The Canadian mining company whose Panamanian copper mine has sparked massive protests in the country says it is scaling back operations at the facility due to a port blockade.
First Quantum Minerals says its Panamanian subsidiary is ramping down activity at its massive Cobre Panama copper mine.
While one ore processing train has been shut down, two remain operational, the company said Monday. “This disruption to operations is due to an illegal blockade of small boats at the mine’s Punta Rincón port.”
That blockade is the latest expansion of nationwide protests that have roiled the country in recent weeks and brought economic and civil activity to a standstill.
The spark for the protests was the government’s decision to award First Quantum a renewed 20-year lease to mine the facility last month. While the company trumpets the economic benefits of the project, the contract renewal has tapped into long-simmering outrage on environmental, economic and other grounds.
Those protests have expanded beyond the mine itself and are now targeting the government of Laurentino Cortizo on anti-corruption and other allegations.
Protests showing no signs of abating
The escalating protests that have turned deadly. An American citizen has been arrested and charged in the shooting death of two protestors who blockaded a highway in another part of the country.
Panama’s Chamber of Commerce estimates that the protests are costing the country between $60 million and $90 million US per day.
The company says the port blockade has “affected the delivery of supplies for the mine’s on-site power generation plant, which is necessary for full operations and for safe environmental stewardship, including operation and maintenance of the tailings management facility. In addition, the illegal actions have hindered the loading of copper concentrate onto vessels.”
“The Company reserves the right to protect itself with all options available to it pursuant to its contractual rights and under international law,” First Quantum said in a statement Monday morning.
The company has trumpeted the economic benefits of the mine and has told CBC News in multiple statements that the protests are mostly about the government itself, not the mining contract, but locals on the ground in Panama say differently.
Kitty Quitmeyer works in Panama at a science lab and also helps out at an animal rescue (Andrew Quitmeyer)
Kitty and Andrew Quitmeyer are U.S citizens who run a science lab and work at an animal rescue in Panama, and they say opposition to the mine has been simmering for years before it erupted with the behind-closed-doors signing of the contract last month.
“It’s definite related to the mine,” Andrew told CBC News in an interview. “The whole country has rallied behind this.”
The Quitmeyers, who have joined the protests themselves, say that it is true that the opposition to the mine has since expanded into broad anti-government sentiment on a number of grounds, “but the first phase of all these protests starts with stopping the mining.”
“The root causes are for sure environmental but also very much economic,” Kitty said.
The company and government have trumpeted that the mining deal represents as much as five per cent of the country’s entire economy, and will bring in at least $375 million annually to the nation’s coffers, but Andrew says protestors don’t want to hear that.
“They already have a giant terraforming project in their back yard with the canal,” he said, adding that the canal has made Panama a rich country by some standards, but most of that wealth stays in the hands of comparatively few people.
“You could make it $1 billion a year, people aren’t going to see a dime of that.”
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.
