N.L. consumers are feeling the pain at the pumps as gas prices continue to rise along with the cost of other fuels. (Ken Linton/CBC)
The cost of home heating oil on the island of Newfoundland has risen steadily every week since December, and data from the past decade shows a spike in cost this year.
In a media release, the Public Utilities Board said the price of furnace oil is rising 6.55 cents per litre on Thursday. That increase means home heating oil in the St. John’s metro region now costs 1.2365 a litre.
According to Balance Home Climate Solutions, most residential oil tanks hold about 750 litres. With Thursday’s oil price a tank that size could cost about $927 to fill up, plus taxes and delivery fees.
Furnace oil costs even more in other parts of the island; for example, in parts of central Newfoundland furnace oil costs $1.2765 a litre, while on parts of the west coast it can cost $1.2455 a litre.
Tyra Dawe bought a home in St. John’s with her brother in September 2020. She said the oil furnace came with a contract with a home heating company, and runs them about $700 to $800 a month in the winter for a 50 to 75 per cent refill.
Dawe and her brother both work full time low-wage jobs. She said the rising cost of oil has been difficult to keep up with, especially when factoring in other expenses.
“It’s kind of like a tightening on a budget that … can’t be tightened anymore,” she said.
Dawe said other young potential home buyers are concerned about the rising cost of oil — and its impact on the environment.’
“People are kind of looking for a reason to get out of fossil fuel if they can,” she said.
Dawe said she’d like to convert to another form of heat, but the cost is prohibitive.
Data from the Public Utilities Board shows that home heating costs in the St. John’s metro region and on parts of the west coast of Newfoundland for this time of year stayed below $0.90 per litre from 2015 until this year. Home heating fuel costs over 40 cents per litre more than it did on Feb. 11, 2021.
Gas prices still on the rise
Newfoundland and Labrador gas prices also hit a record high on Thursday, rising up to 4.5 cents per litre.
That means gas will now cost $1.729 cents per litre on the Avalon Peninsula, and even more in most other parts of the province. In central Newfoundland gas is now $1.754, while on parts of the west coast, including in Corner Brook, gas is $1.736 cents per litre.
Gas is less expensive in some parts of Labrador; for example, it’s $1.596 in central Labrador, though it’s $1.82 in Churchill Falls.
Dawe works from home, but said she feels the impact of gas prices whenever she has to drive to run errands or see friends and family.
“It’s something that you have to think about,” she said. “Can I afford to go out and put gas in my vehicle to do things or to go get groceries?”
The prices of other fuels are also on the rise this week, with diesel rising by up to 4.4 cents per litre, propane going up by 3.9 cents per litre and stove oil going up by 4.58 cents per litre on the island and 3.54 cents per litre in Labrador.
Tory finance critic Tony Wakeham said he wants to see government action on gas and home heating prices before the provincial budget this spring. (Peter Cowan/CBC)
While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, PC MHA Tony Wakeham called on the government to review the tax on gasoline and offer better home heating rebates. Wakeham noted the rising cost in heat, and said he’d like to see changes before the provincial budget this spring.
“That’s a significant amount of money for someone on a fixed income,” he said.
Dawe said people of different income levels and ages are seeing the impact of the rising cost of living.
“Inflation that we see with stuff like oil and gas and necessities such as that really impacts everyone.”
HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
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.
