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N.S. tech company carries on in face of security probe, class action – CBC.ca

Published

3 years ago

January 7, 2022

A Nova Scotia advanced technology company trading on the Nasdaq is downplaying an investor lawsuit launched against it this week.

The class action filed Monday in a New York court accuses Dartmouth-based Meta Materials Inc. of making false and misleading claims about its products that inflated its share price.

Meta Materials stock has plunged since it began public trading last year from $16.77 in July to $2.48 on Thursday.

“These types of lawsuits are unfortunately a common occurrence for companies with stock listed on public exchanges in the United States,” Mel Rusinak, manager of corporate affairs for Meta Materials, said in an email to CBC News.

“With the lawsuit having just been filed, it will be months before a lead plaintiff is appointed to represent the class and before we have an opportunity to respond.

“We believe the lawsuit is without merit and intend to vigorously defend against it.”

None of the claims contained in the lawsuit has been tested in court.

Meta Materials founding CEO George Palikaras sports a pair of metaAIR protective glasses in Dartmouth, N.S., in 2018. (Fadila Chater/The Canadian Press)

The suit was filed by the Rosen Law Firm, which specializes in investor actions.

In the days following, other U.S. law firms have issued public calls for investors interested in joining the suit.

While the lawyers circle, company officials are showing off their wares this week at the giant Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Meta Materials is developing advanced coatings that it says can make solar power more efficient, protect pilots from laser glare and improve the reception of 5G cellular signals when applied to windows on buildings. Meta Materials is also trying to develop wireless sensing medical devices.

The company disclosed in November that it is under investigation by the enforcement branch of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reverse merger

In September, it was served a subpoena ordering it to produce — among other things — documents and information relating to the deal that led to it going public on the Nasdaq.

“The company is co-operating and intends to continue to co-operate with the SEC’s investigation,” Meta said in its third-quarter report released Nov. 15.

It became listed after a reverse merger with publicly traded Texas company Torchlight Energy Resources. In a reverse merger, a private company buys out a public one, then has shares of the new business listed for public trading.

The SEC investigation disclosure was followed less than a month later by a blistering report from Miami investment firm Kerrisdale Capital. The firm is “shorting” the stock, meaning it makes money if the share price drops.

It described Meta as “a ‘Photonics’ company that’s an optical illusion … a $1-billion market cap company whose business is comprised of a whole lot of nothing: no real revenue, no promising technologies, undeveloped products, no track record of achievements.”

Rusinak declined to respond to the claims in the Kerrisdale report.

N.S. made $100M

One investor has come out ahead.

When Meta Materials was listed on the Nasdaq in July — with a spike in share prices — Nova Scotia Crown corporation InnovaCorp sold its $3.1-million early investment in the company and made $104 million in profit.

In total, more than $20 million in various forms of government assistance to Meta Materials has been announced, mostly from federal agencies. However, not all projects have advanced.

In 2017, Sustainable Development Technology Canada approved $5.4 million in total funding “to develop a novel manufacturing process for nanostructured solar coatings in Halifax.”

But the solar-powered vehicle technology project never got rolling. The agency told CBC News on Thursday that Meta Materials did not move forward and did not complete its first milestone.

“Other than a preliminary disbursement to kick off the project in 2018, the majority of the $5.4 million funding has not been provided to the company,” spokesperson Janemary Banigan said in an email.

ACOA says company ‘in good standing’

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency has put in the most government money — $6.8 million.

It says each project undergoes rigorous due diligence.

“Meta Materials Inc. is in good standing with the agency. It would be inappropriate for ACOA to provide further comment,” said ACOA spokesperson Jay Witherbee in a response to CBC News.

The Business Development Bank has also invested $5 million in Meta Materials through a convertible debenture that can be converted into shares.

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Business

Carry On Canadian Business. Carry On!

Published

11 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Steven Kaszab

Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.

I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.

Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.

Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

Business

Imperial to cut prices in NWT community after low river prevented resupply by barges

Published

14 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.

Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.

The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.

It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.

Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.

Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.

“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.

The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.

“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.

Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.

Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.

In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.

It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

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U.S. vote has Canadian business leaders worried about protectionist policies: KPMG

Published

14 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.

The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs

It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.

The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.

Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.

Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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