Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed their cooperation in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines to both Canada and Europe during a call Wednesday.
The call between the two leaders comes as Canada’s reliance on Europe for vaccines is under renewed threat, with the European Union earlier Wednesday unveiling plans to limit exports of the shots being manufactured within the continent.
According to a readout of the call provided by the prime minister’s office, Trudeau and von der Leyen “agreed on the importance of rolling out safe and effective vaccines as quickly as possible, including with respect to continued close Canada-EU cooperation.”
On Twitter, von der Leyen said she had a “good discussion” with Trudeau about their combined efforts to combat the pandemic. A readout of the call was not immediately available from the European Commission.
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Neither the readout from Trudeau’s office nor von der Leyen’s tweet explicitly mentioned the new EU export controls, or if Canada will be exempt from them.
I had a good discussion with @JustinTrudeau on our cooperation in fighting the #COVID19 pandemic.
We also exchanged views on international matters – from relations with China and Russia, to international debt relief.
The EU unveiled legislation Wednesday that includes new rules that will make it harder for pharmaceutical companies producing COVID-19 vaccines in the 27-nation bloc to export them.
The rules will give the EU broad powers to curb those exports for the next six weeks. It’s seen as the latest move by the EU to ramp up its sluggish — and highly criticized — vaccination effort. The EU’s slow pace is quickly coming up against a third wave of the virus, which is already putting pressure on France and other parts of Europe.
Trudeau said during question period Wednesday that the government was “concerned” about the EU legislation, and said cabinet members — including himself — would be in contact with their European counterparts.
2:11 EU sharpens COVID-19 vaccine export rules as 3rd wave of infections rises
EU sharpens COVID-19 vaccine export rules as 3rd wave of infections rises
Pfizer and Moderna operations in Europe are supplying Canada with the bulk of its vaccines. Shipments from both companies are beginning to grow significantly after sluggish starts earlier this year, when production delays in Europe hampered Canada’s rollout.
Nearly 1.2 million doses of Pfizer’s shot are expected this week, alongside two separate shipments by Moderna for a total of 846,000 doses. The first of the two shipments from Moderna arrived Wednesday in Toronto.
Roughly a million doses from Pfizer are expected to arrive in Canada every week between now and mid-May.
None of those shipments are expected to be impacted by the new EU measures, according to a spokesperson for International Trade Minister Mary Ng, who told Global News that counterparts in Europe have provided assurances.
“Our government has been in constant contact with our counterparts in the EU and its member states, at all levels of government,” spokesperson Youmy Han said in an email.
“We will continue to work with the EU and its member states, as we have done throughout the pandemic, to ensure that our essential health and medical supply chains remain open and resilient.”
The EU also pointed out that the legislation does not amount to an explicit “export ban,” but rather to ensure its member nations have enough vaccine supply.
2:16 COVID-19: WHO chief calls inequitable distribution of vaccines a ‘moral outrage’
COVID-19: WHO chief calls inequitable distribution of vaccines a ‘moral outrage’
EU Commission sources tell Global News that vaccine exports from the EU to Canada will still be subject to an authorization request — a measure that was implemented back in January.
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At the time, those controls raised concerns that Canada’s advance purchase agreements may not be honoured, which could threaten its vaccine supply. Canada is not on a list of countries exempted from those authorization controls.
Under the strengthened rules, introduced today, those authorizations will only be granted “where they do not pose a threat to the security of supply of vaccines and their components in the Union, while also considering reciprocity and proportionality,” EU Commission sources said.
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.
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.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
