In a sudden swerve late Thursday afternoon, MPI changed lanes on its decision to issue driver’s licences to some high school students without subjecting them to a road test.
Just three hours after MPI’s board chair defended the Crown corporation’s plan to put driver-education grads in the passing lane during the ongoing strike by 1,700 of its workers, the public insurer slammed on the brakes.
“Effective immediately, Manitoba Public Insurance… is pausing its plans to waive the Class 5 road test requirement for eligible graduates of the Driver Z program,” a news release issued just before 5 p.m.
Only three hours earlier, MPI board chair Ward Keith told reporters that the corporation remained confident in its plan announced Wednesday to grant licences to graduates of the Driver Z education program without first passing a road test, in an effort to address a growing backlog while 1,700 Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union members are on strike. He said the rookie, but much-practised drivers could be on the road next week.
“MPI officials will be monitoring this program very closely, and will make revisions if necessary,” MPI board chair Ward Keith said Wednesday..
MPI attributed Thursday’s surprising U-turn to an “overwhelming response from the driver education community” that allowed the corporation to hire a sufficient number of outside instructors on contract to cross the picket line in order to test all Class 5 applicants.
The statement suggested the waiver plan could reappear if the strike is a lengthy one.
Regulations under The Driver and Vehicles Act state “an applicant for any class of licence must pass the knowledge examination and the practical road test required for each class of licence for which application is made.”
Opposition response
Before the road test waiver program was suddenly axed late Thursday, provincial party leaders criticized it as unsafe and unnecessary.
NDP leader Wab Kinew said one of his children is starting the Driver Z program next week and safety was front of mind for him.
“Under the PC plan, not only are workers not getting a fair wage, but potentially folks who aren’t ready to get that licence will be given one,” he said at an unrelated press conference. “So as a parent, it’s about safety. As a Manitoban, I think everybody wants to think about safety first.”
Manitoba Liberal leader Dougald Lamont said the Tories are trying to score political points with their base and win votes with the strike, calling it “an incredibly bad idea.”
Before the road test waiver program was suddenly axed late Thursday, provincial party leaders criticized it as unsafe and unnecessary.
NDP leader Wab Kinew said one of his children is starting the Driver Z program next week and safety was front of mind for him.
“Under the PC plan, not only are workers not getting a fair wage, but potentially folks who aren’t ready to get that licence will be given one,” he said at an unrelated press conference. “So as a parent, it’s about safety. As a Manitoban, I think everybody wants to think about safety first.”
Manitoba Liberal leader Dougald Lamont said the Tories are trying to score political points with their base and win votes with the strike, calling it “an incredibly bad idea.”
“The reality is the PC government is using strikes as a campaign tool. These are strikes being chosen by the PC government. They’re picking fights with unions because they think it’s politically convenient for them. There’s no need for these strikes to be taking place at all and it’s because the government is being unreasonable across the board,” Lamont said.
“It’s outright dangerous to be handing out drivers’ licences to people who haven’t had road tests,” he said. “I cannot believe that anyone would even consider this for a moment.”
— Danielle Da Silva and Katie May
Keith said MPI was “in discussions” with the provincial government to bypass that regulation and make “whatever regulation changes are necessary to clearly articulate the authority of the Registrar in this case.”
“MPI is confident that the Registrar of Motor Vehicles has the authority to recognize successful completion of the Driver Z program, and its associated student evaluations, as equivalent to the driver-examination requirements currently referred to in legislation,” he told reporters at the early afternoon news conference.
Manitoba’s Registrar of Motor Vehicles is employed by MPI.
For its part, the provincial government couldn’t explain how MPI’s attempt to issue licences to drivers who did not pass a road test would not break the law. A spokesperson for Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen, who is responsible for MPI, wouldn’t say if regulatory changes were ordered to accommodate MPI’s plans, nor would they offer any legal rationale to support MPI’s position.
“The Manitoba government respects MPI’s function and its commitment to safe contingency planning that is responsive to the continuing service expectations of all Manitobans. Working with MPI, we are reviewing its plans and underlying authority on an expedited basis,” Goertzen’s spokesperson said in an email.
While MPI appeared relieved to have convinced an adequate number of driving instructors to cross the picket line, there were many who refused to buy in.
Neena Bedi, the owner of Neena’s Driving School, was one of a dozen instructors who marched with striking workers at the Bison Drive service centre Thursday morning.
She said private instructors aren’t trained to conduct road tests safely and there are ethical questions about performing both teaching and testing roles.
“Even though, as an instructor, I can go and make money, it’s not correct. It’s not right,” she said, adding that MPI’s now-aborted licensing plan left safety considerations at the side of the road.
MPI initially defended the plan by arguing that students who complete the Driver Z program are more likely to pass road tests and be safer motorists.
An MPI analyst with nearly a decade of experience told the Free Press that was misleading.
“Even though, as an instructor, I can go and make money, it’s not correct. It’s not right.”–Neena Bedi, Neena’s Driving School
“The majority, I would say, of Driver Z students performed well on the road tests, but what the policy fails to consider is the ones that didn’t,” said the analyst, who did not want to be identified.
“Without specific numbers, (there are) hundreds of drivers-ed students every year who fail the road test repeatedly. So these are drivers that are not prepared to drive safely and independently.”
Striking road-test examiners were “disturbed” by the plan’s announcement, said one with more than a decade of experience.
“Ward Keith is saying that he has no safety concerns. Well, he doesn’t have the credentials to say that,” said the examiner. “He was never a driver examiner, he’s never come and spent a week with us and did ride-alongs to see what we see.”
“Ward Keith is saying that he has no safety concerns. Well, he doesn’t have the credentials to say that.”–Examiner
He said 70 per cent of Driver Z graduates fail their first road test, including a few who did not know how to start the vehicle.
Striking staff have heard MPI is paying instructors who cross the picket line more than what MGEU members had been offered.
“There was nothing in the works before the strike,” he said. “There was no conversation, no talk of them ever getting rid of road tests for Driver Z students. So basically, they’re just doing what’s convenient for them.”
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.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
