Whether it’s mutual funds, savings accounts or stock trading, millions of Canadians depend on investments for their financial future.
But for some Muslims, faith took many monetary options off the table because of religious restrictions around concepts like paying — or being paid — interest.
It meant for years Canadians like Ammar Maqsud, who observes those religious tenets, couldn’t even put money in a standard savings account from his bank.
“They didn’t have any halal options available; I kept it all chequing. So basically I was losing money [due to] inflation, because it was not invested for many years,” said Maqsud, who works as an engineer in Calgary’s energy sector. Halal is an Arabic term that translates to “permitted” or “allowed” in English.
Ammar Maqsud is a practising Muslim who could not easily access investment opportunities until he started working with a financial consultant specializing in ‘halal’ products. (Anis Heydari/CBC)
Nearly five per cent of Canada’s population identifies as Muslim, according to Statistics Canada. That could mean up to 1.8 million people faced similar problems if their religious beliefs match practices like Maqsud’s.
While Islam does not typically ban investment, many practising community members cannot invest in companies that produce or sell religiously restricted products, which means it can be difficult to invest in accounts or financial products that may touch various sectors of the economy.
Bank stocks, typically held in many Canadian mutual funds, are off-limits to many Muslim investors. (Michael Wilson/CBC)
For example, any mutual fund that included bank stock would be off-limits to Muslims adhering to this religious practice. Maqsud pointed out this can make locating appropriate investments difficult.
“I think a lot of the Muslim community is shy of investing, period,” he said.
“They’re like, hey I’m not going to invest at all to begin with, and that is holding them back for sure.”
However, Maqsud is one of many Muslims taking advantage of an emerging market in Canadian investments — targeting customers who want “halal” options, or those that match his religious requirements.
No insurance, alcohol or pornography allowed
Calgary’s Hash Assad is a financial consultant with IG Wealth Management who focuses on this community. Maqsud is one of his clients.
“To be brutally honest with you, a lot of Muslims do not have a handle on what they can and cannot do,” Assad told CBC News.
Hash Assad specializes in selecting halal investments for his clients in Calgary. (Justin Pennell/CBC)
Most products that a Canadian investor would purchase from a financial institution are incompatible with the Islamic prohibition on interest, or riba.
“That makes most, if not all, conventional investments off-limits for Muslims. Things as simple as a savings account, not allowed…. Guaranteed investment certificate? Not allowed…. Bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds,” he listed.
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According to Assad, there are many other economic areas to avoid as well, and his job is to carefully select stocks and investments that do not touch any of them.
“The sectors that are not allowed to be invested into includes advertising, media, financial [products] including insurance companies, gambling, alcohol, pornography, weapons of mass destruction,” he said.
Companies must also avoid being too debt heavy so they aren’t seen as profiting or operating based on interest charges, said the financial consultant.
Halal meat, sure. Halal stock? Nope.
Even businesses you might not consider problematic can be off-limits to some Muslims. Take Loblaw Companies Ltd., listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange as TSE:L and running more than 2,400 stores including some of Canada’s largest supermarkets.
Loblaw stores might sell halal meat every day, but the company is not a halal investment, according to Assad, because its financial subsidiary makes money from interest.
Loblaws stores may sell halal meat, but Loblaw stock is not typically regarded as a halal investment according to Hash Assad. (Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press)
However, companies such Visa and MasterCard are considered halal by advisers like Assad, because while those companies process and facilitate debt and interest charges, they do not charge the interest directly.
Instead, it’s banks that charge and collect the interest. Hence, banks are not halal. Visa? To paraphrase their slogan, it could be everywhere practising Muslims want to be.
WATCH | Canadian Muslims gaining financial options with halal investments:
Creating more halal investment opportunities
16 hours ago
Duration 2:05
Roughly five per cent of Canadians identify as Muslim, and many face major investment hurdles because of religious restrictions. But more financial advisors are specializing in creating halal investment portfolios.
Assad pointed out that many Canadian energy and mining companies are considered halal, as are some technology companies.
Many stocks considered halal are also indexed by financial agency S&P, including a list of Canadian stocks called the S&P/TSX 60 Shariah Index. Muslim investors looking to keep their finances halal are also able to access these options, just as any Canadian could purchase stocks or indexes on their own if they chose to.
Social impact, not just financial
A Toronto economist points out that when financial advisers make it easier to choose halal investments, there is a positive societal impact.
“When a group is sort of excluded from participating in financial markets, they’re held back,” said Walid Hejazi, professor of economic analysis and policy at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
Walid Hejazi is an expert in Islamic finance at the University of Toronto, and says making ‘halal’ investments easier to access for Muslims has a positive social impact. (Chris Mulligan/CBC)
According to Hejazi, creating financial vehicles that are easy for Muslims to access helps create better ways to integrate various groups as they immigrate and move to Canada as well.
“It opens [financial] facilities for new arrivals in these communities that are so very important as gateways into broader Canadian society,” said Hejazi.
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.
