Riding the rails: 'I’m just exhausted' - LRT commute has overnight worker thinking about ditching transit altogether - Ottawa Citizen | Canada News Media
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Riding the rails: 'I’m just exhausted' – LRT commute has overnight worker thinking about ditching transit altogether – Ottawa Citizen

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The post-LRT bus service change cancelled one of the bus routes Rob Maybee used to be able to take, and reduced service on another, in addition to the extra transfer and leg of train travel for which he now has to account.


Rob Maybee, waiting for his bus after transferring from the train at Blair Station.


Taylor Blewett / jpg

—This week, this newspaper decided to spend several days during rush hour along the Confederation Line, talking to passengers and riding the rails. The following pieces profile just a few of the countless transit users with stories to tell about commuting on the Confederation Line. If you have one of your own that you’d like to share, please get in touch at ottcopyeditors@postmedia.com. 

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When Rob Maybee wakes up for his commute to work, he’s usually managed to catch about five hours of shut-eye.

The overnight shift worker rises around 2:30 p.m. to catch a Route 40 bus from Elmvale Acres to St. Laurent Station at 4 p.m. Once at St. Laurent, he takes a light-rail train to the Confederation Line’s eastern terminus at Blair Station. He and hundreds of others hop off the train and hustle down to the street-level bus platform in the hopes of claiming a spot on one of the eastbound buses that are often packed to the brim, forcing would-be passengers to wait for the next bus on their route to show up — if it does at all.

While most commuters at Blair are finishing their workday and heading home, Maybee is gearing up for a 10 to 12-hour shift as a supervisor at a Trim Road manufacturing facility. Once he manages to board a bus for the final leg of his commute, he’ll hopefully make it to work at least a half hour before his 6:30 p.m. start so he has time to prepare his staffing plan for the shift. When he finishes his workday at 5 a.m., it’s time for another 90-plus minutes in transit — if he’s lucky — to get home, sleep, and do it all over again.

“I’m out of the house upwards almost 15, 16 hours a day,” said Maybee, 43. “You run on five hours sleep — by the end of the week, I’m just exhausted. My weekend’s pretty much shot, trying to catch up.”

It wasn’t always like this. Before the September opening of the Confederation Line, Maybee said his commute took two buses and 45 minutes, even on the busiest day. The post-LRT bus service change cancelled one of the bus routes he used to be able to take, and reduced service on another, in addition to the extra transfer and leg of train travel for which he now has to account.

“It’s a huge difference,” said Maybee. And he feels it. With a job where he’s overseeing multiple people and spends most of the night on his feet, five hours of sleep isn’t really cutting it.

“I’m sure one of these days it will come to — I miss something major, or I may not even wake up for work just because I’m so tired.”

In addition to his sleep schedule, his new commuting routine is affecting his wallet. Once or twice a month, whether due to bus cancellations or LRT service outages, he has to ditch transit and call an Uber to get to work on time.

“I’ve got staff that are waiting for me,” he said. “I can’t call them like an hour before to say, ‘I’m not coming because of the trains.’ I have to go to work, I have to suck it up and pay the 20 bucks for an Uber.”

Now spending about $50 a month on ride-hailing services on top of his transit pass, Maybee said he’s compelled to consider an option he can’t really afford – buying a vehicle.

Born and raised in Ottawa, he’s mostly relied on transit since he was a teenager. But, in recent months, the prospect of ditching OC Transpo has grown increasingly tempting.

“I’m getting tired of dealing with this,” Maybee said. “It’d be a lot easier to just get a bit more sleep and be able to get to work every day.”

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Canada Goose to get into eyewear through deal with Marchon

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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.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GOOS)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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A timeline of events in the bread price-fixing scandal

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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)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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TD CEO to retire next year, takes responsibility for money laundering failures

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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.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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