Economy

Tentative deal reached in Metro Vancouver grain strike, federal minister says

Published

3 weeks ago

September 28, 2024

VANCOUVER – Canada’s labour minister says striking grain terminal workers in Metro Vancouver and their employers have reached a tentative labour deal.

Steven MacKinnon announced the agreement between Grain Workers Union Local 333 and the Vancouver Terminal Elevators’ Association in a post on social media platform X, but provided no other details.

The union confirmed the tentative deal in a statement on Facebook, saying its members will conduct the ratification vote by Oct. 4.

The notification from the union also says picket lines were to be removed Saturday and members will return to work pending ratification, ending the strike that had paralyzed grain shipments from Metro Vancouver’s port.

The dispute had previously led to picket lines going up at six Metro Vancouver grain terminals on Tuesday as about 600 workers went on strike.

Canadian grain producers had urged a resolution in the dispute, noting about 52 per cent of the country’s grains moved through Metro Vancouver terminals last year en route to being exported.

Farmers say the strike, happening during crop harvesting, would result in as much as $35 million per day in lost exports.

The Western Grain Elevator Association said on Friday that talks had stalled after two days of negotiations this week, with the employer saying it had increased its offers to settle “outstanding issues.”

The employers group had said they’ve reached the end of their “financial ability to conclude an agreement that industry can absorb” with the last offer, and it was up to the federally appointed mediator to report the results to MacKinnon for the next steps.

MacKinnon says in his tweet that both parties put in “the work necessary to get a deal done.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2024.

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Economy

PBO projects deficit exceeded Liberals’ $40B pledge, economy to rebound in 2025

Published

5 hours ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government likely failed to keep its deficit below its promised $40 billion cap in the last fiscal year.

However the PBO also projects in its latest economic and fiscal outlook today that weak economic growth this year will begin to rebound in 2025.

The budget watchdog estimates in its report that the federal government posted a $46.8 billion deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland pledged a year ago to keep the deficit capped at $40 billion and in her spring budget said the deficit for 2023-24 stayed in line with that promise.

The final tally of the last year’s deficit will be confirmed when the government publishes its annual public accounts report this fall.

The PBO says economic growth will remain tepid this year but will rebound in 2025 as the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts stimulate spending and business investment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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Economy

Statistics Canada says levels of food insecurity rose in 2022

Published

1 day ago

October 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the level of food insecurity increased in 2022 as inflation hit peak levels.

In a report using data from the Canadian community health survey, the agency says 15.6 per cent of households experienced some level of food insecurity in 2022 after being relatively stable from 2017 to 2021.

The reading was up from 9.6 per cent in 2017 and 11.6 per cent in 2018.

Statistics Canada says the prevalence of household food insecurity was slightly lower and stable during the pandemic years as it fell to 8.5 per cent in the fall of 2020 and 9.1 per cent in 2021.

In addition to an increase in the prevalence of food insecurity in 2022, the agency says there was an increase in the severity as more households reported moderate or severe food insecurity.

It also noted an increase in the number of Canadians living in moderately or severely food insecure households was also seen in the Canadian income survey data collected in the first half of 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct 16, 2024.

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Economy

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 1.3% to $69.4B in August

Published

1 day ago

October 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales in August fell to their lowest level since January 2022 as sales in the primary metal and petroleum and coal product subsectors fell.

The agency says manufacturing sales fell 1.3 per cent to $69.4 billion in August, after rising 1.1 per cent in July.

The drop came as sales in the primary metal subsector dropped 6.4 per cent to $5.3 billion in August, on lower prices and lower volumes.

Sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector fell 3.7 per cent to $7.8 billion in August on lower prices.

Meanwhile, sales of aerospace products and parts rose 7.3 per cent to $2.7 billion in August and wood product sales increased 3.8 per cent to $3.1 billion.

Overall manufacturing sales in constant dollars fell 0.8 per cent in August.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

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