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Salvation Army needs kettle holders. Badly. – SooToday

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The Salvation Army, apart from being a well known, faith based Christian denomination, is synonymous with helping the hungry and homeless.

This year, with COVID-19 having affected so many people’s lives, the Army, both in the Sault and nationwide, needs more people to help it, so it in turn can help people in need.

The organization needs volunteers to step up and participate in its annual Christmas Kettle Campaign. 

Red kettles, held by Salvation Army volunteers standing inside or outside malls and other places of business, are found across the country as a way for the public to donate whatever amount of money they can to support the work of The Salvation Army during the Christmas season and throughout the year.

“We need the public’s help like we never have in the past. We don’t have enough volunteers to run an effective kettle campaign. Our need is at the highest I’ve seen in my career,” said local Salvation Army Major Sean Furey, speaking to SooToday Tuesday.

Without enough kettle holders, there won’t be as much money collected. Without enough money collected, the need of the hungry will soar, especially after the economic wreck and ruin caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve never seen this number of people (at the Sault’s Salvation Army Community and Family Services food bank on Elgin Street). Poverty levels right now are through the roof. People are hurting, people are suffering, and those of us who are trying to help are trying to do it with far fewer people to help, and sadly, there are more people out of work than ever before and yet we can’t get anybody to help,” Furey said.

“It’s a scary thought. We’re struggling to get our kettle campaign off the ground for Friday (Nov. 20). It’s going to happen one way or another, but we need volunteers to help us do it.”

Furey said people are wary of venturing outdoors and holding kettles due to the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

“Another problem is, at our food bank, we have a smaller number of people in the building (due to COVID-19 social distancing). We’re trying to do twice the work, some days four times the work with half the number of people. We’re working really hard. My volunteers are mostly nearly 70 years old, some of them are over 70, and they’re trying to keep up at a pace that really they’re too old for.”

“Two Thursdays ago, we distributed 4,000 pounds of food,” Furey said.

“That’s 4,000 pounds of food that needs to be carried by senior citizens. It’s a struggle to get people to volunteer. Lots of people say they want to volunteer but they don’t show up (an issue with many volunteer based organizations). Some of the organizations that would normally help us at Christmas time are not meeting, not working or their governing bodies are telling them ‘no, we’re going to stay away from any COVID risk.’”

Furey, however, expressed thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Sault Ste. Marie, Knights Of Columbus, the Lions Club of Sault Ste. Marie and companies like the Sutton Group for stepping forward to help with the kettle campaign.

On another positive note, Furey said the Salvation Army Community and Family Services food bank has obtained a needed new freezer for donated food (paid for by Walmart Canada and delivered by Food Banks Canada) and a new walk in fridge (donated by the Toronto Salvation Army).

“(With the freezer) we’ve cycled through in excess of 50,000 pounds of food. And the first week we had the fridge we distributed 12,000 litres of milk.”

“We’re getting a lot of food donated. Generally your local grocer is very community minded and very helpful. I’m sometimes just shocked at the level they’re helping. We don’t have a shortage of food. This is the first time in my career I’ve had lots of food (donated to the food bank),” Furey said.

But, back to the local kettle campaign.          

“(Annually) we need about 150 or 160 (kettle holders). We need 35 per day,” Furey said.

Normally, Salvation Army members would cover that need, but many of them are seniors (extra vulnerable for COVID-19), hence the call for others to step forward.

“What the Knights of Columbus will do is take one day, and the Kiwanis will take three or four. They adopt a kettle for a day and they do a good job. People can do it one day a week, two days a week, even once is a help…we have 80 or 90 people right now, but to do it comfortably you need 150,” Furey said.

“Not one cent of the money raised leaves our city and it funds the food bank.”

Underscoring the current need for food for the city’s hungry, Furey said “in a busy week we would serve 60 people. Last week we were serving 200 a day, and we’re anticipating December is going to be far worse. We’re gearing up for a very busy Christmas season.”

Those needing food may call the food bank at (705) 759-4143, provide their names, arrange a time for pickup at 78 Elgin St., show identification at the door (clients prohibited from entering the food bank due to COVID-19) and pick up their food from a table placed outside the building.

People interested in becoming local Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign volunteers may call (705) 945-1877.

Nationally, the Salvation Army is looking to raise $23 million in this year’s Christmas Kettle Campaign.

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:T)

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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