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How the Hong Kong protests led to the downfall of a renowned Canadian jeweller

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The company that mines Alberta’s official gemstone is on the verge of collapse after pro-democracy protests and the pandemic have combined to wipe out its biggest markets.

Ammolite is a rare iridescent gem found almost exclusively in Alberta, and Korite International, headquartered in Calgary, now produces about 90 per cent of the world’s supply. It was recently a rising star in the world of precious stones, with demand surging in 2017. But the company’s fortunes began to crumble when the unrest began in Hong Kong. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated its mounting financial losses, and Korite obtained creditor protection on June 30.

Ammolite is regarded as a Canadian national treasure, meaning the federal government must approve all applications to export it.

Ammolite comes from the shells of fossilized sea creatures called ammonites. It can be found in several places around the globe, but those found in a southern Alberta river basin are unique because of a thick layer of colour and iridescence, which are ideal for manufacturing gems.

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“All the colours are on top of each other, the same as a rainbow — and it’s all natural. So that makes it one of the rarest gemstones in the world,” Rene Trudel, Korite’s operation field manager, told CBC News in 2017.

“In this sediment, the preservation is incredible … you cannot find anywhere else the full spectrum [of colours].”

 

Rainbow-hued ammolite, a rare gem found only in a southern Alberta river basin, studs a piece of shale held by so-called spotters who watch for its shine as the shale is excavated. The ring on the left shows an example of the processed gemstone. (Sarah Lawrynuik/CBC)

 

In 2015, a group of Calgary investors, including former company president Jay Maull, took over Korite with ambitious plans to grow the business, scaling up mining operations and partnering with a distributor in Asia as they tried to raise the gem’s profile.

When they took over, the Korite mine, located south of Lethbridge, was expanded from less than one hectare to more than three hectares as the company said it was scrambling to keep up with surging demand. Executives had also reached a deal with a Chinese distributor to boost sales of ammolite jewelry in that country.

China has a unique interest in ammolite because Feng Shui experts are said to believe the gems can enhance health, wealth and wisdom.

In efforts to boost its domestic profile, the company signed a deal to sponsor the Calgary Stampede Royalty and was the official jewelry licensee for Canada 150, the year-long celebration in 2017 that marked the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

 

This 11-inch ammolite piece has a value of about $500,000. The fossils have been buried for the past 71 million years. The combination of heat and pressure turned the squid-like mollusc called an ammonite into the rainbow-coloured ammolite gem. (VPD)

 

The financial hardships began last year. A large portion of the company’s sales in Asia were at trade shows in Hong Kong, but those events were cancelled amid ongoing massive and sometimes violent protests, resulting in the loss of over $2.4 million in anticipated sales, according to insolvency documents filed by the company.

“Hong Kong people appreciate precious gems — the rarer, the better,” said Gordon Houlden, a former diplomat who has worked in Beijing and Hong Kong and is now director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta. He was in Hong Kong last year when Korite was at an exhibition showcasing its product to Chinese buyers.

“The demonstrations created an unusual situation: Transport was disrupted, occasional disruptions to the airport. I thought overall it was manageable, but it was having an effect on the local economy,” he said. COVID-19 has been far more challenging for Canadian companies who operate in Asia because of the travel restrictions, he said.

Korite was unable to recover this year as the situation in Hong Kong persists and revenues elsewhere in the world began to dry up amid the pandemic.

 

The first ammolite mine became operational in 1983, and four others have been dug since. (Sarah Lawrynuik/CBC)

 

The company also sells ammonite in places like tourist shops in Banff, on cruise ships and in Caribbean holiday ports. Those business lines were all hit hard as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the near total shutdown of the travel industry.

Three years ago, Korite had 280 employees worldwide. According to documents, the company currently has 12 staff members and an additional 31 employees who have been temporarily laid-off because of the pandemic.

Since early March, Korite has not recorded any new sales in the retail and cruise sectors, according to the documents, with a loss of over $6.1 million in anticipated sales.

At the end of April, the company had liabilities of $16.4 million and listed assets of about $20 million, including more than $6 million in property, equipment and mineral rights.

As with so many companies right now, the financial outlook for Korite is difficult to assess as Hong Kong remains volatile for an indefinite period and the global tourism sector is expected to take several years to recover. Even as some retail shops have reopened, there have not yet been any new orders for jewelry.

The company can’t sustain itself and must restructure its balance sheet and operating costs, according to documents.

Calls and emails requesting interviews with company officials were not returned.

The process is underway to find investors or sell either the company or assets, according to court documents, to help pay creditors.

Source:- CBC.ca

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1 dead, 2 critically injured after car crash in Montreal

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Montreal

Three people are in hospital with critical injuries after their vehicle crashed into a tree. Police believe they might be connected to two drive-by shootings that took place early Thursday morning.

2 drive-by shootings also took place overnight

an SPVM car near a taped-off crime scene
Montreal police are investigating a car crash possibly linked to two drive-by shootings. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Urgences-santé say one person died and two others were critically injured after their vehicle hit a tree in the Rosemont neighbourhood.

Montreal police believe the crash may be linked to two drive-by shootings early Thursday morning.

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The first happened around 5 a.m. on Pie-IX Boulevard. Police say a car was shot at repeatedly and the driver, a 41-year-old man, was injured in the upper body. He was transported to hospital, but his life is not in danger, say police.

Shortly afterward, shots were reported in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, near the intersection of Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Henri-Julien Avenue. No one was injured.

Police say they are investigating to determine if there is a connection between the collision and the shootings. Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says it’s possible those in the vehicle were involved in the shootings.

The province’s independent police watchdog is now involved.

with files from Chloë Ranaldi

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Pakistan airline crew sought asylum in Canada: spokesperson – CTV News

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Typically, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendants who arrive in Toronto stay at a hotel overnight, meet back up with their crew the next day and then fly to their next destination.

But increasingly often, PIA attendants aren’t showing up, the airline says. According to PIA, at least eight flight attendants disappeared over the last year and a half.

They have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.

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Increased occurrences

Abdullah Hafeez Khan said at least eight flight attendants “have gone missing” after flying to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He said these incidents have been happening over the last 10 years, but are now occurring more frequently.

“Since probably October of 2022, the number of the people that have opted asylum has increased tremendously,” Khan said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Karachi, Pakistan, where the airline is based.

“None of those crew members that disappeared in the last one-and-a-half years have come back. So they were granted asylum for one way or the other, and that probably has encouraged others to do so.”

The missing employees were fired immediately and lost their company benefits, Khan said.

Why did they flee?

Khan said he could only speculate as to why the flight attendants would flee.

The Canadian government underscored the volatile situation in Pakistan, warning in a travel advisory of a “high threat of terrorism,” along with threats of civil unrest, sectarian violence and kidnapping.

“The security situation is fragile and unpredictable,” the Canadian travel advisory reads. “Incidents are typically attributed to extremism, ethnic divisions, sectarian strife, regional political disputes and the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.”

It added that many deaths and injuries have occurred from bombings, shootings and other terrorist attacks at a wide range of targets.

Since Khan isn’t in contact with any of the missing employees, he says, he assumes they decided to seek asylum in Canada for economic and social reasons.

“So I naturally assumed that all of them have been given asylum because I don’t think they would be living there illegally,” he said, adding they may already have family connections in Canada who can support them.

In this June 8, 2013, photo, a Pakistan International Airlines plane moments before take off from the Benazir Bhutto airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

‘PR crisis’

Khan called the flight attendants’ disappearances a “PR crisis” for PIA that is “bad” for business amid a crew shortage.

The airline is in talks with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Pakistani law enforcement agencies to potentially create a “legal safeguard” to curtail flight crew from seeking asylum, he said.

When asked about the PIA flight attendants’ disappearances, Erin Kerbel, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said the department couldn’t comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.

In response to questions about PIA’s claim that discussions are underway about the issue, a spokesperson for the CBSA said it could not confirm any information.

“The Canada Border Services Agency does not provide comment or details on specific individuals, including any discussions that would take place with airline companies, as an individual’s border and immigration information is considered private and protected by the Privacy Act,” Maria Ladouceur said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

Since the crew members’ disappearances, Khan said, the airline has “done numerous things to curtail that.”

For instance, the airline is only staffing Toronto-bound flights with crew members who have “established linkages” in Pakistan, such as children, spouses or parents, as well as those who have worked in the organization for more than 15 years.

The airline avoids sending to Toronto those who are single or don’t have established family ties in Pakistan, he said.

Khan said he and the airline are no longer in contact with the flight attendants because, they discovered, they usually change their phone numbers soon after disappearing in Toronto.

Who disappeared?

The PIA flight attendants who vanished in Canada are seasoned pros in their late 30s or 40s, some of whom have worked for the airline for as long as two decades, Khan said.

“There was never any sign from them that they would seek something like that,” he said. “So that is something that is bothering us in the matter because working with people who have been working with you for a long time and then something happens like this is pretty unexpected.”

In one of the latest cases in February, the crew members were waiting to take the bus back to the airport from the hotel in Toronto and one of the flight attendants didn’t show up, Khan said.

The airline was unable to reach the flight attendant on her cellphone or hotel landline so, Khan says, they asked hotel management to check if she was OK.

“When the crew went there, she left her uniform there with a note saying, ‘Thank you PIA,'” Khan said, which he interpreted as a genuine sentiment of gratitude for her more than 15 years of service with PIA rather than a taunt.

Khan said the crew members who disappeared were “family values people” who had good careers in Pakistan.

Asylum policies

Individuals can make a refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry upon arrival or online if they are already in Canada, according to the Canadian government’s website.

Canadian immigration or border officials will determine if the person is eligible for a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board. All claimants must undergo health and security screenings, the government says.

If eligible to make a claim in Canada, refugee claimants can access social assistance, education, health services, emergency housing and legal aid pending a decision on their claim. Most can apply for a work permit after a medical examination.

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Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

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Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

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Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

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