EDMONTON —
The situation is the same for provinces across the country: All have been told by the federal government to expect less vaccine doses for at least the next few weeks due to production issues overseas.
On Thursday, Canada announced that vaccine shipments from Pfizer would be impacted through mid-February and that allocations to the provinces would remain lower for at least the next two weeks.
How each province has responded to yet more news of vaccine supply issues has ranged from finger-pointing at the manufacturer to accusations Ottawa is withholding information from the public.
ALBERTA
Less than one hour after the announcement, Alberta’s minister of health blasted the federal government for “failing Canadians.”
“This is a grim situation that seems to be getting worse every week,” said Tyler Shandro, in a statement.
“Prime Minister Trudeau, Health Minister Hajdu, and Public Services and Procurement Minister Anand need to come clean with Canadians and fix this now. Anything less is unacceptable.”
Shandro said Alberta has been told it would not be receiving any vaccine doses in the final week of January and will receive 63,000 fewer doses than it had anticipated receiving in the first quarter of 2021.
Premier Jason Kenney, who retweeted Shandro’s statement, has also been critical of the federal government’s vaccine rollout in recent weeks.
ONTARIO
Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed disappointment with the vaccine shortage news Thursday afternoon, but directed his criticism towards a different target.
“Pfizer has let us down tremendously. It’s, again, unacceptable. You know, they have an obligation to meet the contract. And, again, they let the people of Ontario down, they let the people of Canada down,” said Ford.
“I know the federal government is trying and they’re doing everything we can. We need to explore every avenue possible.”
Ford expressed hope that Health Canada would speed up approvals of vaccines from more manufacturers, such as Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. So far, only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are approved for use in Canada.
SASKATCHEWAN
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe was quick to react to the news of vaccine allocation issues, posting a thread on Twitter.
Health-care workers are doing a great job of administering vaccines, when we get them. We’re a leader in the country in vaccines delivered per capita. But we can’t vaccinate people when we aren’t getting vaccines & when we aren’t getting accurate information from the fed gov. 3/3
A government news release said Saskatchewan was expecting a shipment of 5,850 Pfizer vaccine doses the week of Feb. 1 and that 118 total doses were administered across the province on Wednesday.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
British Columbia Premier John Horgan last commented on vaccine distribution on Tuesday, when he categorized the supply shortages at that time as a “bit of a bump along the way” but remained optimistic his province would receive its promised first-quarter allotment.
B.C. received less than 27,000 doses last week and hasn’t received any new doses since its last report, according to the provincial dashboard:
MANITOBA
Manitoba announced Wednesday that it did not expect a vaccine delivery this week and acknowledged supply disruptions could cause immunization appointments to be rescheduled.
As recently as Tuesday, Premier Brian Pallister appeared to associate the delays with the manufacturer, rather than the federal government.
“Our vaccine supply is not only limited but has been more severely limited in recent days as a consequence of decisions made by the manufacturers,” Pallister said.
FIRST QUARTER TARGET STILL ACHIEVEABLE: FORTIN
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who is leading Canada’s rollout, said Pfizer indicated it would still meet its target of four million delivered doses by the end of March, but there are also discrepancies about how many doses will be extracted from each vial.
Fortin said Pfizer is using more doses per vial than his team — six instead of five — and acknowledged that disparity is causing planning figures to appear misleading.
“I think we have a shared conservative numbers that allow provinces to plan accordingly, and will continue to share as much clarity as possible,” said Fortin, who said Pfizer indicated its global shipments would be down 50 per cent over the next four weeks.
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.
