HIP CAPITALI$M

Pot sector wants packaging changes, financial relief from Cannabis Act review

Tara Deschamps, BNN Bloomberg

Sep 22, 2022

George Smitherman - Wikipedia

Canada’s cannabis industry is hoping a newly launched review of the legislation that paved the way for the recreational use and sale of pot will help the sector stave off more financial difficulties.

The statutory review launched Thursday by Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett will analyze the Cannabis Act, which set purchase and possession limits at 30 grams of dried pot or the equivalent, restricted youth access to marijuana and established safety requirements for growing, selling and transporting the substance.

The federal government is required by law to conduct a review three years after the legislation came into force on Oct. 17, 2018 that studies the impact of cannabis on public health, young people and Indigenous communities. 

The review's scope will be broadened beyond what the law requires to include a look at the economic, social and environmental impacts of cannabis conducted by Morris Rosenberg, a former deputy minister of justice and deputy attorney general of Canada, and a panel of four experts that have yet to be named

It could also trigger changes to potency and packaging restrictions and excise tax regulations the sector has long griped about, Duclos said.

The industry is frustrated the review's launch arrived a year later than mandated, but is still hoping it can result in enough tweaked restrictions to make cannabis distribution easier, draw in new customers and prevent more staffing and facility cuts.

"The industry is really suffering ... Some of the restrictions and lack of clarity in the regulations is really making it difficult for a lot of players in the industry," said Sherry Boodram, chief executive and co-founder of consultancy business CannDelta Inc.

"If there aren't major changes, there's going to be detriment to the industry, for sure."

The review comes as the industry is grappling with uneven distribution of cannabis stores, making it harder for pot shop owners to earn a profit. Some regions have one store on every block while others have none because their municipalities opted out of allowing pot shops. 

At the same time, marijuana producers have been laying off staff, cutting facilities and trying to align their production with demand that is still being curtailed by a mighty illicit industry that has no potency limits and few marketing restrictions. 

Boodram hopes the review will quell some of the headwinds, if it results in changes that allow companies to be more creative with their pot packaging and take part in events, thus reducing stigma around cannabis, building distinct brand identities and attracting new customers.

Currently there are bans on packaging that could appeal to youths, depicts people, characters and animals or evokes "glamour, recreation, excitement (and) vitality." Restrictions on displaying, selling and promoting cannabis at events exist, too.

Elisa Keay, owner of K’s Pot Shop in Toronto, witnesses the problems packaging regulations cause all the time, when customers come in trying to remember a product they bought and loved but can only recall it came in a black jar.

Because companies are limited in how they can package items, many firms sell pot in black jars, "so then you sit and play 20 questions" with the customer to determine what they are looking for, she said. 

Though she can often eventually figure out what the person was looking for, brand loyalty shouldn't be so challenging and companies shouldn't be "handcuffed by some regulations that are a little too rigid.

Rick Savone, Aurora Cannabis Inc.’s senior vice-president of global government relations, agrees.

"Not only are companies forced to deal with competition rules that make all of our packages look alike, we're dealing with ... illegal producers of cannabis that can use any kind of packaging, they want any kind of ingredients that they want," he said.

Illegal sellers can also make any health claims they want while licensed producers and stores are "gagged."

"So the competition is far worse," he said. "It just makes it impossible for us to be able to speak to clients to say, 'This is how you may want to use it, and these are the potential benefits that you may want to know about.'" 

High Tide Inc., the cannabis company behind Canna Cabana stores, hopes the review will tackle the current 10 milligram limit on edible pot products.

The cap "only serves to drive consumers to purchase illicit market products that are unregulated and don't come in tamper-proof packaging," said spokesperson Omar Khan.

There is also room for improvement in how fast products move from farms and manufacturing facilities to store shelves, Boodram said.

She wants Health Canada to drop the time it takes to review new cannabis products or changes in potency and ingredients from 60 days to a much lower time frame like 15 or 30 days, especially when minor alterations are being analyzed.

The current timeline, she said, holds up cannabis production and prevents companies from catering to consumer demand.

"Companies will lose deals because of that, because things are not moving fast enough for the partners," she said. 

Even if the government heeds advice from Boodram and the others, it could be years before they see changes.

The Cannabis Act dictates the ministry reviewing the law must issue a report, including findings and recommendations, no later than 18 months after the review begins.

Khan said, "We would urge the government to expedite the timeline for this review as many smaller players within the industry simply cannot wait 18 months for relief." 

MARIJUANA

• HOW IS CANNABIS LEGALIZATION GOING? FEDS LAUNCH OVERDUE REVIEW TO FIND OUT

Laura Osman, The Canadian Press

Sep 22, 2022

The federal government launched a long-awaited review on Thursday of how legalizing marijuana has affected the health of Canadians, the domestic cannabis industry and the black market.

The Liberals lifted a century-long prohibition on the recreational use and sale of cannabis in October 2018, with the provision that they review the law three years after to came into force. 

That review is nearly one year overdue.

"We have been, in many ways, world leaders in advancing sensible drug policy and legalization and regulation of cannabis is an example of that," said Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who co-chairs the all-party cannabis caucus, at a press conference. 

"But we didn't get it perfect, we didn't get it exactly right for the first time."

The law stipulates the government must investigate the impact of legalization on public health, youth consumption, Indigenous Peoples and communities, as well as the ability to legally grow cannabis in homes. 

The government has decided the review will need to take a much wider view, including an examination of whether legal cannabis has made any progress displacing the illicit black market.

"Our government legalized cannabis to protect the health and safety of Canadians, particularly minors, and to displace the illegal market," Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said at the press conference. 

The review will also examine the economic, social and environmental impacts of legalization, which enabled the creation of a burgeoning cannabis-related industry. 

A panel of experts will conduct the review, led by Morris Rosenberg. A lawyer by training, he served as deputy minister of Justice, Health and Foreign Affairs between 1998 and 2013.

Rosenberg is also the former president and CEO of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, a position he left in 2018.

"The scope is very broad, all views will be welcomed," Duclos said. "Mr. Rosenberg will have a difficult task."

The other four members of the panel have been selected but have not yet been announced. 

The panel plans to hear from the public, governments, Indigenous Peoples, youth, marginalized and racialized communities, cannabis industry representatives and medicinal cannabis users, as well as experts in health, substance use, criminal justice and law enforcement. 

Duclos and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett have asked the expert panel to apply a sex and gender lens to their investigation and pay particular attention to how legalization has affected women, Indigenous and racialized people who might face greater barriers to participating in the legal industry. 

Bennett said so far, the data shows the consumption of cannabis among youth has remained stable since legalization. She lauded the government's awareness campaigns and said children have more knowledge about the potential harms of cannabis use than they did before.

Cannabis products became legal in stages, starting in 2018 with fresh and dried products, plants, seeds and oils. The introduction of more classes of products, including edibles, means the government must now do more, Bennett said.

A recent study by SickKids Hospital in Toronto and The Ottawa Hospital found there has been a more than sixfold increase in hospitalizations across Canada for cannabis poisoning among children under the age of 10 since legalization.

The rise in hospitalizations was twice as high in provinces where edibles like chocolates and gummies are sold legally, according to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in August.

Duclos and Bennett must present a report to the House of Commons and Senate within 18 months of the review being launched.

Duclos said he would have liked to begin the review in the spring of 2022, but took extra time to widen the scope and find the right independent experts to take on the work. 

Trudeau spars with new Tory leader on taxes and cryptocurrencies

Brian Platt, Bloomberg News

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau squared off against new Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for the first time in parliament, with taxes and inflation relief at the top of the agenda.

The opposition leader framed Trudeau as an extravagant spender who needs to hike taxes to pay for it, and the prime minister painted Poilievre as a populist sacrificing his party’s credibility on the economy. The exchange Thursday sets up the main event in Canadian politics over the coming years. 

Poilievre was elected Conservative Party leader in a landslide victory two weeks ago. He has focused relentlessly on taxes since then, accusing the governing Liberals of hiking carbon and payroll levies despite Canada’s inflation rate running at a 40-year high.

“Heating your home in January and February in Canada is not a luxury, and it does not make those Canadians polluters,” Poilievre said in his opening salvo during the daily legislative question period, referring to Trudeau’s plan to gradually raise the national carbon price. He also targeted rises in federal pension plan and employment insurance premiums.

In his response, Trudeau pointed to his government’s move to give inflation assistance to low-income Canadians, including by temporarily doubling the rebate from the federal sales tax.

The prime minister then went further, singling out Poilievre’s vocal support for cryptocurrencies in early 2022, before the price of the digital assets crashed in response to higher interest rates.

“If Canadians had followed the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and invested in volatile cryptocurrencies in an attempt to ‘opt out of inflation,’ they would have lost half of their savings,” Trudeau said.

Although parliament returned from its summer break earlier this week, Thursday was the first chance for Trudeau and Poilievre to go head-to-head due to the prime minister’s trips to London and New York for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and the United Nations General Assembly.

But the two leaders may not be sparring in a general election for another three years, however, due to a power-sharing deal signed earlier this year between the Liberals and the left-leaning New Democratic Party.

CUT THE ALBATROSS; NATIONAL POST 

End to Monday print edition of nine papers by Postmedia an 'important moment': expert

The Canadian Press

One expert at the intersection of journalism and policy says Postmedia Network Inc.'s decision to end the Monday print edition of nine of its urban daily newspapers next month is an "important moment" for news media in Canada.

Edward Greenspon, CEO of the Public Policy Forum, says it's "more breadcrumbs" about the lack of viability of physical newspapers in the long run, but hopes it does not signal a lack of viability of news itself.

The Vancouver Sun and the Province, Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun, Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun, Ottawa Citizen and Ottawa Sun and the Montreal Gazette will all be affected when the move takes effect on Oct. 17. Postmedia said no jobs will be cut in its announcement earlier this week.

EPaper versions of the affected newspapers – a digital replica of the print edition – will be published on Mondays and each outlet's websites will still be updated with stories and news content.

Postmedia said it is making the move as reader habits continue to change.

Greenspon notes that Monday has always been a weak day for newspaper revenue in general, adding that physical newspapers might eventually become a "luxury item" reserved for weekends.

Colette Brin, director of the Center of Media Studies, says 13 per cent of Canadians still read a daily newspaper in print format, down from 32 per cent in 2016, and three per cent of Canadians consider it their main source for news, down from seven per cent in 2016.

While physical newspapers have been disappearing for years, the COVID-19 pandemic added flame to the fire, with fewer people subscribing to daily print editions, fewer shops willing to sell them, and print and distribution costs no longer making sense, Brin explains.

"I find it sad because we don’t read news online with the same attention as a printed paper," she says.

Greenspon agrees that people tend to read newspapers differently compared with online news.

"Print newspapers offer you a hierarchy of stories and the ability just to scan. Some people think it offers more serendipity because most people read it page by page by page or at least they turn to a section and read it page by page by page," he says. 

"I find online that you run into serendipity as well, but it might be a different thing because it may be out of left field, it might be disinformation."

Greenspon says the loss could be quite difficult for the dwindling group of people, mostly skewing older, who rely on the Monday newspaper out of habit.

"A lot of people are not accustomed to eating cereal without having a newspaper. And for readers who've been doing it for a long time, it's a habit that maybe they've had for four, five, six decades," he says.

In a tweet posted Wednesday, Calgary Chamber of Commerce CEO Deborah Yedlin called it a "sad day." 

"Local newspapers serve a vital role in linking communities — and are important to our democracy. Forcing readers online is a way to entrench polarization as readers 'playlist' what they choose to read," the tweet said.

In July, Postmedia announced chairman Paul Godfrey would be stepping down from his role at the end of the year, with current board member Jamie Irving stepping into the job at the start of 2023.

And in February, the company reached a deal to purchase all of the daily and weekly newspapers owned by the Irving family for more than $16 million in cash and shares.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2022.

Bank surtaxes to generate $5.27B, far less than feds expect: Budget watchdog

Ian Vandaelle, BNN Bloomberg

Sep 22, 2022

The federal government is poised to reap almost a billion fewer dollars from its bank surtaxes than it estimated, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
 
The budget watchdog stated Thursday it expects the government will generate about $5.27 billion from the proposed increase in tax rates on profits over $100 million – to 16.5 per cent from 15 per cent – and the so-called Canada Recovery Benefit, which imposes a one-time 15 per cent tax on earnings over $1 billion for a two-year period.
 
The combined proceeds fall about $800 million short of the government’s estimate for $6.1 billion in revenue from the measures over the next five years.
 
The two additional targeted taxes were initially unveiled in the Liberal Party of Canada’s platform for the 2021 federal election (when Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said the “extraordinarily large profits” made during the pandemic should in part flow back to taxpayers) before scaled-back versions were announced in this year’s budget.
 
The proposed surtaxes were quickly met with opposition from the industry, which argued they would unfairly punish banks that worked with government to swiftly roll out pandemic support measures.
 
The Canadian Bankers Association previously said the banks are already among the largest taxpayers in the country, estimating the Big Six generated $12.7 billion of tax revenue in the 2019 fiscal year, and highlighting that they also provide important dividend income for ordinary Canadians.
 
Brian Porter, chief executive of The Bank of Nova Scotia, was poised to be less nuanced in his response to the taxes. In prepared remarks for his bank’s annual general meeting in April, Porter called them “a knee-jerk reaction.” However, he didn’t ultimately deliver his speech due to a COVID-19 diagnosis.
 
Draft legislation to enshrine the surtax and Canada Recovery Dividend was released in August and is open for public comment until Sept. 30.

Banks, Insurers Face $3.9 Billion Hit From Trudeau’s New Taxes

Kevin Orland, Bloomberg News

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, arrives for a meeting with Liz Truss, UK prime minister, at 10 Downing Street in London, UK, on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. Truss will also meet a number of other leaders ahead of the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey on Monday. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Two new taxes on banks and insurers that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposed during last year’s Canadian election campaign will cost firms about C$5.27 billion ($3.92 billion) over five years, less than previously projected, according to a government analysis.

The Canada Recovery Dividend -- a one-time, 15% tax on domestically-generated profits over C$1 billion in the past two years -- is expected to raise C$3.02 billion in government revenue, the Parliamentary Budget Officer said Thursday. 

The other tax hike -- a 1.5-percentage-point increase to the corporate rate paid on banks and life insurers’ income over C$100 million -- will raise C$2.25 billion through 2027, the agency said.

The figures released Thursday are lower than the C$6.1 billion the government estimated in its April budget.

Trudeau pledged to impose the new taxes on the campaign trail last year, targeting the “extraordinarily large profits” banks had reaped during the pandemic in a bid to win over left-leaning voters. The new levies faced opposition from bank executives, who said it was unfair to single out their industry and highlighted the benefits banks provide to retirees through dividend payments.

Analysts also said that the taxes may backfire by encouraging the banks to pass along the costs to consumers through higher fees.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

Canadian banks' climate commitments lag expectations of UN-led coalition: Greenpeace

Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press

Canada's biggest banks could be pushed out of a UN-backed, net-zero emissions coalition if they don't boost their climate commitments, a report released Wednesday by Greenpeace Canada says.

The report focuses on updated standards released in June that lay out more clearly the expectation of members of the Race to Zero coalition.

Greenpeace Canada senior energy strategist Keith Stewart said the banks aren't currently meeting the new, stricter standards.

"This is really significant that the UN is basically ... saying we're not going to let our name be used to advance claims that are more PR than reality," Steward said.

Last year RBC, TD, CIBC, BMO and Scotiabank all joined the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, led by former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney. The alliance, which is anchored by the Race to Zero rules and criteria, commits the banks to reaching net-zero financed emissions by 2050 and to set interim reduction targets to be achieved by 2030

When the banks joined there was little guidance around those interim targets, though the alliance urged members to be aggressive when setting them as the next few years are crucial in determining how bad climate change will get.

The June update from Race to Zero however, calls for interim targets to be a "fair share" of the 50 per cent reduction of global emissions needed by 2030.

The update also emphasized the need for targets to cover all emission types, both direct and indirect, and the need for corporations to restrict the development and financing of new fossil fuel projects.

In releasing the refined criteria, the group said it was making explicit what had previously been implicit in the guidelines to "clearly show those actors who are truly moving ahead versus those who are trying to find loopholes."

Stewart said Canadian banks are falling behind those standards both on the interim targets, and their overall funding for the fossil fuel industry.

"The implication in the Race to Zero criteria ... is no new fossil fuels, and cut your finance fossil fuels in half by 2030, which is a much bigger step than anything most global banks are really doing right now, and certainly the Canadian banks who are increasing their funding of fossil fuels," Steward said.

Four of Canada's biggest banks released their 2030 targets earlier this year, which range from 24 per cent to 35 per cent reductions in financed emissions, while RBC says it expects to release targets this fall.

The bank targets also go against the guidance to have absolute reduction targets. Other than one part of the BMO target, Canadian bank goals are intensity based rather than absolute, meaning that while the emissions per barrel of oil produced may be going down, the number of financed barrels can still go up.

Banks have framed their continued funding of fossil fuel companies as being necessary for the transition, as stated in the Canadian Bankers Association's response to the Greenpeace report.

"Banks will continue to work with their clients in the oil and gas industry to help them transition to a more sustainable future ... by funding pathways to sustainability, banks are helping Canada progressively reduce its emissions while also helping meet energy demands in a volatile global context."

Individually, banks also emphasize their role in helping companies transition, with RBC saying "the biggest impact RBC can make is helping our clients' transition," CIBC saying "we are accelerating our efforts as we work with our clients through this transition," and BMO stating its climate ambition is to be its clients' lead partner in the transition.

Stewart, however, said that most Canadian bank funding to fossil fuel companies, which between 2016 and 2021 totalled $911 billion, is being done without any required links to a transition to a net-zero world.

"They're giving blanket lines of credit to these companies. And so as long as the company has on their books fossil fuel expansion programs, that's what they're funding."

He said scrutiny of this funding will increase as groups like the Glasgow alliance warn transition funding requires vigorous scrutiny to avoid the "greenwashing of business-as-usual financing activity."

The rules around membership criteria, and what it would take to kick someone out of these international climate coalitions, are still evolving. Pressure, however, is increasing, especially as the deadly and destructive effects of climate change increase.

Along with extreme droughts in Europe, China, the Horn of Africa and the U.S. Southwest, this week saw extreme rainfall in Pakistan that has killed over 1,000 people, about a third of them children.

United Nations secretary-general António Guterres said the flooding was a climate catastrophe and action needs to be taken to prevent worse to come.

"Let’s stop sleepwalking towards the destruction of our planet by climate change," he said in a statement.

"It is outrageous that climate action is being put on the back burner as global emissions of greenhouse gases are still rising, putting all of us – everywhere – in growing danger."

Government emissions targets for fertilizer use unrealistic, industry report argues

Now Showing

We can surpass the government’s emissions target, but we need support: Ontario farmer Stuart Oke 7:55

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

7/09/22

A new industry-led report suggests Canada's farmers can likely only achieve half of the federal government's targeted 30 per cent reduction in fertilizer emissions by 2030.

The report, commissioned by Fertilizer Canada and the Canola Council of Canada, examines what effect a 30 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers on Canadian farms would have on crop yields and farm financial viability.

The report concludes that it may be possible to achieve a 14 per cent reduction in emissions from fertilizer by 2030, but that reaching 30 per cent is not "realistically achievable without imposing significant costs on Canada’s crop producers and potentially damaging the financial health of Canada’s crop production sector."  

“I believe what (this report) is saying is the 30 per cent reduction target is not achievable without putting production and exports in jeopardy, and we’ve been saying that all along," said Tom Steve, general manager of the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions.

"It was an arbitrary target that was set somewhere in the government, with no path as to how it was going to be achieved."

Ottawa first established its 30 per cent target for fertilizer emissions reduction in late 2020, as part of the federal government's overall climate change plan, and recently wrapped up a months-long consultation process on it. 

According to the government, between 2005 and 2019, fertilizer use on Canadian farms increased by 71 per cent. Over the same period, fertilizer-related emissions of nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas 365 times more potent, from a global warming perspective, than carbon dioxide) in Canada increased by 54 per cent. In 2019 alone, according to the government, the application of nitrogen-based fertilizer resulted in 12.75 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions — the equivalent to that produced by 3.9 million passenger vehicles.

The government has said its 30 per cent target is a goal, not a mandatory enforceable target. It has also said it believes the target is achievable, since many of the required technologies and practices to reduce emissions from fertilizer use already exist.

Still, farmers have warned the goal is too ambitious, especially at a time when Canada's agriculture industry is being asked to produce more to help address global food security fears.

"It's really taken our eye off the ball of what is needed in our industry, which is to become more efficient and productive and competitive," Steve said. "Most farmers already do whatever they can to reduce their use of fertilizer — it's their most expensive input."

Karen Proud, president and chief executive of Fertilizer Canada, said there are already a number of industry-accepted best practices in place when it comes to fertilizer management. These include using the right fertilizer for the soil, as well as applying it at the right time of year and in the right amounts.

By helping more farmers become aware of these practices and encouraging them to adopt them, Proud said, the industry could potentially achieve a 14 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030. While that's an aggressive target, she said, it would strike a balance between the needs of the environment and the need for continued increased food production going forward.

Proud said that going beyond a 14 per cent reduction by 2030 would be economically unviable, since many of the changes required — such as working with a certified crop advisor, or doing soil testing — are costly for the farmer.

"We need to be able to allow farmers to increase their productivity to offset the costs of implementing these best practices," she said. "The only way to do that is you allow them to increase yields, or the math doesn't work. You can't ask farmers to invest in practices at a loss."

In February of this year, the federal government announced funding of up to $182.7 million for 12 recipient organizations to deliver the On-Farm Climate Action Fund across Canada. Through the fund, Canadian farmers will be eligible to receive direct support for environmental best practices, including nitrogen fertilizer management, soil sampling and analysis, and equipment modifications for fertilizer application in fields.

Canada has set the goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. According to the federal government, the agriculture sector has generated approximately 10 per cent of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions annually since 1990.

RBC says Canada's economic engine may soon face energy shortages

Danielle Bochove, Bloomberg News

Canada’s biggest commercial bank says the country will struggle to meet soaring electricity demand in coming years unless governments make tough decisions.

Energy consumption is expected to surge 50 per cent in the next decade but the country’s ability to meet that demand is constrained by its commitment to a net zero grid by 2035, Royal Bank of Canada said in a report Tuesday. Ontario, the most populous province and the country’s economic engine, could face power shortages as early as 2026, the bank warned.

Major infrastructure upgrades are needed to deliver energy between provinces, and to store power to ensure a reliable supply, RBC said, and it’s far from clear where that electricity will come from.

Meanwhile, Canada faces global competition for critical minerals and other materials as countries rush to decarbonize in the wake of a broader energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Canada shouldn’t just keep up -- it needs to accelerate the expansion of its electricity system or risk falling behind in a renewed Net Zero grid race,” economist Colin Guldimann said in the report.

RBC lays out the pros and cons of various options for meeting demand, including trade-offs between cheap versus reliable clean energy. “To stay in the race, Canada needs to expedite its big push on electricity: between provinces, through decades, and across the country,” the bank said.

Its other conclusions and recommendations include the following:

Shorter Term 

• Existing natural gas plants will likely need to keep operating in provinces facing major energy shortages until at least 2035
• More focus on conservation is needed
• New renewable solar and wind assets should be built to “plug the gaps”
• After 2030 provinces need to decide if they are willing to “gamble” on expensive carbon capture solutions to build new gas plants or retire gas plants by the mid-2030s

Longer Term 

• Solar and wind power are now the cheapest sources of new electricity though solutions are needed to provide reliable power in times of darkness or calm weather
• Some of the best solar and wind sites are in the Prairies, where phasing out coal power is most challenging
• Hydro is Canada’s “trump card.” The country should invest in hydro and nuclear development as a way of adding baseload power to the national grid
• Longer-term, using fewer batteries and more hydro and nuclear power to displace generation may be more affordable, adding CUS$4 billion (US$3 billion) to costs versus CUS$7 billion for an all-renewables storage solution
• Current subsidies favor wind, solar and carbon capture; subsidies to encourage hydro and nuclear investment also should be considered
• Major projects should be coordinated across provinces to cut costs

Five-out-of-six major Canadian airports fell below North American satisfaction average

Hilary Punchard, BNN Bloomberg

Most major Canadian airports missed the bar on customer satisfaction, with the Vancouver International Airport as the only location to place above the North American average, according to a survey and report released J.D. Power on Wednesday.

On a 1,000-point scale for large airports in North America, Vancouver International Airport scored 794, with the average overall customer satisfaction coming in at 784.

In terms of mega airports in North America, Toronto Pearson International Airport received 755, which was below the average rating  of 769.

“The combination of pent-up demand for air travel, the nationwide labor shortage and steadily rising prices on everything from jet fuel to a bottle of water have created a scenario in which airports are extremely crowded and passengers are increasingly frustrated—and it is likely to continue through 2023,” said Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power.

“In some ways, this is a return to normal as larger crowds at airports tend to make travelers more frazzled, but in cases where parking lots are over capacity, gates are standing room only and restaurants and bars are not even open to offer some reprieve, it is clear that increased capacity in airports can’t come soon enough.”

Crowded terminals are one of travellers’ main complaints, with more than half (58 per cent) describing the airport as severely or moderately crowded.

Travellers are also less satisfied with food and beverage prices at airport terminals, with almost one-out-of-four individuals (24 per cent) saying they didn’t buy anything because it was too expensive.

Here’s the full results on where major Canadian airports ranked with traveller satisfaction:

Mega Airports:

• Segment average for mega airports was 769
• Toronto Pearson International Airport, the only Canadian one in this group, received 755

Large airports

• Segment average for large airports in North America was 784
• Vancouver International Airport posted 794 points
• Calgary International Airport scored 780 points
• Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport received 766 points

Medium airports

• Segment average for medium airports in North America was 807
• Ottawa/Macdonald–Cartier International Airport received 806 points
• Edmonton International Airport posted 799 points

Environment commitments not met by Canada's energy companies: Report

Jeff McIntosh, The Canadian Press  

Sep 23, 2022

Most of Canada's oilsands producers have made little progress on their goal to decarbonize the sector despite historically high profits and low capital expenditures, a new report said.

A report from the Pembina Institute said little has been done by members of the Pathways Alliance, an industry group that accounts for 95 per cent of the country's oilsands producers, to meet its commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Last year, Canada's six largest oilsands producers and two existing oilsands organizations, pledged to meet Canada’s climate imperatives under the Pathways Alliance.

The pledge includes targets for the oil sands sector to achieve a 22-million-ton annual reduction by 2030 and a goal of reaching net-zero emission by 2050, said Pathways Alliance president Kendall Diling in a statement.

Pathways Alliance "recognizes it has a major role to play in helping Canada meet its climate goals," said Diling.

"Expectations by the Pembina Institute that Pathways Alliance companies make final investment decisions on these multi billion-dollar projects before governments have finalized regulatory frameworks to support them are unrealistic."

Several initiatives have been put in place or are underway by the Government of Alberta, said director of Pembina Institute's oil and gas program Jan Gorski, including the incoming Investment Tax Credit, finalization of green fuel regulations, the carbon pricing system and the cap on oilsands emissions.

"There's actually a lot more on the table now than when Pathways was announced," said Gorski.

To date, Pathways Alliance has integrated Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance and the Oil Sands Community Alliance into their organization to further efforts to reduce the environmental impact of oilsands, said Diling.

However, the report's authors want to see more detailed plans on carbon capture projects and what investment in such projects will contribute toward emissions reduction.

The report also notes that Canada's oil and gas sector is estimated to earn a profit of $152 billion in 2022. However, the boom in profit has not been invested in decarbonization efforts nor a significant expansion of jobs in the sector.

"There's an opportunity to create jobs through these decarbonization projects," said Gorski.

Instead of environmental initiatives, the report said that Pathway Alliance's companies are investing in share repurchases and dividend payments.

Pathways Alliance members include Suncor, Cenovus, Conoco Phillips, Canadian Natural Resources, Imperial Oil and MEG Energy.

Union leaders accuse Bank of Canada of trying to curb wage demands

Randy Thanthong-Knight, Bloomberg News

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A group of unions representing more than 3 million employees said it’s “deeply concerned” that the Bank of Canada is encouraging companies to push down wages amid historic inflation that’s hurting workers.

The Canadian Labour Congress, in a toughly worded statement issued Friday, accused the central bank of breaching its agreement with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government. Language on achieving “maximum sustainable employment” was added to the bank’s inflation-targeting mandate when it was renewed at the end of last year. 

“By continuing to press for lower wages, the Bank risks overstepping their role of communicating policy and instead takes on the role of business consultant,” Bea Bruske, the labor group’s president, said in the statement. “A strong labor market and Canada’s low unemployment rate needs to be prioritized and preserved.” 

Her comments come a week after meeting with Governor Tiff Macklem and his deputies. 

The central bank chief raised the ire of the labor movement in July by telling businesses that they shouldn’t plan on inflation staying high. “Don’t build that into wage contracts,” Macklem said at a Canadian Federation of Independent Business event. 

With the consumer price index at a four-decade high, the bank flagged the risk of a wage-price spiral that would prompt inflation expectations, wages and prices to ratchet upward at its July policy decision. Such a scenario would result in interest rates having to climb higher than they otherwise would.

The Bank of Canada is in the midst of an aggressive series of rate hikes to bring price pressures to heel and ensure expectations don’t become entrenched. Macklem and his officials have already increased the policy rate by 3 percentage points since March, and are expected to continue hiking through the rest of this year. Markets are fully pricing in another 50 basis-point increase at the bank’s next decision on Oct. 26.

Bruske also raised concerns about the bank’s rapid monetary tightening that could push the economy into a recession and cause “devastating impacts” on workers and their families. 

“The prudent thing to do right now would be to slow down interventions designed to slam the brakes on Canada’s economy. The Bank should hold off on further interest rate hikes until we can see the result of the sharp policy actions already undertaken,” she said.

“We must ensure that the medicine is not worse than the disease.”

ITS NOT WAGES THAT CAUSE INFLATION IT IS RENT INCREASES/PRICE GOUGING