Evening Update: Michael Spavor reaches multimillion-dollar settlement with Ottawa; Bank of Canada holds interest rate steady - The Globe and Mail | Canada News Media
Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The federal government has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with Michael Spavor to compensate him for the nearly three years he was incarcerated under harsh conditions in Chinese prisons.
The settlement came after Mr. Spavor threatened to sue Ottawa and fellow prisoner Michael Kovrig, alleging he was arrested by China because of information that he unwittingly shared with Mr. Kovrig. That information, he alleged, was later passed on, unbeknownst to Mr. Spavor, to the Canadian government and its Five Eyes spy-service partners in the course of Mr. Kovrig’s duties as a diplomat with Global Affairs Canada’s Global Security Reporting Program.
A statement from Mr. Spavor’s lawyer, John K. Phillips, confirms a mediated settlement has been concluded but he offered no further details. “The only thing any party is able to say is that the matter has been resolved,” Mr. Phillips said.
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Bank of Canada holds interest rate steady, offers few hints about timing of cuts
The Bank of Canada held the policy interest rate steady today at 5 per cent for the fifth time in a row, and offered few hints about the timing of potential future cuts. The interest rate has been at 5 per cent since last July, after one of the most aggressive monetary policy tightening campaigns in Canadian history.
With the rate of inflation growing closer to the bank’s 2-per-cent target, and the economy growing slowly, central bank officials don’t expect to raise interest rates further. At the same time, they’re not yet willing to entertain rate cuts, which would offer relief to homeowners with mortgages and businesses struggling to pay debts.
Opinion: The case for an April interest rate cut by Tiff Macklem
How economists and market bets for rate cuts are reacting to today’s central bank decision
More small towns in Canada will be able to choose which immigrants can settle, minister says
More small towns will be able to choose newcomers to settle in their communities under a pilot project to be made permanent by Immigration Minister Marc Miller.
The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot has been popular in towns such as Moose Jaw and North Bay, in helping address skill shortages. Now the Immigration Department plans to extend the pilot to more small towns, and to make it permanent in around 18 months.
Gaza ceasefire talks at an impasse as humanitarian crisis deepens
An Israeli army convoy moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from a position on the Israeli side of the border on March 6, 2024.Amir Levy/Getty Images
Talks of a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas were at an impasse today, as worries over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepened. Negotiators from Hamas, Qatar and Egypt – but not Israel – have been trying to secure a 40-day ceasefire in time for Ramadan, which begins next week.
Just yesterday, U.S. President Joe Biden urged Hamas to accept the terms of the offer, saying it’s in the hands of the militant group now. While Hamas has pledged to continue with the talks, officials in the group said a ceasefire must be in place before hostages are freed, Israeli forces must leave Gaza, and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they have fled.
“We are showing the required flexibility in order to reach a comprehensive cessation of aggression against our people, but the occupation is still evading the entitlements of this agreement,” Hamas said in a statement.
U.S. politics: Nikki Haley ended her presidential bid today, clearing the way for Donald Trump to win the Republican nomination. In a speech to staff, she refused to endorse Trump. Her bid was a last-ditch effort by Reaganite Republicans to take back their party.
Acne woes: A U.S. lab says high levels of benzene, a cancer-causing chemical, were detected in some acne treatments from brands such as Clinique, Target’s Up & Up and Clearasil.
‘Dead’ galaxy discovered: The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a galaxy that was “dead” when the universe was only a fraction of its current age. Many dead galaxies have been detected over the years, but this is the earliest by about 500 million years.
No more nukes: The Oscar buzz around Oppenheimer has prompted celebrities and activists to sign an open letter as part of a preawards campaign calling for an end to nuclear weapons worldwide.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street’s three major indexes and the TSX closed higher today as economic data and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reinforced expectations that the U.S. central bank would reduce its benchmark interest rate this year.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 68.03 points at 21,593.96. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 75.86 points at 38,661.05. The S&P 500 index was up 26.11 points at 5,104.76, while the Nasdaq composite was up 91.95 points at 16,031.54.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.92 cents US.
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TALKING POINTS
When governments got things done: Mulroney, Chrétien and a lost age of capacity
“The era in which they governed, 1984 to 2003, might be called the Age of Capacity, a time when governments took on big problems and fixed them.” – Andrew Coyne
Ottawa risks repeating Alberta’s climate policy of all talk and no walk
“Industry commitments to improve performance are a good thing, but the history of such efforts in the oil and gas sector shows that talk is cheap.” – Martin Olszynski and Sara Hastings-Simon
Measles is not some harmless childhood infection
“Before antibiotics were available, measles killed more people than influenza.” – Dawn Bowdish
LIVING BETTER
Revenge travel is over – it’s time to embrace better reasons for seeing the world
A lot of us who cancelled trips in 2020 during the pandemic booked “revenge” trips once restrictions lifted, eager to cross things off our bucket lists and regain all the time stolen from us. Revenge travel was born. But now it might be time to rethink that concept, writes Heather Greenwood Davis. “Travel has never been just about taking the trip. It’s about being present while you’re on it.”
TODAY’S LONG READ
A blocked exit and barrage of bullets: Video shows B.C. Sikh leader’s final moments
The entrance of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, BC on Monday, March 4, 2024. The Globe and Mail viewed the surveillance footage from the evening of June 18, 2023 at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. The surveillance camera, showing a similar wide-angle view, captured the shooting of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.Ethan Cairns/The Globe and Mail
The brazen slaying last June of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjarwas over in less than two minutes and was caught on surveillance video. The Globe and Mail has viewed the footage from that evening – including the 75 seconds up to and including the shooting that left Mr. Nijjar dead. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly blamed the Indian government for his death, an accusation that had an immediate impact on Indo-Canadian relations. Read more here.
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MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
