Grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked at Boeing facilities at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, U.S. November 17, 2020.
LINDSEY WASSON/Reuters
The federal government has approved design changes to the Boeing 737 Max that will allow the plane to fly again in Canada after it was banned around the world last year following two deadly crashes.
Transport Canada informed the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday that it has validated a series of proposed changes to the 737 Max, and expects to make a public announcement in Ottawa on Thursday.
Ottawa will require pilots to take additional simulator training on the revised 737 Max, and additional cockpit procedures will be implemented before the plane would return to service at Canada’s major airlines, said the department’s director-general of civil aviation, Nicholas Robinson.
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The plane has been grounded since last March when it crashed in Ethiopia, killing 157 people, including 18 Canadians. Five months before that, 189 people were killed when another 737 Max plummeted into the sea near Indonesia.
A series of international investigations determined that both crashes were caused by software that was designed to stabilize the plane, but instead forced the 737 Max into an irreversible nosedive when fed data from a faulty sensor. Introduced by Boeing in 2016, it is now one of the deadliest commercial airliners in history.
On Wednesday, Transport Canada sent an e-mail to relatives of the 18 Canadians killed in the Ethiopian crash, informing them of the coming announcement. Several of the families had asked the government not to approve the plane unless the deadly software was stripped from the design.
“I know that the news of our completion of the validation process is not something that you wanted to receive,” said Mr. Robinson in the e-mail, which was obtained by The Globe and Mail.
“I can assure you though that our process and review to validate these changes has been comprehensive; that our decisions have been independent and driven by the analysis of our globally recognized certification experts; and, that we are confident in our validation outcome.”
The FAA cleared the revised 737 Max to fly in November, followed by regulators in Europe and Brazil. Brazilian airline Gol returned the plane to service last week, becoming the first carrier to do so. Canada’s two largest carriers Air Canada and WestJet Airlines both fly the aircraft.
However, one of the experts called to testify at Transport committee hearings into the Canadian government’s endorsement of the 737 Max said he is not convinced that the plane has been made entirely safe by the design changes.
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Boeing has said the flaws in the plane’s software – known as the manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) – have been fixed. But Gilles Primeau, an expert in flight-control systems, said the stabilization software that caused the crashes can still, under certain conditions, be fed faulty information. He raised this flaw with Transport Canada, Boeing and the FAA, but says his concerns haven’t been addressed.
“I’d love to see proof that Boeing even noticed this condition or that the FAA’s so-called unprecedented scrutiny [of the 737 Max] noticed it either,” Mr. Primeau said. “There’s an easy way to find out: Demand to see immediately Boeing’s or FAA’s evidence that this case was studied, and how they could find a rationale to accept this.”
Under international aviation rules, the FAA scrutinizes Boeing’s aircraft designs, which are then validated by other international regulators such those in Canada and Europe.
Boeing was found to have withheld information from the FAA about the software in the original certification of the 737 Max, so that when Canadian regulators verified the plane, they were unaware that the system could force the plane into a nosedive that pilots could struggle to reverse.
The FAA was also found to have outsourced much of the scrutiny over the original design to Boeing’s own engineers in an effort to streamline the regulatory approval of the plane.
“I have completely lost confidence in them,” Mr. Primeau said of the FAA.
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Transport Canada has said it is looking at changes to the way it validates new aircraft as a result of the 737 Max disasters. In addition to extra training for Canadian pilots flying the plane, new cockpit measures will be introduced, which the government plans to detail in the coming weeks.
“We will issue a Canadian Airworthiness Directive that will clearly outline the Canadian validated design changes that must be incorporated,” Mr. Robinson said in the e-mail. “In addition, we will also mandate the training requirements for air crew through an Interim Order.”
The plane will likely return to service in the new year.
“We expect these steps to take place in January, 2021,” Mr. Robinson said in the e-mail.
“In the meantime, I can assure you all that the commercial flight restrictions for the aircraft in Canadian airspace remain in effect and will not be lifted until we are fully satisfied that all its safety concerns have been addressed.”
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TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
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