Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says his government will do whatever it takes to rescue the province from an oil price collapse and he wants the federal government to step up as well.
“This is not just about Alberta. As Alberta goes, so goes the national economy,” Kenney said in Calgary on Monday, after markets closed with cratering oil prices threatening to drain billions of dollars from the province’s bottom line.
“Albertans, even in our times of economic trial, have been contributing $20 billion net to the rest of the federation through our federal taxes. Our ability to continue doing so is now at risk,” he said.
“Albertans have been good to the rest of Canada. It’s time to see the rest of Canada return the favour.”
Kenney is to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday at the first ministers meeting in Ottawa.
He said he’ll be asking for a range of relief measures, including financial incentives to help create jobs in reclaiming orphan wells, changes to payroll taxes and removal of a cap on fiscal stabilization transfers that would return about $2.6 billion to Alberta.
Kenney said his own United Conservative government will look at a range of choices that include borrowing money for more capital spending to boost jobs, a return to tax incentives to lure high-tech startups and directly subsidizing a barrel of oil.
The premier is also striking an emergency panel to be headed up by economist Jack Mintz with the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.
“All options will be on the table. I repeat: all options will be on the table to do everything that we can within our capacity to help protect jobs and Albertans,” said Kenney.
Alberta’s energy industry, already suffering from reduced demand due to the novel coronavirus, is taking a gut punch due to an all-out price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The price for West Texas Intermediate crude fell to US$30 a barrel on Monday. Alberta has budgeted its oil revenue based on US$58 a barrel. Each $1 drop in price represents a cut of about $200 million from Alberta’s bottom line.
Kenney, saying now is not the time for partisan politics, said he’ll be reaching out to rival politicians, including Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley, for advice.
Notley, speaking at a news conference in Edmonton, said Kenney needs to withdraw his recently tabled budget and submit a new one that recognizes how free-falling oil prices are decimating revenues.
Notley said the low prices will conservatively send the projected deficit for 2020-21 to almost $11 billion from $6.8 billion.
She said Kenney has left Alberta vulnerable by slashing corporate income taxes last year and using wildly optimistic oil revenue projections in the budget.
She also said Kenney was wrong when his government dismantled tax incentives last fall designed to lure more diversified businesses, including high-tech companies, to Alberta.
“Premier Kenney’s belief in his corporate (tax) handout has always been magical thinking, but today it has been exposed as pure fantasy,” said Notley.
“It would be profoundly irresponsible for the premier to press forward with this budget when the assumptions it is built on have been proven to be false.”
Kenney said he will not be withdrawing his budget. He noted it’s three weeks until the end of the fiscal year and the province needs a budget in place. He said the government will revisit projections in the summer when the fiscal situation becomes clearer.
Kenney also resisted Notley’s call to revisit an almost three per cent cut to operational spending. He said it remains a realistic goal given that Alberta spends more per capita than comparable jurisdictions.
Albertans pay the lowest overall taxes in Canada and there is no provincial sales tax. Both Kenney and Notley, saying it would be catastrophic to an already hurting economy, dismissed any increases.
Kenney’s UCP won last April’s election on a promise to focus on revitalizing oil and gas while eradicating a string of multibillion-dollar deficits and getting the rising debt under control.
At the time, Kenney criticized the NDP for what he characterized as mismanaging the economy by borrowing billions of dollars, thereby running up debt interest payments that would cripple future generations.
Kenney said last week that his government’s goal of balancing the books by 2023 might not happen.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
