris Cox.

A company spokesperson declined to comment on the meeting.

WATCH | What is the Fediverse and what does it have to do with Threads? 

What is the fediverse?

10 days ago

Duration 1:57

CBC News TikTok producer Ashley Fraser unpacks how a federated social network running free open software on computer servers around the world — known colloquially as the fediverse — allows users to connect and communicate with people on other servers.

The executives' comments came a day after Meta wowed investors with a rosy revenue growth forecast, a sign of a comeback for a company that faced deep skepticism over its hefty spending on the metaverse last year as ad sales plummeted.

Zuckerberg told employees on the call that he believed the company's work on the augmented and virtual reality technology that would power the metaverse was "not massively ahead of schedule, but on track."

Meta, he added, needed to get started investing in that work ahead of rivals such as Apple, Google and Microsoft, given their years of experience building operating systems for existing products.

"That way, we have all the tools ready for when this is ready for prime time," he said, predicting that mass adoption of metaverse technologies would take place in the 2030s.

Zuckerberg and Cox also highlighted the company's release of an artificial intelligence model called Llama 2 this month, which it made freely available for commercial use to any developer whose services had fewer than 700 million users.

The model has received more than 150,000 download requests in the week since its release, Cox said.

Responding to a question on the proposed "cage match" against Elon Musk, Zuckerberg said he was "not sure if it's going to come together."

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2023-07-28 13:57:20Z
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Canada's economy grew 0.3 per cent in May: StatCan - CTV News

OTTAWA -

The Canadian economy grew by 0.3 per cent in May despite downward pressure from wildfire-hit oil and gas production but it looks to have slowed in June, Statistics Canada said Friday.

In its latest report on economic growth, the federal agency's preliminary estimate suggests real gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of one per cent in the second quarter.

The May figure came in slightly lower than was expected by Statistics Canada as mining and oil and gas companies reduced their operations in Alberta at the outset of the record-breaking wildfire season.

The energy sector was down 2.1 per cent in May, the release shows.

"This was the sector's first decline in five months and its largest since August 2020," the agency said.

The modest GDP increase in May was driven in part by a rebound in the public administration sector as most federal public servants on strike returned to work by the end of April. However, 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers remained on strike for three days in May, which dampened the rebound.

The economy remained resilient in the second quarter, but growth started to look weaker by the end of the period, with wholesale sales posting one of their largest declines in history in June, said RBC economist Claire Fan in a note.

"The resilience in consumer demand we've seen to date is not to be overlooked, adding to sticky inflation pressures. But momentum in services spending also appears to be waning -- gross sales at food services and drinking places have been trending at levels below this January for months," she wrote.

That modest growth is unlikely to hold, as the federal agency's preliminary estimate for June suggests the economy contracted by 0.2 per cent.

Statistics Canada says the estimated decrease in June is mainly owing to the wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors.

Both sectors saw growth in May as supply chain issues related to semiconductor chips eased, but the downward trend in June is expected to "more than offset the increases recorded in May," the agency said.

The slowdown comes as the Bank of Canada's key interest rate sits at five per cent, the highest it's been since 2001. The interest rate spike is expected to slow the economy down, though it has generally performed better than expected this year.

The real estate sector, for example, is expected to continue to grow in June despite high interest rates.

In May, home resales in most of Canada's largest markets led to an industry increase of 7.6 per cent.

A series of transitory shocks since April, such as the wildfires, has made the data more difficult to interpret, wrote TD economist Marc Ercolao in a note.

"Looking ahead, headline GDP figures may continue to be skewed by the government's grocery rebate and the effects of the B.C. port strike in July," he said.

But the the pullback in June will likely help support a hold on the Bank of Canada's key policy rate in September after announcing a hike this month, said Ercolao.

"Slowing growth appears to be in the cards for the Canadian economy, and we believe this will be enough for the (central bank) to remain on hold at its next meeting," he said.

The Bank of Canada won't hesitate to hike rates further if necessary, said Fan, but she added that "the worst is yet to come" for households dealing with rising debt service costs.

"We expect that will soften spending, push inflation lower and keep the (central bank) to the sideline over the second half of this year," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2023.

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2023-07-28 12:54:23Z
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Did Canada’s economy grow in May? StatCan to release figures - Global News

Canada’s economy kept growing in May, but early signs of a long-awaited slowdown started to appear in June, according to Statistics Canada.

The federal agency said Friday that real gross domestic product was up 0.3 per cent in May, with growth in services-producing sectors offsetting declines in goods.

A return to work among striking federal service workers helped lift GDP in May, StatCan said. An easing in supply chain kinks, especially among semiconductors, boosted automotive manufacturing in the month.

Rebounding housing markets in some of Canada’s largest cities drove real estate activity up 7.6 per cent, StatCan said. Construction activity contracted 0.8 per cent, however, amid a slowdown in residential building and renovations.

Click to play video: 'Upsizing buyers drove demand in Canada’s housing market this spring, new report says'

Upsizing buyers drove demand in Canada’s housing market this spring, new report says

Forest fires in Alberta dragged down growth in the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction industries in May, according to the agency.

The energy sector was “severely impacted” by forest fires, StatCan said, contracting 2.1 per cent in May — the largest decline in the industry since August 2020.

The month’s GDP figures are down slightly from StatCan’s flash estimates suggesting growth of 0.4 per cent in the month. April’s reading showed the economy was virtually unchanged, while it grew a slight 0.1 per cent in March.

Early readings for June show the economy contracted 0.2 per cent in June, though those figures could be revised.

Those same early estimates from StatCan show economy grew at a rate of 1.0 per cent annualized in the second quarter of the year. In its most recent monetary policy report released in July, the Bank of Canada said it expected growth of 1.5 per cent, revised up from earlier expectations of 1.0 per cent.

What does a slowing economy mean for the Bank of Canada?

The central bank has been working to slow the economy by raising interest rates in an effort to bring inflation to its target of two per cent.

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It most recently raised its key rate on July 12 by a quarter of a percentage point to five per cent, the highest it’s been since 2001.

The Bank of Canada has said that future rate decisions, including its next one on Sept. 6, will be dependent on what economic data shows.

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“The sharp reversal in June reinforces our view that the Bank of Canada is done with rate hikes,” Royce Mendes, head of macro strategy at Desjardins Group, said in a note on Friday. “Momentum is clearly slowing and the risks to the downside are growing.”

TD Bank economist Marc Ercolao said in a note that with the public sector strike and wildfire impacts, Canada’s economy has been hit by a “series of transitory shocks” that make the data difficult to interpret.

While he expects one-time disruptions in the data to continue with the impact of the B.C. port strike and the federal government’s grocery rebate rolling out in July, Ercolao said there’s enough in the latest GDP figures to suggest there was some “slowing momentum” in the economy heading into the summer months.

As such, Ercolao said the Bank of Canada should be satisfied with the progress in slowing the economy to date enough to hold interest rates steady in September.

GDP is not the only metric the central bank will be watching as it plots its next rate decision, however.

CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham said in a note that he believes forthcoming updates on core inflation and next week’s Labour Force Survey for July will be “more important” to the Bank of Canada in gauging whether demand in the economy has cooled sufficiently to leave rates unchanged.

— with files from Reuters, The Canadian Press

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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2023-07-28 10:31:50Z
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Riders set to test out new REM service, mark new era in Montreal public transit - CBC.ca

The inaugural rides on the new light-rail train system are set to take off today, ushering in a new era of public transit for the Montreal area.

The Réseau express métropolitain, most commonly known as the REM, is the region's largest transit project in decades.

When it's complete, the network will feature 26 stations that span 67 kilometres and connect riders to Montreal's South Shore, the West Island, western Laval and the town of Deux-Montagnes. The southern branch, which links downtown Montreal's Gare Centrale station to the city of Brossard, is opening today.

There are six stations on the REM's southern branch, including three in Brossard:

  • Brossard station.
  • Du Quartier station.
  • Panama station.
  • Îles-des-Soeurs station.
  • Griffintown-Bernard-Landry station (which won't be open until at least the end of 2024).
  • Gare Centrale station.

Later this morning, transit officials will be joined by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier François Legault for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the new transportation service.

WATCH | Sneak peek at the Brossard REM station:

Here's a sneak peek at the Brossard REM station on Montreal's South Shore

3 months ago

Duration 2:31

CBC Montreal's Kwabena Oduro got a chance to tour the Brossard REM station.

As part of that ceremony, the REM is scheduled to depart from Brossard at 10:30 a.m. and, within 18 minutes, arrive at the Gare Centrale where a commemorative plaque will be signed to mark the day.

At 1 p.m., the first users — including a group of people who entered a contest and won the chance to get an early look at the REM — will be able to embark, and travel between downtown and the South Shore.

On Saturday and Sunday between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., everyone will be able to get a taste of the REM and ride it for free.

The REM, which will operate 20 hours a day, seven days a week between 5 a.m. and 1 a.m., will launch its regular service on Monday.

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2023-07-28 10:06:29Z
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TC Energy splitting into two companies by spinning off crude oil pipelines business - Financial Post

Transaction expected to be completed in second half of 2024

The Canadian Press

Amanda Stephenson

Published Jul 27, 2023  •  Last updated 2 hours ago  •  3 minute read

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TC Energy Corp. oil storage tanks in Hardisty, Alta.
TC Energy Corp. oil storage tanks in Hardisty, Alta. Photo by JASON FRANSON/BLOOMBERG files

CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. has announced plans to split into two separate companies by spinning off its crude oil pipelines business.

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The Calgary-based pipeline giant made the announcement — which it called “transformational” — after the close of markets on July 27, one day before its scheduled conference call to discuss the company’s second-quarter earnings.

According to the company, the transaction will be completed on a tax-free basis, and will result in the creation of two publicly traded companies. TC Energy will look more like a utility company, with a focus on natural gas infrastructure as well as nuclear, pumped hydro energy storage and new low-carbon energy opportunities.

The new liquids pipeline business will be headquartered in Calgary with an office in Houston, Texas. It will focus on enhancing the value of the company’s existing 4,900 kilometres of crude oil pipelines, including the critical Keystone pipeline system which transports oil from Alberta to refining markets in the U.S. midwest and U.S. Gulf Coast.

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In an interview, TC Energy CEO Francois Poirier said the company’s board of directors has approved the plan, which comes as the result of a two-year strategic review.

Poirier said now, more than ever, it’s apparent that all types of energy are required to meet global demand. While TC Energy has its fingers in many different pies, from natural gas delivery to crude oil transport to nuclear through its part ownership of Ontario’s Bruce Power, the company felt that separating its lines of business would allow for faster growth.

“When we took a step back and looked at all the opportunity we had in all of our franchises, it was way more than we could … pursue as one company, given our financial and human capacity,” Poirier said.

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“It’s simply a case of having limited resources, and we feel like we can pursue a bigger percentage of our opportunity set as two different companies.”

Creating a pure-play natural gas and low-carbon business will help TC Energy attract new investors, Poirier said, though he emphasized that doesn’t mean investors are shying away from crude oil pipelines.

“The shareholders of TC Energy today really like that (oil pipeline) business,” he said. “It’s just that there’s been so much growth on the gas and low-carbon side of the business.”

Under the proposed transaction, TC Energy shareholders will retain their current ownership in TC Energy’s common shares and receive a pro-rata allocation of common shares in the new liquids pipelines company. The number of common shares in the new company to be distributed to TC Energy shareholders will be determined prior to the closing of the split.

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The transaction is expected to be tax-free for TC Energy’s Canadian and U.S. shareholders. Because that will require favourable rulings from U.S. and Canadian tax authorities which will take some time to achieve, Poirier said, a shareholder vote on the transaction won’t be held until mid-2024.

The transaction is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.

TC Energy has been under scrutiny by analysts and credit rating services this year for its significant debt load as well as for cost overruns on the Coastal GasLink project, which is currently nearing completion in B.C.

The projected cost of that project has grown to $14.5 billion, up significantly from a previous estimate of $11.2 billion and more than double the initial cost estimate of $6.2 billion.

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On Monday, TC Energy announced it would sell off a 40 per cent stake in its Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia Gulf Transmission systems to New York City-based Global Infrastructure Partners for $5.2 billion.

  1. TC Energy has said it planned to sell assets this year to cut debt and fund other projects such as the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia, which is facing cost overruns.

    TC Energy sells 40% stake in Columbia gas pipeline system

  2. Miles of unused pipe, prepared for the Keystone XL pipeline, sit in a lot on Oct. 14, 2014 outside Gascoyne, N.D., U.S.

    Ottawa urged to back US, not TC Energy, in $15B suit over Keystone XL

  3. TC Energy has approval from the U.S. energy regulator to begin service on a pipeline expansion in Arizona and California.

    TC Energy gets OK to start service on natural gas pipeline expansion

Poirier said he hopes to achieve an additional $3 billion in divestitures between now and the end of 2024, adding the funds will be used to pay down debt and clear the way for the growth of the two newly separated companies.
A portion of TC Energy’s long-term debt will be transferred to the liquids pipelines company on a cost-effective basis.

“We’re unlocking tremendous value, in my view, by creating two premium energy infrastructure companies,” Poirier said.

Poirier will remain president and CEO of TC Energy, while Bevin Wirzba — currently executive vice-president and group executive for the company’s natural gas and liquids pipelines — will become CEO of the new liquids pipelines company.

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2023-07-28 03:56:15Z
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