Some high school students could be on the road legally without passing a driving test, as Manitoba Public Insurance scrambles to restore priority services while its employees are on strike.
Students who have already completed MPI’s driver education program — known as Driver Z and taken by high-schoolers at least 15 1/2 years old — will be issued a Class 5 licence (permitting operation of passenger vehicles primarily, held by most Manitoba motorists) without having to pass a road test in an attempt to prevent a backlog in testing. The seven-month program includes 20 class hours, 14 hours of in-car instruction and a minimum of 45 hours of mandatory driving practice.
Parental consent will be required for students to receive a licence without a road test, and they can request that their child be subject to one.
It’s part of a new contingency plan to restore services suspended by the walkout earlier this week of MPI’s 1,700 workers in the first strike in the Crown corporation’s 52-year history.
“I’m confident that there will be no safety concerns by taking this step.”–MPI board chair Ward Keith
While road tests have historically been used to determine driver aptitude, MPI board chair Ward Keith said students who complete the Driver Z program are more likely to pass road tests and have fewer future traffic violations than other drivers.
“I’m confident that there will be no safety concerns by taking this step,” Keith said Wednesday.
All other Class 5 drivers who were waiting for a road test before the strike began will be required to take one conducted by driver-education instructors under contract to MPI. The public insurer said 70 instructors have been contracted thus far, and they will have the ability to conduct tests in their modified training vehicles, many of which are fitted with an additional passenger-accessible brake pedal and other safety features the instructor can use to end the test safely.
Students who get licences without passing a road test could find themselves subject to taking one at a later date. Manitoba’s registrar of motor vehicles will have the discretion to require anyone licensed during the strike to pass the proficiency exam down the road, at no cost.
While road tests have historically been used to determine driver aptitude, MPI board chair Ward Keith said students who complete the Driver Z program are more likely to pass road tests and have fewer future traffic violations than other drivers.While road tests have historically been used to determine driver aptitude, MPI board chair Ward Keith said students who complete the Driver Z program are more likely to pass road tests and have fewer future traffic violations than other drivers.
Keith said while there aren’t any requirements in place yet to determine which new drivers are selected to take a test, MPI will be tracking safety stats.
“I’m not saying necessarily that anyone will need to get re-tested. I’m just saying that the registrar needs to have that discretion, if there’s a need to do so in the future. And that’s what we’ll learn from this program,” he said.
An MPI spokesperson said the corporation wasn’t able to provide the number of students who could have their road test waived, but about 12 per cent of all road tests are booked by Driver Z students.
MPI cancelled 2,048 Class 5 road tests this week. Drivers with appointments that were cancelled as a result of the strike are already being contacted, and Keith said the exams are expected to begin early next week.
“I’m hoping that actually we’ll be able to address some of the backlog that currently exists for driver testing by leveraging the driver-ed instructors throughout the province,” he said.
Some experienced driving instructors are less confident than Keith.
Lek Kinnarath, the owner of Maple Leaf Driving School, has been teaching Manitoba’s teenagers to drive for several decades. He said the Driver Z program alone isn’t sufficient to get them road-ready.
“It’s definitely unsafe for them to just get their licence without having a proper test…. I’m strongly opposed to that,” he said.
“I know for sure, most of the students that receive this course, the Drivers Z course, they usually get some basic knowledge only. They are not really in the advanced stage.”
“It’s definitely unsafe for them to just get their licence without having a proper test…. I’m strongly opposed to that.”–Lek Kinnarath, Maple Leaf Driving School
He said he has trained students who have completed the course but waited months to train for their road test, and they had retained little of what they were taught in the program.
“Let’s say, if I have 10 Driver Z students — and I’m talking from my experience of 36 years of teaching — I would say, out of 10 students, there may be only one student that (is) quite good… 90 per cent of them, they are nowhere close to be able to drive safely,” he said.
Ideally, MPI would be bringing in professional driving instructors to hold road tests for all drivers, regardless of what program they’ve completed, he said, adding he was invited by MPI Tuesday to work as a road test examiner. He won’t be crossing the picket line any time soon.
He said he knows many of the striking workers from taking students to their road tests and doesn’t want to betray them.
“They’re asking MPI for better pay, for better living and everything. And here, we, behind their back, we’re doing their job,” he said. “I would say that they would look at us as the enemy.”
Striking workers rallied at the Legislative Building Wednesday afternoon to call out Premier Heather Stefanson, who published a video on her X (formerly Twitter) account chiding the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union for calling back-to-back strikes for members from two (MPI and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries) Crown corporations.
Striking MPI workers rallied at the Legislative Building Wednesday afternoon to call out Premier Heather Stefanson.”>
Striking MPI workers rallied at the Legislative Building Wednesday afternoon to call out Premier Heather Stefanson.
To chants of “Where is Heather?” from more than 1,000 people in attendance, MGEU president Kyle Ross joked: “She’s probably shooting a video.”
“It’s not easy to take a stand when it comes to your livelihood; going on strike is scary. Over 1,700 families here in Manitoba are putting their lives on line, their necks out and their lives on hold. And so far all they received from their employer and their government is spin, and two poorly produced videos,” Ross said, drawing a loud chorus of boos from the crowd.
Earlier this month during the now-settled MLL workers strike, Andrew Smith, the Progressive Conservative government minister responsible for liquor and lotteries, posted a video blaming the dispute on “the NDP and their union friends.”
At the rally, MPI contact centre employee Cheryl Santilli told the crowd it was time for the province to “recognize the standard of excellence we provide and pay us what we deserve.”
“Stop your war of words with propaganda and false information and get back to the table to negotiate a fair deal for the employees of MPI who make you look so good to everyone.”
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.
