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Indigenous solidarity protests shut down Hamilton, Niagara GO trains, block Highway 6 – CBC.ca

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In response to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) moving to end a blockade by the Mohawks of Tyendinaga of a rail line near Belleville, Ont., protesters from Six Nations of the Grand River near Hamilton have shut down GO Transit early Tuesday morning.

Sonia Hill, who identifies as Mohawk from Six Nations of Grand River, sang medicine songs Monday night and supported demonstrators before voluntarily leaving.

The 24-year-old, who is a teaching assistant in sociology at McMaster University, said Six Nations will defend their land indefinitely and she will support them, despite fears of being arrested.

“I’m coming back tomorrow … I’m going to bring my students, make it a part of their credit, their attendance [to] ‘check in with me at the blockade.'” Hill and others were protesting Monday night on rail lines on hwy. 6 in Caledonia.

GO Transit announced on its website that “As the result of the ongoing police investigation along the tracks between Aldershot GO and Hamilton GO, our trains will not be able to service Niagara Falls GO, St. Catharines GO, Hamilton GO or West Harbour GO stations on Tuesday morning.”

The transit service says customers can take bus shuttles departing from those same stations at the same times as the cancelled trains. It says the shuttles will “connect customers with our train service at either Aldershot or Burlington GO. Lakeshore West.” More protesters gathered on rail lines below the York Boulevard bridge in Hamilton.

Riders should expect some “some additional crowding,” GO Transit says. 
Indigenous solidarity protesters have shut down GO Train service in Hamilton and Niagara with a solidarity blockade in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs opposing the building of a $6-billion Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline in B.C. (David Ritchie)

Cancellations and delays

The service announced the following trains will not operate this morning:

  • Niagara Falls 05:23 – Union Station 07:50
  • West Harbour GO 06:09 – Union Station 07:20
  • West Harbour GO 07:09 – Union Station 08:20

Hamilton & West Harbour passengers:

  • West Harbour: Departures at 06:09 and 07:09 – replaced by shuttle buses to Aldershot GO
  • Hamilton: Departures at 05:48, 06:18, 06:48 and 07:18 – replaced by shuttle buses to Aldershot GO
  • In addition to shuttle bus service, Route 18 bus service from Hamilton GO to Aldershot GO will run as normal.
  • There will be limited parking at Hamilton and West Harbour stations. Given the limited parking at Aldershot GO, commuters may want to consider using Burlington, Appleby or Bronte GO stations.

Niagara Falls & St. Catharines passengers:

  • In addition to the shuttle bus service, Route 12 bus service which departs from Niagara Falls Bus Terminal and St. Catharines Fairview Mall will run as normal.

A Facebook page called Wet’suwet’en Strong: Hamilton in Solidarity has been posting about the protest since it began. In an update Tuesday morning the group said it started the day by burning an injunction delivered by CN Rail.

It called for new people to join the demonstration, saying protesters were shutting down the rail lines because of the “violence perpetrated towards Indigenous land defenders and their supporters” and the “forced removal and criminalization of Indigenous people from their lands.”

The post adds “disruption is what we MUST turn to,” in order to make change and said the protesters will be in place as long as possible.

Rodney Leclair, an OPP media relations officer, said Monday that the Caledonia protest was a “solidarity demonstration blockade.”

Roughly 15 to 20 people were protesting Monday night on the tracks in Caledonia with small fires burning in the area between Aldershot and Hamilton at the Bayview Junction. The demonstrations come in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in opposition of building the $6-billion Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline in B.C., restricting the transport of goods across the country over the past two weeks.

Indigenous protesters near Six Nations of Grand River block Highway 6 in Caledonia in support of the Wet’suwet’en protests. (Andrew Collins/CBC)

The section of the tracks with protesters is owned by CN Rail. Company officials from CN and CP Rail told CBC News Monday night that they were aware of the situation and were monitoring it.

Blockade at Highway 6 in Caledonia

Roughly 20 protesters sat on CN rail tracks between Aldershot and Hamilton in a pro-Wet’suwet’en blockade after OPP moved to end the blockade by the Mohawks of Tyendinaga of a rail line near Belleville, Ont. (Jeremy Cohn/CBC)

Darien Bardy, 20, was also leaving with Hill. She told CBC News police officers vastly outnumbered demonstrators on the tracks.

“It not only affects the Indigenous community, it affects everyone,” she said.

Hamilton police declined to provide a comment and would not allow media to approach the railroad Monday night. 

Highway 6 is closed between Argyle Street South and Greens Road in Caledonia. The protest is close to the Six Nations reserve just outside Caledonia on the bypass over the Grand River.

The OPP tweeted drivers in the area should expect traffic delays.

“Please be patient if impacted,” the message advises.

Bettee Giles, 71, lives in Caledonia and says she saw a similar demonstration last week. She told CBC News she spent an hour in traffic because of it, but the demonstration didn’t upset her.

“They were standing there very peacefully,” she said.

Sonia Hill says they won’t stop fighting.

“Until RCMP are cleared off Wet’suwet’en land … we’ll continue to stand here in Hamilton, we’ll continue to stand across Turtle Island and block the rails. This is not it; Hamilton is not it at all.” 
Darien Bardy and Sonia Hill participate in the Six Nations of Grand River demonstration along CN rail lines between Burlington, Ont., and Hamilton. The blockade interrupted GO Transit service Monday night and Tuesday morning. (David Ritchie)

 

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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