Hundreds of Winnipeggers lined up outside multiple retailers across the city, with one shopper bellowing triumphantly: “It doesn’t even feel like a pandemic anymore — it’s Boxing Day 2.0!”
As the province eased public-health orders to allow the sale of non-essential items this weekend, parking lots filled up quickly Saturday morning.
Shoppers didn’t let the biting snow showers or even the mandated 25-per-cent capacity limits stop them from waiting outside storefronts for hours on end, before they could get in. Malls remained busy well into the evening, with larger outlets allowing up to 250 people at a time.
“Honestly,” Darrien Drewyer told the Free Press, as he queued up outside the Winnipeg IKEA with his young son to pick up a new chair, “I’ve been waiting for this for like months now.”
Drewyer — like all of Manitoba — hasn’t been able to shop for anything but groceries, pharmaceuticals or other essentials since mid-November, when the province enforced strict Code Red measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.
At Polo Park, a security guard said he’d never seen this many cars stacked across the space in tight rows in the many years he’s worked at the mall. “It’s madness,” he said.
“We couldn’t do a lot of Christmas shopping or even Boxing Day or Black Friday properly,” said Nicole Julien, waiting outside the Grant Park Winners outlet.
“I guess this is our chance now because the government finally said you can do it,” chimed in Julien’s boyfriend Henry Siloam, who wanted to purchase a pair of T-shirts he saw at a special in-store discount.
While most other large retailers, such as Costco, Toys”R”Us, Best Buy and Sport Chek were also chock full of customers, independent and small stores did not see the same level of foot traffic.
Just a few steps next to the busy Winners outlet in Grant Park Shopping Centre, which touts up to 70 different storefronts, Northern Reflections and other such outlets appeared barren.
Hi everyone, I’m covering business reopenings today @WinnipegNews.
Here’s what the lineups look like outside IKEA right now — where 250 customers are allowed in-store, per newly relaxed public-health restrictions.
Used DVD store Entertainment Exchange was relatively occupied with customers, however. At one point Saturday afternoon, at least 12 people were waiting to enter, while several others were already glancing over the CDs inside.
“I’m sure the larger businesses are extremely happy with this,” said Jonathan Alward, Manitoba director for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. “But I just wish people would understand that it might actually be safer and even quicker to go support a small business instead of going off to an IKEA instantly.”
Alward hopes, “once people have gotten things out of their system in the following days,” retailers could look calmer. He thinks a lot of it comes from having more than two months of pent-up cabin fever since restrictions were implemented.
According to the newly relaxed public-health orders, all businesses are allowed to reopen and sell anything they’d like, if they’re enforcing strict capacity limits, physical distancing guidelines and mask policies. Restrictions have not been eased for northern Manitoba communities.
The new rules have effectively closed all loopholes that emerged from a repeatedly changed provincial list of “essential” items, which advocates and business owners have argued impacted independent companies more than big-box stores. Smaller shops relied far more on curbside pickups, delivery and online sales — without necessarily having the infrastructure to match larger chains.
Announcing the measures Thursday, chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said the new rules are meant to “allow increased personal connections, support the well-being of Manitobans… and allow struggling small businesses to get a chance at opening.”
“It all depends on Manitobans,” said Roussin of the current orders that will last at least three weeks. “If we start seeing transmission of COVID-19 again, we’re not going to be able to further reopen.”
Looking at the lineups across the provincial capital on the first day of reopenings, Lisa Malbranck of Diamond Gallery isn’t sure if that messaging has come across for Manitobans.
“You know, they’ve talked so much about this ‘spirit’ of the orders,” she said Saturday. “To me this doesn’t really seem like the spirit of the order when you’re running off and flocking so quickly to the bigger stores.”
At her own store, Malbranck did not see any lineups. Save for the occasional walk-in customers, most people came in after they’d already booked an appointment.
“At the end of the day,” she said, “I just want our community to come together and support the ones these orders are really there for, as we return to some sense of normal again.”
Twitter: @temurdur
Temur.Durrani@freepress.mb.ca
Temur Durrani Reporter
Temur Durrani reports on the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic for the Winnipeg Free Press. Funding for this Free Press reporting position comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.
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.
