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Sudbury loses another 1,400 jobs – The Sudbury Star

Published

4 years ago

July 11, 2020

Harry Miller

Area has lost 10,000 positions since February

Sudbury’s COVID-infected economy continues to shed jobs.

Statistics Canada said on Friday that the Sudbury area lost 1,400 jobs June and its unemployment rate moved up to 9.4 per cent, compared to 8.4 per cent in May.

The agency said Sudbury recorded 76,000 jobs in May, but that fell to 74,600 jobs last month.

In addition, the area’s labour force shrank: 83,000 people were either employed or were looking for work in May. That number fell to 82,200 in June.

Greater Sudbury lost 3,400 jobs in May and more than 10,000 since February, Statistics Canada figures also show.

And while the city’s biggest employers, such as Vale, Glencore and Health Sciences North, have continued to operate, the services sector has been hit hard after the economy was locked down in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The province has begun to lift some of those restrictions, but the job market — at least in Sudbury — has yet to bounce back.

Not so nationally: Canada added a record 952,900 jobs in June on a service sector surge as restaurants, stores and businesses reopened from coronavirus closures, although its jobless rate was slightly worse than expected at 12.3 per cent.

Statistics Canada said on Friday that the country has regained some 1.2 million of the 3 million jobs lost from February to April as non-essential businesses across the country were shut to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted a gain of 700,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 12 per cent.

“It’s a pleasant high-side surprise. It’s a big step in the right direction,” Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said of the jobs gain.

Still, just over a quarter of the potential labor force was underutilized in June, notably higher than prepandemic levels, StatsCan said.

The Canadian dollar was nearly unchanged at 1.3589 per U.S. dollar, or 73.59 U.S. cents.

The U.S. last week also posted record job gains in June on its reopenings but a COVID-19 resurgence could lead to a labor market setback in July.

Employment in Canada’s goods-producing sector rose by 158,600, while the services sector gained a record 794,400 positions, split fairly evenly between full-time and part-time.

Economists did not expect the record job gain to prompt action from the Bank of Canada, which slashed its key interest rate three times in March to 0.25 per cent.

“They will still be cautious about the aftermath of the initial V stage (of the recovery). This is reflecting a quick spurt as economies reopen,” Derek Holt, head of Capital Markets Economics at Scotiabank, said.

The June totals did not capture people who temporarily lost work due to the coronavirus crisis and want to work, but are not currently looking for employment, Statscan said. Had they been counted, the unemployment rate would have been 16.3 per cent.

Despite the good news, economist Jim Stanford said there remains a historic crisis in the job market with high unemployment and hundreds of thousands who have left the labour force altogether.

Also, gains nationally were not shared equally among groups, with women, youth and low-wage workers still slower to rebound, which Stanford said could be problematic if those jobs don’t ever come back.

“I worry about a coming second round of layoffs motivated not by health restrictions, but by companies deciding their businesses are going to be permanently smaller. So that would be qualitatively different and in a way worse,” said Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work in Vancouver.

“We aren’t remotely out of the woods yet, but this was a really encouraging step forward.”

Some three million jobs were lost over March and April due to the pandemic, and 2.5 million more had their hours and earnings slashed. By last month, some 3.1 million were affected by the pandemic, including 1.4 million who weren’t at work due to COVID-19.

Brendon Bernard, an economist at Indeed Canada, said recapturing jobs at the same pace in the coming months will be tougher.

“A lot of areas of the economy still aren’t running at full capacity,” Bernard said. “So while doors may be open and customers might be coming in, business hasn’t come back to normal.”

The overall job losses were unprecedented in speed and depth compared with previous recessions, Statistics Canada said, and the rebound to date sharper than previous downturns.

Ottawa’s response has been equally unprecedented: a deficit of at least $343.2 billion this fiscal year as the Trudeau Liberals dole out some $230 billion in emergency aid.

In June, 28.3 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 69 reported receiving some form of federal aid since mid-March, Statistics Canada said. Meanwhile, the proportion of households reporting difficulty paying the bills dropped to 20.1 per cent in June from 22.5 per cent in May.

“Without the federal government being there to support Canadian workers, Canadian businesses and the Canadian provinces and territories, we would be in a bigger mess in this country right now,” Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress said in an interview this week.

The Bank of Canada and federal government believe the worst of the economic pain from the pandemic is behind the country, but Canada will face high unemployment and low growth until 2021.

— with files from Canadian Press

sud.editorial@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @SudburyStar

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Business

Canada Goose to get into eyewear through deal with Marchon

Published

17 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

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)

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Business

A timeline of events in the bread price-fixing scandal

Published

18 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

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)

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Business

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

Published

21 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

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)

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