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Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…
Experts say naturopaths aren’t family doctors
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…
Experts say naturopaths aren’t family doctors
In British Columbia, they have a wide scope of practice that allows them to prescribe medications and administer vaccines.
But that idea is raising alarm among medical doctors and health experts across the country.
Dr. Michelle Cohen of Queen’s University says naturopathic doctors might have a specific role to play as part of a patient’s health-care team, but they aren’t qualified to be their main primary care provider.
“They have a completely different type of training and they follow a different path.”
Cohen said she has looked “pretty thoroughly” into the training of naturopathic doctors and found neither the curriculum nor the clinical practice requirements equip them to diagnose and treat serious illnesses.
Nearly $1B spent on Ontario health agency staff
Hospitals and long-term care homes spent nearly $1 billion last year to fill shifts with nurses and personal support workers from private staffing agencies, an Ontario Ministry of Health document estimates.
Hospitals and long-term care homes turn to staffing agencies when they can’t fill all of their shifts with employees, and the temporary nurses and PSWs from agencies allow them to continue providing services in the face of staff shortages.
But agencies charge double or even triple the regular hourly rate for their staff, hospitals and long-term care homes have said.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones has repeated recently that agency usage is going down in the province.
Canada’s bright lights shine at music awards show
Halifax played host this weekend to the annual Juno Awards show, with singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado presiding over the music-filled event.
Sunday night’s show was kicked off by surprise guest Anne Murray, with the native Nova Scotian presenting the first award of the evening, group of the year, to Toronto band the Beaches.
Karan Aujla sailed to a fan choice win on the growing popularity of the Punjabi-Canadian music genre, which has seen its profile rise as more listeners gravitate to its fusion of hip-hop, pop and other mainstream sounds.
Pop sisters Tegan and Sara were honoured with the humanitarian award for their work with LGBTQ+ youth and Maestro Fresh Wes was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
More Canadians ditching TV for streaming: report
A new report suggests Canadians’ television viewing habits continue to shift toward streaming platforms at the expense of traditional cable and satellite subscriptions, at a time when the federal regulator is considering new rules to help level the playing field across the sector.
The annual Couch Potato Report released Monday by Convergence Research says 42 per cent of Canadian households did not have a TV subscription with a traditional provider by the end of last year. It forecasts that by the end of 2026, half of all households won’t be traditional TV watchers.
The continued growth of streaming in Canada came despite the average price of those services rising 12 per cent last year across the 10 largest providers.
Higher chocolate prices part of wider trend
Higher chocolate prices this Easter after bad crops on the other side of the world are just the latest example of disruptions in the food supply chain, a trend experts say consumers are noticing in growing numbers.
A February report by agriculture-focused co-operative bank CoBank said cocoa prices were nearly 65 per cent higher than a year ago, and New York futures prices were at a 46-year high.
According to Statistics Canadainflation data, the price of confectionary items rose more than nine per cent between January 2023 and 2024, compared with overall inflation for food purchased from stores of 3.4 per cent.
However, the past few years have seen a number of high-profile disruptions including a spike in lettuce prices due to flooding in California, rising orange juice prices because of bad crops and higher wheat prices linked to the Russia-Ukraine war.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 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)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 250 points in late-morning trading, led by strength in the base metal and technology sectors, while U.S. stock markets also charged higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 254.62 points at 23,847.22.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 432.77 points at 41,935.87. The S&P 500 index was up 96.38 points at 5,714.64, while the Nasdaq composite was up 486.12 points at 18,059.42.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.68 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was up 89 cents at US$70.77 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down a penny at US2.27 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$9.40 at US$2,608.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.33 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
MONTREAL – Quebec Premier François Legault says the Bloc Québécois must vote to topple the federal Liberal government next week and trigger an election.
Legault called on Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to summon the “courage” to ask the Bloc to support the expected Conservative non-confidence motion against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government on Tuesday.
The Bloc and PQ, which both campaign for Quebec independence, are ideologically aligned and have historically worked together.
But moments later Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said on X that he would not vote to topple Trudeau, saying he serves Quebecers “according to my own judgment.”
Legault made the comments after expressing frustration with what he described as Ottawa’s inaction on curbing the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec, especially asylum seekers.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he will put forward a motion of non-confidence in the government on Sept. 24, and specifically challenged NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh to back it.
The Conservatives don’t have enough votes to pass the motion with just one of the Bloc or the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Alberta Premier Smith aims to help fund private school construction
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