The fineprint of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca’s vaccine delivery contract was cause for concern among members of the House of Commons defence committee on Friday as politicians questioned the military officer in charge of the distribution effort.
Despite temporary cuts to upcoming shipments from both Moderna and Pfizer, Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, head of pandemic logistics at the Public Health Agency of Canada, stuck with his optimistic assessment that the drug companies will meet their commitments to deliver millions of doses before the end of March.
His remarks were made as the British-Swedish pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca released a heavily redacted version of its contract with the European Commission.
Canada has ordered 20 million doses from the company.
Health Canada has not yet approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in this country, but the green light is expected within days.
Pushing for details
The company’s contract with the EU, released Friday, is full of references to a “Best Reasonable Effort” being made on issues like deliveries and volumes.
New Democrat defence critic Randal Garrison wanted to know if the contracts Canada has signed, with AstraZeneca and other pharmaceutical companies, contained a similar clause.
WATCH | Trudeau updates Canadians on COVID-19 vaccine delays:
The CBC’s Tom Parry asks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau what’s causing Moderna to delay its COVID-19 vaccine shipment to Canada. 2:46
He said it was important for Canadians to know whether there was guaranteed delivery by certain dates, or if companies are simply to make their “best reasonable efforts” to meet the deadlines.
“It is a complicated answer,” Fortin responded, adding the actual procurement is not his responsibility and he becomes answerable only when the vaccines are shipped.
“That is really my wheelhouse, coordinating the distribution.”
Confidentiality clauses
Fortin said he is not tracking the “contractual arrangements,” with companies. He said his team of military planners, working with the public health agency and procurement officials, receive forecasted shipments from the pharmaceutical companies. Those, in turn, are converted into distribution lists.
Health Canada said it can’t release details of its contracts due to confidentiality clauses.
Garrison was sceptical and concerned.
“We don’t really have any recourse under these contracts other than to accept whatever dates are promised,” Garrison said.
WATCH | Ottawa offers assurance of Pfizer delivery amid confusion over doses:
As Health Canada considers a Pfizer request to officially recognize its COVID-19 vaccine vials contain six, not five, doses, there’s confusion as some provincial leaders worry fewer doses than originally expected will arrive this quarter. 2:42
Fortin said manufacturers are faced with “expected challenges” and have kept Canada informed of disruptions.
In Europe, it has been suggested only AstraZeneca can decide whether it’s doing its best to meet deadlines and shipment terms. However, the EU argues “Best Reasonable Effort” is a legal term that only a judge can determine.
The secrecy surrounding contracts has become a point of increasing political concern in Canada as more hurdles emerge to vaccine deliveries over the next few weeks.
Military downplays COVID-19 increase
Also Friday, the military sought to downplay reports of a surge in COVID-19 cases among troops.
Earlier this week, The Canadian Press reported that nearly 250 military members have tested positive for the coronavirus this month, a substantial increase considering only 679 soldiers, sailors or aircrew tested positive in the previous nine months.
WATCH | Canada’s top scientist says testing key in curbing new variants
Maj-Gen. Mark Misener, the acting chief of staff for operation in the military’s joint operations headquarters, said in comparison to the general population, the number of cases in the Armed Forces remains extremely low.
He added that those testing positive this month contracted the virus through the community or family members in Canada.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
