Royal Navy Commemorates 80th Anniversary of Battle of the Atlantic

HMS Vanoc drops a depth charge near the position of a submarine, Black May, 1943. Germany lost a quarter of its submarine force to Allied warships and aircraft (Royal Navy)

PUBLISHED JUN 1, 2023 10:45 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

This week, the Royal Navy and the city of Liverpool commemmorated the heroes of the Battle of the Atlantic, the effort to keep Allied shipping moving from the U.S. to Britain during World War II. German submarines hunted American and British convoys until 1943, when - facing terrible losses - they drastically scaled back their attacks. 

Eighty years to the week that the German Navy pulled back after suffering heavy casualties to Allied naval and air forces, the Royal Navy unveiled a monument to those who lost their lives in the effort to keep war materiel moving by sea - a monument for those who died at sea, and those who survived as well. 

“We must never forget the sacrifice of the merchant ships,” said John Dennett, a veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic who served as an anti-aircraft gunner. “They are the heart of Liverpool. Speak to anyone in the area and there will be someone in their family who was once a merchant seaman. It is only right that we should never forget them and I’m glad that Liverpool has been the first to acknowledge it.”

Liverpool also served as the headquarters of the Western Approaches Command – from where the struggle to defeat the U-boat was conducted - and the city hosted the historic commemoration. Princess Anne dedicated a new monument in the courtyard of Our Lady and St Nicholas’ Parish Church in Liverpool, followed by a flyby of vintage WWII aircraft. The Royal Navy warships HMS Defender and Biter, cadets and veterans groups are taking part in events, alongside sailors from the French destroyer Bretagne and US warship USS Ramage. As times have changed, German sailors were also represented in the event. 

“In Germany, as you can imagine, this is a period in our history which we are not proud of,” Captain Wolfgang Heuer, the German Naval Attaché in London. “But it is an honour to be here not just as an act of commemoration, but also reconciliation.”

The final day of 80th anniversary commemorations focused on remembrance, beginning with the dedication of a memorial to 400 Polish sailors who never returned home. They served in the Atlantic on warships – such as the destroyer Blyskawica and the submarine Orzel – as well as aboard merchant vessels.

The battle claimed thousands of lives. From 1939 to 1945, 3,500 Allied merchant ships and 175 Allied warships were sunk, and 72,200 Allied naval and merchant seamen lost their lives. This was the baptism by fire of the U.S. merchant marine, which had a higher rate of casualties than any of the branches of the U.S. armed forces during WWII. Germany lost more than 700 U-boats and about 30,000 sailors.

No deal yet on electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Stellantis says

Liam Casey and Allison Jones, The Canadian Press

In this file photo taken on Jan. 19, 2021, the Stellantis sign is seen outside the

 Chrysler Technology Center, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

There is no deal yet to save a $5-billion electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont., automaker Stellantis said Thursday.

Negotiations continue between the federal government, Ontario, Stellantis and LG Energy Solution after the companies paused construction on their planned factory in a dispute over federal subsidies.

Spokeswoman LouAnn Gosselin said Stellantis "to date has not received an official response from its previously sent letters."

She did not provide further details.

Ontario's Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said both he and Premier Doug Ford have been on the phone with the federal government and Stellantis over the last several days in an effort to finish the deal.

"We continue to urge the federal government to conclude their deal with Stellantis," he said at Queen's Park in Toronto on Thursday.

"The premier has been very clear that we will be there financially to assist the federal government in closing their deal with Stellantis."

The negotiations have been stuck between what Canada thinks is fair and affordable and what the company believes it is due. 

Stellantis has threatened to move the plant out of Windsor if it doesn't get what it says it was promised by the federal government in an agreement reached in February.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday they were inching closer to a deal.

Champagne said he made an offer similar to what the federal government and Ontario gave Volkswagen for an electric vehicle battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont. 

That deal could be worth up to $13 billion over 10 years.

Stellantis and LG Energy Solution announced their plans to build the facility in March 2022. The federal and provincial governments pledged $1 billion as capital for the project.

But the United States changed the landscape last summer when it announced new production tax credits for EV battery makers as part of the Inflation Reduction Agreement.

That prompted the companies to ask for more government support. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2023.

HIP CAPITALI$M

Cannabis price 'race to the bottom' hurts market's future: OCS CEO

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

The head of Ontario's cannabis distributor says the "race to the bottom" happening with pot prices risks hurting the market's future.

“Once you condition consumers to certain prices, it may take a generation to change perceptions and price tolerances,” David Lobo, Ontario Cannabis Store president and chief executive, said in a speech at the Lift cannabis conference in Toronto on Thursday. 

“In an economy where inflation has impacted every other consumer good, we can't keep pushing lower.”

His remarks come as the cannabis boom that materialized in 2018, when the substance was regulated and money poured into the sector, has since dissipated. Pot companies are taking multimillion-dollar writedowns, laying off staff and rethinking their product mixes as the industry gets a better sense of consumer demand and regulatory hurdles.

All the while, the illicit market, where weed is much cheaper and sellers operate outside restrictions imposed on the legal market, has remained mighty. The OCS estimated in Ontario alone, the illicit market still made up 43 per cent of the province’s cannabis market last March, down from June 2020, when it held onto 75 per cent.

Many believe the illicit market has a far greater share of pot sales than governments and their pot distributors capture in such statistics because there is still a stigma around cannabis, so users may not admit weed use when surveyed.

To stay competitive, cannabis producers have been dropping prices. Statistics Canada said a gram of legal cannabis cost $10.29 on average in 2019, whereas the OCS had some dried flower products selling for under $4 this week.

The price compression has meant prices can also be much lower in Canada than in the U.S., said David Schewede, chief executive of Heritage Cannabis, which is behind the Rad and Purefarma brands.

"In Missouri, we sell the same (product) for $70 U.S. that we sell here for $31 Canadian," he said, in a session after Lobo's speech.

"It's the same product, same terpene, same supplier, same manufacturer, same secondary package and label supplier. There's a lot more money being made down there."

However, Schewede cautioned that lower prices don't always amount to more sales. His company has released products "that were so cheap that I don't even know if we were making money," but they wound up being an "absolute stinker" because shoppers were looking for more than a low price.

Lobo maintains the OCS is doing its part in fighting the race to the bottom with a plan to lower its margins this fall, which he estimates could hand $60 million to licensed pot producers next year.

However, the OCS, which distributes cannabis from producers to stores, will not require pot companies to pass along savings from the margin to drop to consumers by lowering their prices.

Canopy Growth Corp., one of Canada's largest pot producers, has said it will hold its prices.

The Smiths Falls, Ont. cannabis company behind the Tweed, Ace Valley and 7Acres brands is not budging on its pricing because the pot market is already “highly competitive," chief executive David Klein told The Canadian Press in February.

Lobo also used his speech to remind the industry that conditions have shifted since legalization, when investors were highly optimistic about the industry and a sales rush was expected.

"We are no longer in the early days of legalization anymore. That dank new car smell of legal cannabis has worn off," he said.

"The attention of the country has shifted to other topics like COVID, geopolitical tensions, inflation and now emerging platform shifts like green technologies and artificial intelligence."

Despite cannabis being a substance with a lengthy history and being almost five years past legalization, Lobo feels the industry still doesn't know how it would fare in some crisis times.

"We don't yet know how fragile consumer trust and social license with Canadians truly is," he said.

"What happens if we have a major recall resulting from adverse product reactions, negatively impacting the health of many Canadians?"

The integrity of the industry could be impacted by a "lapse in judgment" from a few people, he warned.

"How large of an impact can a few unfortunate events have on the moral high ground we have in positioning legal cannabis as a better alternative to illegal?

"The types of events I'm speaking of are not something I believe anyone in this industry wants to see occur and they are difficult to forecast ... but the marketplace needs to be watched carefully."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2023.

RIGHT TO REPAIR

Quebec government moves to ban planned obsolescence, ensure products can be repaired

Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press

The Quebec government wants to ban the sale of products that aren't intended to last and reinforce consumers' ability to repair the products they buy.

It says planned obsolescence and steps taken by manufactures to limit the ability of consumers to repair products are costing Quebecers thousands of dollars and hurting the environment. 

"It's normal that these goods need maintenance or repairs from time to time. What's not normal is that replacement parts aren't available or the device breaks when you try to repair it," Kariane Bourassa, the parliamentary assistant to the minister of justice, told reporters in Quebec City. 

A bill introduced by the province's justice minister Thursday would ban the sale of products whose obsolescence is planned as well as require manufacturers and retailers to ensure replacement parts and repair services are available at a reasonable price for the products they sell in the province.

If the bill is adopted, manufacturers would also be required to ensure products can be repaired with ordinary tools and without causing irreversible damage.

"It's unacceptable that perfectly functional device is equipped with an apparatus that prevents if from working normally after a certain amount of time. It's also intolerable that an electronic device is deliberately designed so that its evolution is limited. The negative impact on Quebecers' wallets can't be ignored, neither can the repercussions on our environment," Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said at the news conference.

The bill would also create a "warranty of good working order" -- a specific time frame for different types of products during which manufacturers would be required to repair them. 

Also included in the bill are requirements that car manufacturers ensure their vehicles can be repaired by any mechanic, and not just at affiliated dealerships, and that those manufacturers make vehicle data needed to diagnose issues available to owners and long-term lessors, or their mechanics.

Jolin-Barrette said the bill also includes an "anti-lemon" measure that would allow people who purchased a vehicle within the previous three years to have that vehicle declared "seriously defective" by a court and cancel their purchase contract if major issues persist after multiple repair attempts.

He said the proposed measure is the first of its kind in Canada but that similar measures exist in all 50 states of the United States. 

The bill would also begin the process of establishing a universal charger that would be required to work with all electronic devices. That step has been taken by the European Union, which will require most portable electronic devices to work with USB-C charging points by the end of 2024.

If the Quebec law is passed, it would includes fines of up to $125,000 for violations. Businesses can also be fined four times any profit they made as a result of a violation of the law. 

Alissa Centivany, a professor at Western University in London, Ont., who has advocated for people's ability to repair their devices, said she thinks Quebec is taking a bold step.  

"This is a really exciting step forward. Who knows how it will unfold, but this is a great sign and I'm hopeful that it will be successful. And I'm hopeful that other provinces will take Quebec's lead here and propose similar law," she said in an interview. 

The province's opposition parties have said they are open to the Coalition Avenir Québec government initiative, and the Liberals have introduced a similar bill.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2023. 

Precision says wildfires in Alberta and B.C. have had a modest impact on operations

The Canadian Press

Precision Drilling Corp. says the wildfires in Alberta and B.C. have had a modest impact on its operations and it expects second-quarter drilling activity to average about 42 rigs in the region, an increase of 14 per cent compared with a year earlier.

Wildfires in Alberta and B.C. have forced oil and gas companies to shut in production due to the dangers facing their operations caused by the hot and dry conditions.

Precision says it has 46 rigs active in Canada right now, but expects to have more than 60 active rigs by the end of the month as it emerges from the lows of the spring breakup season.

In the U.S., the contract drilling company says its active rig count currently stands at 50, but cautioned that activity may further soften in the coming weeks. 

Precision says its U.S. drilling activity in the second quarter this year is expected to average about 50 rigs compared with an average active rig count of 55 in the second quarter of 2022.

The company says it continues to sign new contracts, with multiple rigs starting in the second half of the year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2023.

The UK Is Installing Rooftop Solar Panels At A Record-Breaking Pace

By City A.M - May 30, 2023

• High electricity prices push UK citizens to install more rooftop solar than ever before.
• 
  
• If the current pattern of growth continues, about 230,000 installations will be made in 2023.
• 
  
• This would raise the number of solar roofs from 1.24m to 1.47m across the UK.

More residential and small-scale commercial rooftop solar power installations are expected to be made this year than ever before, stimulated by the high cost of grid electricity.

If the current pattern of growth continues, about 230,000 installations will be made in 2023, according to the latest data from industry body Solar Energy UK and certifier MCS – shared exclusively with City A.M.

This would raise the number of solar roofs from 1.24m to 1.47m across the UK.

Overall, a record number of sub-50 kilowatt PV systems were installed in March, totalling 17,595 in all, or 568 per day – as first announced last week by the government.

The UK is on course for a record year of installations – Source: MCS

The latest bounce in new setups suggests consumers are less anxious over the upfront costs of new installations, in a market defined by high energy bills and near record power prices.

As it stands, solar panel installations typically cost around £6,000, with a payback time of 10-11 years, as shown in data from Money Saving Expert.

These figures exclude larger-scale systems over 50kW, such as solar panels mounted on warehouses, supermarkets and factories, and solar farms, sectors of the market which are also booming.

Overall solar capacity now is thought to be approaching 16 gigawatts, with 17GW set to be reached by the end of the year.

Even if the pace of growth levels off, the industry still expects to see more than 200,000 of these systems set up in 2023, with over 54,000 in the first quarter of this year alone.

The current annual record was set in 2011, when a total of 203,120 installations were registered with industry certifier MCS.

The feed-in tariff scheme available at the time created the market, stimulated demand and slashed costs, laying the groundwork for today’s subsidy-free, multi billion pound solar industry.

MCS chief executive Ian Rippin said:“The growth we’ve seen highlights the appetite for solar panels and does give some insight into the growing reliance on home-grown energy in the UK. More people are turning to renewable solutions to generate their own power at home and it’s great to see increasing levels of confidence in solar.”

The latest data follows the government’s announcement last week of a solar taskforce, which met for the first time this month.

The taskforce, which was recommended in Tory MP Chris Skidmore’s net zero review, will look to make recommendations to help meet the government’s ambition for 70GW solar power by 2035 – in line with the energy security strategy.

Its focus will be on cutting costs of installation, boosting British jobs and improving grid access to support the vast ramp up in solar power.

Registrations have continued to rise this year – according to the latest monthly data from MCS

This follows previous warnings from industry bodies over the delays in connecting new projects to the grid.

The taskforce will be co-chaired by Solar Energy UK chief executive Chris Hewett,

He argued that installing rooftop solar power, whether at residential or commercial scale, is “one of the best investments available” which can offer hefty savings on energy bills alongside the opportunity to be paid for sending excess power to the grid.

“Solar is the most popular form of power generation amongst the British public and consumer demand has never been higher, but the rate of rooftop installation must double to help hit 70GW by 2035. The number of solar farms will also have to increase significantly. I am delighted we now have industry leaders working directly with the government to resolve the stumbling blocks and maximise the benefits that solar energy offers for the nation,” Hewett said.

By CityAM

ALBERTA

Mytilineos to acquire solar projects from Westbridge Renewable Energy

Daniel Johnson , BNN Bloomberg

June 1,2023

Mytilineos Energy & Metals has entered into an agreement with Westbridge Renewable Energy Corp. to acquire five solar projects in Alberta.  

The companies announced the transaction in a news release Thursday, which will be completed through a share purchase by Mytilineos of all outstanding equities of five Westbridge subsidiaries. 

The subsidiaries include Georgetown Solar Inc., Sunnynook Solar Energy Inc., Dolcy Solar Inc., Eastervale Solar Inc. and Red Willow Solar Inc. 

Evangelos Mytilineos, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Greek company, said in the release that the transaction builds on the company’s “policy of expanding its renewables business internationally.” 

Mytilineos said the move takes “early advantage of the motives that the Canadian government is granting to new renewable developments.” The announcement also marks the largest renewable energy investment to date for the Athens-based company’s energy business unit, Mytilineos said. 

Canada’s Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit and Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit could provide a refundable tax credit of around 30 per cent for some renewable energy projects, the release said.

The projects are expected to have a cumulative capital expenditure investment of $1.7 billion, equally distributed over four years, the release said. Construction of the projects is expected to be completed between 2026-27. 

"The capex investment for the projects includes this 30 per cent tax credit from the Canadian government (up to $430 million based on the estimated eligible capex of the projects),” the release said.

The group of projects are expected to produce 2.1 terawatt-hours each year, around enough renewable energy to power 200,000 homes in Canada for one year

“Today’s announcement indicates a high level of confidence in the quality and consistency of our work, and we look forward to driving value for our shareholders as we continue to execute our business model and strategy,” Stefano Romanin, the director and chief executive officer at Westbridge Renewable, said in the release. 

The announced transaction marks the first portfolio monetization for Westbridge, according to the release.

“We look forward to advancing our existing pipeline and originating and acquiring projects in markets where we see significant opportunities for advancement,” Romanin said. 

Need for pilots fuels record demand for simulators: CAE CEO

Iva Poshnjari, BNN Bloomberg

Aircraft simulator CAE Inc. posted annual double-digit growth in its latest quarter on the back of immense demand for pilot training, the company’s CEO said.  

The heightened demand for travel, alongside an expected expansion in military contracts, are among the key driving forces of growth behind CAE, Marc Parent, president and chief executive officer at CAE, told BNN Bloomberg in a TV interview Thursday. 

“We are the number one trainer of pilots in the world and there’s a huge demand for pilots out there in all of our segments,” he said.

The company’s fourth-quarter results display this growth through a 30 per cent rise in revenue year-over-year at $1.26 billion, up from $955 million from Q4 in 2022. 

“We just printed another record year of order intake at $5 billion, which leads into a record backlog,” Parent added.

He explained that any analyst concerns over the company’s slower-than-expected margin recovery in defence contracts will be addressed in the latter half of this year as new contracts are due to come in.

While this transition is taking place, Parent attested to the presence CAE has gained within the U.S. military market.

“We train all 43,000 airmen of the U.S. military – all branches. That’s just the United States alone, obviously the largest defence market in the world. That’s just testimony,” he added.

He also pointed to the company’s growth throughout the U.S. market at large.

“Four out of five major airlines in the United States now train with us. That’s versus zero before the pandemic,” he said.

“All our markets are growing and we have strong position within them.”

What slowdown?

Canadian  Economy continues to outperform

The Canadian Press

May 31,2023

The Canadian economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year and likely expanded again in April, fuelling speculation that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates again.

Statistics Canada reported Wednesday real gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 3.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.

The latest data shows growth beat out the federal agency’s own forecast of 2.5 per cent for the quarter. A preliminary estimate suggests the economy expanded by 0.2 per cent in April after remaining flat in March.

The ongoing resilience in the economy is raising the odds of another rate hike, economists say, as the Bank of Canada heads toward its upcoming interest rate decision next week.

"The run of sturdy data undoubtedly raises the odds that the Bank of Canada needs to go back to the well of rate hikes, and even puts some chance on a move as early as next week's policy decision," BMO chief economist Douglas Porter said in a client note.

But Porter, along with other commercial bank economists say that the central bank may delay the decision to raise rates again until the summer.

"However, given the uncertain backdrop and the possibility that inflation took a big step down in May, the Bank of Canada could opt to remain patient for a bit longer and signal that it's open to hiking in July if the strength persists."

The federal agency says growth in exports and household spending helped spur growth in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, slower inventory accumulations as well as declines in household investment and business investment in machinery and equipment weighed on growth.

The Canadian economy has managed to continue outperforming expectations, despite the Bank of Canada hoping high interest rates would cause a more profound pullback by consumers and businesses.

The household spending figures show spending up on both goods and services in the first three months of the year, after minimal growth in the previous two quarters.

However, Statistics Canada noted that disposable income fell for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2021. The federal agency says disposable income declined by one per cent, largely due to the expiration of government measures aimed at helping people cope with inflation.

The central bank paused its rate-hiking cycle earlier this year, keeping its key interest rate at 4.5 per cent — the highest it’s been since 2007.

But the central bank’s governor, Tiff Macklem, has signalled that the bank is still trying to figure out if interest rates are high enough to quash inflation.

The headline inflation rate ticked up slightly to 4.4 per cent in April, remaining well above the central bank’s two per cent target.

Pet retailer Chewy plans Canadian expansion

Ben Cousins, BNN Bloomberg

Local dog Frankie poses for photos outside the New York Stock Exchange, decorated

 for the Chewy IPO, Friday, June 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

An online retailer of dog toys, snacks and accessories is expanding into Canada as the company looks to grow its market on waning sales in the United States.

Chewy, among the several tech companies to explode in popularity during the pandemic, announced its first international expansion on Thursday, with plans to enter the Canadian market in the third quarter of 2023.

“We can now leverage our platform to be reliably deployed in Canada, without meaningful incremental investment,” the company wrote in its quarterly memo to shareholders.

“As we assessed which geography would be most suitable for our expansion plans, we honed in on Canada’s large and growing market, where we see a path to achieving market share and profitability akin to our U.S. business.” 

Chewy said it will begin with a focus on the Greater Toronto Area, and gradually expand from there.

The company also announced a new fulfillment centre in Nashville and a partnership with Lemonade Pet Insurance.

Chewy reported a 14.7 per cent sales hike for its first quarter compared to last year, while boosting its annual revenue projection by US$50 million to as high as $11.35 billion. Thursday’s news shot shares up 27 per cent in early trading. 

“The superior value proposition of the Chewy brand continues to resonate, and our team continues to demonstrate operating discipline and high-quality execution,” Chewy CEO Sumit Singh said in a news release.