Politicians, environmentalists and Metis leaders were among those reacting to the bombshell news Sunday night that mining giant Teck Resources was withdrawing its application for a $20-billion oilsands mine.
That included Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, who said on Monday that his government would introduce legislation to protect what he calls “critical infrastructure” in the province, including railways.
Bill 1 would enact “new stiff penalties for anyone who riots on or who tries to impair critical infrastructure in the province of Alberta,” he said.
“The government of Alberta is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure our economic future, including a future of natural resource development. We will not back down.”
Kenney also said that while his government believes in free market solutions, it would look at ways to directly invest in the energy sector due to “existential threats.”
He did not provide details.
“We will, as a government, be assessing in which ways we may need to ensure future investment in the Canadian energy sector to ensure an economic future for this province. There will be news in that sense to come.”
The Teck Frontier mine had become a focal point of national debate around climate change and the economy, and its chief executive cited that nexus as one of the reasons the company was stepping aside.
Don Lindsay wrote in a letter to Canada’s environment minister that he hoped stepping away from Frontier would help Canada have a much-needed conversation.
He reiterated that sentiment Monday morning at an investors conference in Florida and said it became clear in the “past few days” that there was no clear path forward for the project.
Lindsay also pointed to the blockades that have sprung up across the country, jamming national rail networks in protest against a natural gas pipeline in B.C., as having a significant impact on the company.
“As a result of these illegal blockades, there has been some deep concern expressed across the country, in particular with relation to the safety of railway employees, to the safety of the public and the protesters and the effects they’re having on the Canadian economy and individual Canadians,” said Lindsay.
“As Canada’s largest railway shipper, the blockades have had a significant impact on our steelmaking coal business. Together with the severe weather in January, the blockades have reduced our steelmaking coal shipments by over one million tons in the first quarter of 2020.”
Teck’s Frontier oilsands project was planned for northern Alberta. The company pulled its application for the project on Sunday. (CBC News)
He told the investors’ conference that Teck has no timeline for a possible resubmission of the project for approval and will focus on its priority projects, including a copper mine in Chile.
A portion of his presentation also focused on the company’s plans to be carbon neutral by 2050, in alignment with the goals of the federal government.
“Teck has set out an initial roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality by first avoiding emissions and then eliminating or minimizing emissions,” read one of Lindsay’s presentation slides.
Frontier becomes flashpoint
Frontier was recently thrust into the role as both saviour of the Alberta economy and death knell of Canada’s climate action, depending on who was doing the talking.
A group of Conservative MPs even linked its approval to Alberta’s willingness to stay in confederation as part of their Buffalo Declaration.
That view was echoed by Kenney on Sunday night.
“The factors that led to today’s decision further weaken national unity.… We did our part, but the federal government’s inability to convey a clear or unified position let us, and Teck, down,” Kenney said.
Kenney was scheduled to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. MT (4 p.m. ET) today to address the withdrawal and an anticipated ruling from the Alberta Court of Appeal on the province’s challenge to the federal carbon tax.
At the federal level, outgoing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of driving away investment due to his “weakness and fear” in dealing with opponents of oilsands development.
Trudeau, for his part, said Teck’s decision and the reasoning behind it show support for the actions of his government.
“Teck said clearly we support strong actions to enable the transition to a low carbon future,” said Trudeau in question period on Monday. “Teck is also a strong supporter of Canada’s action on climate pricing and other climate policies such as legislated caps on oilsands emissions.
“It is the Conservative Party polarizing the debate on climate change that is putting our economy at risk.”
Notley urges Kenney to ‘step up’
In Alberta, NDP Leader Rachel Notley blamed Kenney for making the project a “political football” and said his aggressive approach to supporting the province’s oil and gas sector is to blame for the end of Frontier.
“My message to the premier is this: yelling at other people does not create jobs, except maybe for Tom Olsen,” she said, taking a shot at the chief executive officer of the Canadian Energy Centre.
“In this case, it cost us jobs, at least 7,000. Albertans cannot afford more of this. Step up before our province gets left behind.”
She said international investors are looking for strong climate strategies that offer clarity to industry.
One of the groups impacted by the death of the project is the Fort McKay Métis, which stood to reap economic rewards and employment from the mine. It supported Teck’s application.
Fort McKay reaction
Ron Quintal, president of the Fort McKay Métis, said he was shocked when an executive vice-president of Teck called him to alert him to the news.
Teck Resources has withdrawn the application for its new Frontier oilsands mine. The federal government was supposed to decide on the $20-billion project this week. 2:42
“I had anticipated that perhaps the phone call was to meet in Ottawa ahead of the decision,” he said.
He’s not sure what’s next for his group, and said they’re in “damage control mode.” He acknowledged that even if Teck resubmitted the project, it could be years before anything came of it.
“I think that there needs to be some work around policy, there needs to be some work with the federal and provincial governments to try to find a different path forward in terms of how we get our energy to market,” said Quintal.
“And from my perspective, we’re not cutting the mustard at this point and something’s got to give.”
‘Market-based decision’
Environmentalists, meanwhile, were applauding the death of the project as a win for climate change efforts.
Julia Levin, climate and energy program manager with Environmental Defence, said the decision is the inevitable result of a shift away from fossil fuels.
“This was a market-based decision. Teck couldn’t find financial partners willing to take on a high-cost, high-emission, long-duration oilsands mine, because markets are realizing that projects like the Frontier mine are high-risk and uneconomical,” she said in an emailed statement.
“This project only offered a false promise to workers in Alberta concerned about their futures — especially in a world moving away from oil. Now is the time to invest in projects that provide jobs and create clean energy and clean growth.”
The Alberta Chamber of Commerce said the loss of the project will hurt an already fragile provincial economy.
“If approved, the Frontier project would have generated 7,000 jobs and $70 billion in tax and royalty revenue, providing a significant boost to our provincial and national economies,” said a statement from the organization.
“This was an example of a project done responsibly, which was demonstrated by the strong support of all 14 nearby First Nations.”
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
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.
