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Manitoba government eliminates economic group that attracted investment in favour of in-house option – CBC.ca

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Manitoba’s government has cut an economic development group, calling it an unnecessary bureaucracy, similar to the surgical and diagnostic task force it also disbanded.

However, the man who led the group that helped to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in investment to the province insists they made important headway in growing Manitoba’s economy.

The economic development board, created by the former Progressive Conservative government in early 2022, was dedicated to “fostering strong economic growth, attracting investment, promoting trade and creating high-quality jobs for Manitobans,” according to a news release at the time.

But Jamie Moses, the government minister now responsible for economic development, investment and trade, characterizes the board instead as “highly politicized” and claims it worked “outside the normal confines and scope” of the province’s economic development department.

“What we’ve done is we’ve taken the projects that the board is working on, folded them into our current department so that they can actually get the proper review, the proper analysis that they were not getting before,” Moses said in an interview.

Moses didn’t provide examples of where the board went astray in pursuing economic opportunities, but he said the NDP government found no proof the board received treasury board approval to rent a downtown Winnipeg office space. Rent and other operating costs totalled nearly $300,000 a year, according to a document provided by the government.

An initiative of Heather Stefanson’s government was the formation of an economic development board that supported the launch of the Manitoba First Fund, which helped generate more than $100 million worth of private sector interest. (Randall McKenzie/CBC)

The province said two staff positions were eliminated when the board was disbanded and the remaining employees were absorbed into the economic development department.

Since those staff are continuing to work on the same projects, Moses argued the elimination of the board won’t impede the economic progress of Manitoba. 

“I want to be clear that we’ve reached out to industry partners on this and we’ve opened up the lines of communication, so that work of growing our economy is going to continue and it’s going to continue in a way that is collaborative, that is working with Manitobans and it’s going to set us up for success into our future for today and tomorrow,” Moses said.

He said the board was similar to the Tory-run task force designed to cut surgery and diagnostic wait times, which the NDP considers inefficient.

Economic development head defends work

As the economic development board secretariat for 20 months, Michael Swistun said he worked “very closely” with the department.

The allegation they weren’t collaborating “would be like saying that the organization of the treasury board is somehow not accountable or outside government, but that doesn’t make any sense.”

In addition to having a dedicated staff, the board also established a committee of cabinet. Swistun said the committee was invaluable because large-scale economic opportunities needed to consult with multiple government departments. 

“We could respond to these proponents efficiently rather than in silos, because a lot of times the complaint that we’re hearing from the business community that it’s difficult to approach on large-scale projects because you’re dealing with so many different departments.”

Swistun said he wouldn’t prejudge the NDP’s approach to pursuing economic activities — which will include the formation of a Premier’s Business and Jobs Council, bringing together leaders in business, skilled trades, labour and other areas — “but I think there’s merit to having a subcommittee of cabinet that’s focused on economic development.”

The economic development board helped secure funding to rebuild the rail line to Churchill, licensing and permits for a $900-million solar glass manufacturing facility in Selkirk and direct flights from Winnipeg to L.A. and Atlanta, Swistun said in a LinkedIn post.

Swistun was informed he lost his job only a few hours after the NDP government was sworn into office on Oct. 18, he said.

Jeff Wharton, the former economic development minister, said the board and its secretariat served as point people for businesses inside and outside Manitoba looking to grow.

The minister of the department can help, but demands on their time are immense, said the PC’s critic for the file.

“We need to go out and find business and that’s exactly what the board secretariat was charged to do.”

During question period on Friday, the PCs took jabs at the NDP over the board’s elimination by claiming the premier was disbanding the economic horse that pulls the social cart, a play on one of Wab Kinew’s favourite catchphrases.

Kinew responded that it was another layer of bureaucracy that duplicated the work of Economic Development Winnipeg, which the province already funds.  

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Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

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NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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