Google should break up digital ad business over competition concerns, European regulators say

Kelvin Chan and Samuel Petrequin, 

The Associated Press   Jun 14, 2023

The Google logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris in Paris, France, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. 

(AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

BRUSSELS — European Union regulators hit Google with fresh antitrust charges Wednesday, saying the only way to satisfy competition concerns about its lucrative digital ad business is by selling off parts of the tech giant's main moneymaker.

The unprecedented decision to push for such a breakup marks a significant escalation by Brussels in its crackdown on Silicon Valley digital giants, and follows a similar move by U.S. authorities seeking to bust Google's alleged monopoly on the online ad ecosystem.

The European Commission, the bloc's executive branch and top antitrust enforcer, said its preliminary view after an investigation is that “only the mandatory divestment by Google of part of its services” would address the concerns.

The 27-nation EU has led the global movement to crack down on Big Tech companies — including moving closer to groundbreaking rules on artificial intelligence — but it has previously relied on issuing blockbuster fines, including three antitrust penalties for Google worth billions.

It is the first time the bloc has told a tech giant that it should split up key parts of its business over violations of the EU's strict antitrust laws, though details on what that could look like are not clear following the preliminary finding.

Google can now defend itself by making its case before the commission issues its final decision. The company said it disagreed with the finding and “will respond accordingly,” adding that the EU’s investigation focused on a narrow part of its ad business.

“Our advertising technology tools help websites and apps fund their content, and enable businesses of all sizes to effectively reach new customers," said Dan Taylor, Google vice president of global ads. "Google remains committed to creating value for our publisher and advertiser partners in this highly competitive sector."

The commission's decision stems from a formal investigation that it opened in June 2021, looking into whether Google violated the bloc’s competition rules by favoring its own online display advertising technology services at the expense of rival publishers, advertisers and advertising technology services.

Online display ads are banners and text that appear on websites such as newspaper home pages and are personalized based on an internet user’s browsing history.

European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager says Google is dominant on both sides of the ad-selling market. Google abused that position by favoring its own ad exchange, reinforcing its ability to charge a high fee for its services, the commission said.

“Google is representing the interests of both buyers and sellers. And at the same time, Google is setting the rules on how demand and supply should meet,” she said at a news conference. "This gives rise to inherent and pervasive conflicts of interest."

Vestager added that if Google sold off, for example, its real-time marketplace for buying and selling ads or a tool for publishers to manage their ads, “we would put an end to the conflicts of interest.”

The commission is seeking a forced sale because past cases that ended with fines and requirements for Google to stop anti-competitive practices have not worked, allowing the company to continue its behavior, “just under a different disguise,” she said.

"This is a big deal" and a sign that the commission has “lost all trust in Google and lost all trust in those behavioral remedies” mandating changes to the way it operates, said Rich Stables, CEO of rival search engine Kelkoo, which was involved in two of the EU's previous Google antitrust cases.

Google's ad tech business is also under investigation by Britain's antitrust watchdog and faces litigation in the U.S. that calls for the company to divest its digital ad tools.

European and U.S. authorities are acknowledging that “the only way to address this egregious conflict of interest is to force Google to divest part of its business,” said Max von Thun, director of the Europe office of the Open Markets Institute, a proponent of stronger antitrust enforcement.

The commission’s move is “a clear illustration of the power competition authorities have when they work in parallel,” he said.

Brussels has previously hit Google with more than 8 billion euros (now US$8.6 billion) worth of fines in three separate antitrust cases, involving its Android mobile operating system and shopping and search advertising services. The company is appealing all three penalties.

EU regulators can impose penalties worth up to 10 per cent of annual revenue and also could fine Google alongside any sale order.

Google brought in $54.5 billion in ad sales and YouTube earned nearly $6.7 billion in ad sales in the first three months of the year, but that marked a back-to-back slump as companies spend more cautiously.

___

Chan reported from London.

Brussels, my love? The EU’s groundbreaking attempt to regulate AI clears its first hurdle

Host Méabh Mc Mahon in the European Parliament in Strasbourg with MEPs Patrick Breyer, Arba Kokalari and Barry Andrews - Copyright Euronews

  

By Méabh Mc Mahon & Elly Laliberte • Updated: 17/06/2023 -

In this edition of Brussels, my love?, we discuss the EU's recent decision to be the first to regulate artificial intelligence. Some parties, however, were not completely happy with the final compromise.

This week we were joined by a panel of MEPs: Patrick Breyer, German MEP from the Pirate Party, Arba Kokalari, Swedish MEP from the Moderate Party, and Barry Andrews, Irish Fianna Fail MEP.

The European Parliament voted on the world’s first comprehensive set of rules for artificial intelligence this week. As the parliament headed for Strasbourg, all eyes were on MEPs for this groundbreaking vote which passed with 499 votes in favour, 28 against and 93 abstentions.

Arba Kokalari was one of the few who voted against the AI regulation, arguing that the regulation of facial recognition technology will hurt Europe

“The vote today from the European Parliament [is] shutting the door on using this very important technique in very specific matters as terrorism, child kidnapping. I think for me that was a red line to vote against,” she said.

However, Patrick Breyer said the regulation is a positive feat. “I think it’s been quite a historic week,” said the German MEP. “The parliament backing a full ban on real-time biometric mass surveillance saves our society from a future of mass surveillance.”

Discussions over implementing this regulation have started in EU capitals and the hope is to have this over the line by the end of the year.

Panelists also discussed the Commission’s proposal for an inter-institutional ethics board. This comes after months of scandal (such as the so-called Qatargate) in an attempt to clean up their image.

However, Barry Andrews believes the ethics board won’t be able to tackle such a large issue. “It was very disappointing,” he said. “The budget is €600,000 with three staff [members]. It's really impossible to see how that would make an impact or that it's proportionate to the problem that is being identified.”

European Parliament debates 'landmark rules' on AI regulation | DW News

 

ALL CAPITALI$M IS STATE CAPITALI$M

Freeland says production subsidies for Volkswagen will be tax-free, matching the U.S.

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Wednesday that the federal government plans to make the production subsidies it's offering to Volkswagen tax-free to match the incentives offered by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. 

Her comments came after the  parliamentary budget officer published a report saying Canada's contract with the German auto giant to build an electric-vehicle battery plant in southwestern Ontario would cost the federal government up to $16.3 billion over the next 10 years. 

That figure is higher than what Ottawa previously said the deal would cost taxpayers, a sum that included a $700-million upfront capital investment and up to $13.2 billion in production subsidies.

The Parliamentary Budget Office estimate included the $700-million contribution for the construction of the plant and $12.8 billion in production support. 

However, the PBO said that for the production subsidies to be equivalent to the incentives offered by the U.S., the federal government would have to make tax adjustments totalling $2.8 billion. 

That's because the U.S. offers production tax credits that are tax-free, whereas the Canadian subsidies would have to be taxed under current tax legislation.

"The IRA tax credits are not taxable, and so it makes sense that the treatment of our incentives, which are designed to level the playing field, would be comparable. And that is how we will proceed," Freeland told reporters on Wednesday.

She said her government would change current tax legislation to make the subsidies tax-free. 

The PBO report published Wednesday provided a fiscal and economic analysis of the construction phase of the facility only, leaving out the operation phase. 

Yves Giroux, the parliamentary budget officer, said his office is unable to take on analysis of the costs and benefits arising from the operation of the plant until it receives clearance from the federal government and Volkswagen. 

He said the deal includes confidential information regarding minimum production levels that cannot be disclosed directly or indirectly.

"It's very hard to assess without doing further analysis and without being relieved of the confidentiality provisions that cover the production schedule," Giroux said in a media briefing. 

The analysis of the construction phase estimated that the deal would create a peak of 3,100 jobs at the start of 2026, but that figure would fall to 1,400 by the end of 2027.

The federal government announced in April the details of the deal — which would see Volkswagen build its first gigafactory outside of Europe —and promised it would create up to 3,000 direct jobs and 30,000 indirect jobs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2023

Volkswagen subsidy to cost Canada $1.8bn 

more than forecast

Reuters | June 14, 2023 |

From left: Oliver Blume, CEO VW Group; Thomas Schmall, Group Board Member Technology; Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. (Image courtesy of Volkswagen Group.)

Canada’s budgetary watchdog estimated on Wednesday that a deal offering Volkswagen production tax credits to build a battery gigafactory in the country will cost taxpayers about C$2.4 billion ($1.8 billion) more than announced.


The forecast comes as the government tries to sweeten a subsidy deal for Jeep maker Stellantis, which stopped construction at a more-than C$5 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Ontario, saying Ottawa had reneged on promises.

Canada and German carmaker Volkswagen in April together committed more than C$20 billion for the planned Ontario plant, the biggest single investment in the country’s EV supply chain.

This included up to C$13.2 billion in manufacturing tax credits through 2032 and a C$700 million federal grant.

In a review of the deal, Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Yves Giroux said the tax credits would end up costing a bit less than estimated, but Ottawa would need to make about C$2.8 billion in tax adjustments to ensure Volkswagen gets the support it was promised.

Commenting on the report, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said that the Volkswagen investment was “fully accounted for” in her budget.

The point of difference stems from the investment’s tax treatment, which Freeland said was because Canada was trying to compete with the US Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) non-taxable incentives for clean-tech incentives.

“When the IRA came into force … the US frankly had just changed the game and we knew that Canada had to be at the table,” she told reporters in Ottawa.

Under Canadian law, any monetary support a business receives from the government is considered income, and is therefore taxable. To make the deal match IRA subsidies, the federal government would have to forgive the taxes levied, the PBO said.

Canada, home to a large mining sector for minerals including lithium, nickel and cobalt, is trying to woo companies involved in all levels of the EV supply chain as the world seeks to cut carbon emissions.

Giroux said the economic benefits of the construction of the Volkswagen facility “are marginal”, but the PBO did not estimate the benefits of the factory when it is fully operational.

“We are very confident in the value of the VW investment… we are really confident in the value of our green industrial policy,” Freeland said.

($1 = 1.3283 Canadian dollars)

(By Ismail Shakil; Editing by Alexander Smith and Angus MacSwan)

How a strike at B.C. ports could be a 'significant' economic blow

Ben Cousins, BNN Bloomberg   Jun 14, 2023

As more than 7,000 terminal workers at British Columbia ports approach legal strike action, concern is growing about what a job action might mean for the economy.

On Monday, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada voted more than 99 per cent to strike against the B.C. Maritime Employers Association, meaning a work stoppage could begin on June 24 without any progression in negotiations.

Now, experts are sounding the alarm that job action could seriously hurt the economies of not only British Columbia, but Canada as a whole.

“Any kind of slowdown can have significant disputations to our economy,” Bridgitte Anderson, president and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, told BNN Bloomberg Tuesday.

“The impact would be quite far reaching and that is why we’re so concerned about any kind of impact due to labour disruption. It could take days, weeks or months to resolve.”

In addition to snags on the supply chain, Anderson worries job action will hurt Canadians’ wallet in a time of already high inflation. 

“We are held a little bit hostage by what happens at the ports with importing and exporting, and so we're really relying on the two sides to come together and to work to find a solution so that we don’t have any work stoppages,” she said.

On its website, the B.C. Maritime Employers Association acknowledged how “critical” the ports are to Canada’s economy.

“That’s why we’re dedicated to making reasonable efforts to conclude agreements without further disruptions to the supply chain,” a statement reads on the site.

According to the BCMEA, member ports handled $180 billion in cargo in 2020 and contributed $2.7 billion to the national GDP.

Meanwhile, John Corey, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada, said even the threat of job action has repercussions.

“This could be a huge problem,” he said. “Weeks before a strike actually happens, while negotiations are taking place, shippers are looking for alternative routes and the current routes that they have are the most efficient so any other route is less efficient and also more expensive.”

Corey added that the supply chain experiences about seven days of backlog for every day of stoppage.

“The problem right now is the supply chain, there’s no slack in it,” he said. “If there’s any small disruption it takes a long time to clear that out.”

“Being shut down for even a day … is billions of dollars.”

Dan Fong, an investment analyst at Veritas Investment Research, worries a disruption will hurt an already fragile supply chain.

“That’s going to exacerbate a lot of the volume weakness that we’re seeing,” he said.

Bell cuts 1,300 positions, radio stations and foreign bureaus in restructuring

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press

BCE Inc. is cutting 1,300 positions, shutting or selling nine radio stations and closing two foreign bureaus as the company plans to "significantly adapt" how it delivers the news in the face of rising financial pressure.

The plan entails "moving to a single newsroom approach across brands, allowing for greater collaboration and efficiency," said Richard Gray, vice-president of news at Bell Media, in an internal memo distributed to staff Wednesday morning and provided to The Canadian Press.

The company's media branch "can't afford" to continue operating with its various brands — such as CTV National News, BNN, CP24, its local TV news stations and radio channels — independently of one another, said Bell chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson in an interview.

"It's a consolidation of news gathering, news delivery," he said.

The layoffs include a six per cent cut at Bell Media, but Malcolmson said cuts, amounting to around three per cent of its total workforce, are happening across the organization.

“This thing affects all layers of the company and isn’t targeted at any one band of employees.”

Management positions at BCE are also being slashed by six per cent, while there will also be 20 per cent fewer executive roles in the company compared with 2020.

About 30 per cent of the positions being eliminated are current vacancies that won't be filled.

CTV's foreign bureaus in London, U.K, and Los Angeles are set to close while its Washington, D.C. presence will be scaled back.

Bell Media said it would also shut down Edmonton's TSN 1260 Radio, Vancouver's BNN Bloomberg Radio 1410 and Funny 1040, Winnipeg's Funny 1290, Calgary's Funny 1060, along with London's NewsTalk 1290. It is also selling Hamilton's AM Radio 1150 and AM 820, as well as Windsor's AM 580, to an undisclosed third party, subject to CRTC approval.

In a separate internal memo sent on Wednesday, Bell Media president Wade Oosterman said the company is coping with "the ongoing migration of advertising revenue to foreign digital platforms" such as Facebook and Google, and a shift from cable, satellite and Fibre TV subscribers to digital streaming platforms.

"We are also faced with strong economic and inflationary pressures, a pullback in advertisers’ budgets, and a challenging regulatory environment that has been too slow to adjust," said Oosterman in his memo to staff.

In an open letter published online Wednesday, Bell Canada president and CEO Mirko Bibic said Bell Canada expects to lose more than $250 million in legacy phone revenues per year, while its news operations incur $40 million in annual operating losses. He said Bell radio stations have seen profit cut in half since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The job reductions are consistent with, but smaller than, similar reductions announced by other leading technology and media companies across North America in recent months," said Bibic.

Dwayne Winseck, a professor at Carleton University's School of Journalism and Communication, said the move to a more centralized newsroom would hurt local journalism, particularly on radio airwaves.

"One of the key things that I think has helped radio is its claim to local representativeness and so this really takes a knife to that," he said.

Gregory Taylor, an associate professor with University of Calgary’s communications, media and film department, said Bell's announcement is the culmination of "the last 10 years really coming home to roost."

"We've been told now for more than a decade that Canadian companies have to get larger to compete on a global scale. This was always questionable," he said. 

"And now we're seeing the danger element of it is that when there are problems with some of these companies, at various levels, it has impacts across the country."

Taylor said those affects would be felt locally, where the range of voices offered to Canadians would be limited.

"There's so much that's going to be potentially lost here," he said.

Malcolmson said regulatory challenges affecting both the telecommunications side and media arm left the company in an "unenviable place," with no choice but to make widespread cuts.

"We're obviously trying to do this in the most humane, least impactful way possible," he said.

Malcolmson did not rule out further layoffs in the foreseeable future, saying the company will take a wait-and-see approach to the regulatory environment.

He took aim at "relentless regulatory intervention" by the CRTC, under Ottawa's direction, that has prioritized measures to bring down the cost of telecommunication services.

Noting that the cost of wireless service has declined around 25 per cent and the cost of broadband high-speed internet has gone up by less than one per cent over the last three years, despite Canada's overall high inflation, Malcolmson said "maybe it's time to declare victory" for Ottawa.

"I think the government's sort of populist focus on pricing isn't necessarily in line with current reality and the government has created an intensely competitive industry structure that they should allow to play out," he said.

Telecommunications consultant Mark Goldberg said it's fair to criticize Ottawa for a narrow focus on price reduction at a time when much investment is still needed by Canada's major providers to meet consumers' needs.

"With this regulatory uncertainty, it's a difficult market to invest in."

But Winseck called it a situation that Bell could have avoided with better decision-making over the past decade.

"It seems to me that Bell is asking for the stars and the moon," he said. "It has a pretty favourable regulatory framework already."

A Reuters Institute report released Wednesday showed CTV News had the widest offline reach of English media outlets in Canada, and the second most online reach.

Still, Winseck said Bell has not invested enough "to allow itself to stand out as a major news provider."

The company has also failed to invest in its own domestic catalogue to compete on the streaming side, said Winseck.

"Without your own domestic catalogue, the days were numbered. It has basically withheld or starved its radio stations and its TV services of the investments that it would need to develop a robust catalogue of its own television and film programming."

Malcolmson lamented the process around two pieces of legislation designed to help Canada's struggling media sector. While Bill C-18 would require companies like Google and Meta to pay Canadian outlets for news content that appears on their platforms, he said it could be for naught if the companies follow through on threats to restrict or block news links on their sites in response.

The other, Bill C-11, aims to force platforms such as Netflix, YouTube and TikTok to contribute a percentage of their Canadian revenue to Canadian production, but Malcolmson said it's not going to solve the "fundamental problem" that popular American content is being "withheld" by major streaming platforms from appearing on Canadian TV.

In a tweet, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the "sad news" about Bell's layoffs served as "yet another example of why bills C-11 and C-18 are necessary."

"A broke press is not a free press, and big tech needs to pay their fair share," the minister said.

The union representing some of the media workers being laid off said Bell should have let the two bills to finish working their way through the legislative process before deciding whether to make cuts.

"We think we think they should have waited and it's a shame that they didn't," said Randy Kitt, a spokesman for Unifor, which represents around 80 of the staff affected.

Kitt said it was a "devastating" day for members.

"We're surprised and we're not surprised," he said. "The media landscape in this country is extremely tough right now, which is why the government enacted two pieces of legislation to address it. We thought that Bell Media could have had other options to hold off until they saw relief from either C-18 or C-11."

Malcolmson said Bell has been waiting for regulatory reform for years and the company decided not to hold back cuts pending the outcome of regulatory consultations on those bills any further.

"We have to ensure that our business is able to operate in a viable way, and we can't wait two years and another, for example, $80 million of losses in news to see what the government might do.

"At some point, we have to say to ourselves, 'Is it worth funding this?'"

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2023.

BCE is the parent company of BNN Bloomberg through its Bell Media division.

Ottawa commits $25M to create Canada's first-ever LGBTQ entrepreneurship program

The Canadian Press

A Pride flag flies on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 8, 2023, during a Pride event. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The federal government says it will invest $25 million to create Canada's first-ever LGBTQ entrepreneurship program.

Small Business and Economic Development Minister Mary Ng is expected to announce the funding Thursday in Kingston, Ont.

The program will be run by the CGLCC, a chamber of commerce for Canada's LGBTQ community, and will include three main components: A business scale-up program, an Ecosystem Fund and a Knowledge Hub. 

Darrell Schuurman, co-founder and CEO of the CGLCC, says "entrepreneurs who identify as 2SLGBTQI+ play a crucial role in contributing to the Canadian economy" but continue to face barriers when starting and expanding their businesses. 

He says the program will provide entrepreneurs with resources and support to tackle these obstacles and be successful.

The federal Economic Development Department says there are more than 100,000 LGBTQ-owned and -operated businesses in Canada that employ more than 435,000 workers and generate over $22 billion in economic activity.

Yet it says one in four LGBTQ entrepreneurs have faced discrimination or lost their business because of who they are.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2023.

First Quantum rebuffs informal approach from Barrick Gold

Dinesh Nair, Thomas Biesheuvel, Jacob Lorinc and Vinicy Chan, 

Bloomberg News   Jun 15, 2023

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. recently rebuffed an informal takeover approach from Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s second-largest producer of the precious metal, as miners scour the globe for deals, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Barrick made overtures to First Quantum in the last few months as part of its search for ways to expand in copper, the people said. First Quantum indicated it wasn’t keen on a combination and declined to enter any substantive talks, according to the people. 

Shares of First Quantum jumped as much as 13 per cent in Canadian trading Thursday, the biggest intraday gain since November. The stock was up 7.8 per cent at 2.06 p.m. in Toronto, valuing the company at US$17.3 billion. Barrick fell 1.7 per cent in New York trading, giving the company a market value of US$28.9 billion.

Barrick and First Quantum aren’t currently in formal discussions, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. It remains unclear whether Barrick will revive its interest, according to the people.

Representatives for Barrick and First Quantum declined to comment.

ZERO PREMIUM

Barrick Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow got the top job when the mining company he founded, Randgold Resources Ltd., was taken over by Barrick in a zero-premium deal completed in 2019. The South African has since expounded the virtue of doing deals to create value, not just to get bigger, and talked down the need for bumper premiums. 

Soon after taking the top job at Barrick, he went after Newmont Corp. with a hostile all-share no-premium bid that ultimately failed. By contrast, recent takeovers in the copper space have come with big premiums. 

BHP Group Ltd. offered a 49 per cent premium to OZ Minerals Ltd.’s undisturbed share price to seal a A$9.6 billion (US$6.6 billion) deal for the Australian miner. Rio Tinto Group last year bought out minority shareholders of Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd., which is developing a massive Mongolian copper project, for 67 per cent above its last close before the bid was unveiled. 

“Valuation is a significant hurdle,” Citigroup Inc. analysts Alexander Hacking and Steven Stroup said in a Thursday note. “Barrick has been disciplined on M&A recently and to make such an offer would imply a very bullish outlook for copper versus gold.”

While the proposed deal may never materialize, it does emphasize that First Quantum appears to be the most acquirable large-scale copper miner, the analysts said.

A deal with First Quantum would transform Barrick into a significant copper miner when the industry’s largest players are all seeking to expand production of the wiring metal. BHP and Rio Tinto are actively looking to grow their copper exposure, while Glencore Plc is pursuing an unsolicited US$23 billion takeover bid for Canada’s Teck Resources Ltd., chiefly to acquire its giant South American copper mines. 

Barrick’s move mirrors a wider groundswell of dealmaking interest across the world’s biggest miners — particularly focused on metals like copper and lithium that will be central to decarbonizing the global economy.

COPPER CHASE

The Canadian company also faces its own unique set of challenges. Barrick, once the world’s largest bullion producer, is wrestling with gold output at its lowest level since 2000 after a multiyear strategy to cut debt and sell off assets. Meanwhile, perennial rival Newmont is on track to close a deal with Newcrest Mining Ltd. that would cement its status as the biggest gold producer, leaving Barrick little chance of catching up anytime soon.

Bristow has spoken emphatically about the need for gold companies to enter the race for copper growth. He’s said that copper output is critical “if you want to be relevant” in mining, and last year launched an ambitious US$7 billion copper project in Pakistan that aims to be operational by 2028. 

Canada’s First Quantum has long been viewed as a takeover target in the mining industry, primarily for its massive copper mine in Panama. The operation, which accounts for about 1.5 per cent of global copper production, recently emerged from a monthslong dispute with the Panamanian government. 

First Quantum also owns copper, gold and nickel mines in Africa, Australia, Europe and the Middle East. 

Liberals table 'sustainable jobs' bill to back up pledge to help workers transition

The Canadian Press

The federal Liberals introduced new legislation today that would require the government to develop and share a plan every five years to help workers transition to a clean-energy economy.

It would hold the government to account for its promises to help workers retrain and create new jobs as Canada shifts away from its current reality as a combustion-energy powerhouse.

The government says a clean-energy economy could create as many as 400,000 new jobs before the end of this decade alone.

The Liberals are calling Bill C-50 the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act.

The pragmatic-sounding name belies the political fight ahead as energy-dependent\
provinces in Western Canada accuse Ottawa of trying to overstep its bounds.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said her province would provide additional cash to help cut emissions from oil and gas production only if Ottawa scrapped the sustainable jobs bill.

PREMIER PROMOTING ALBERTA MADE PLASTIC

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2023.

Trudeau clean grid plan has Alberta 

leader pledging defiance

Robert Tuttle, Bloomberg News   Jun 13, 2023

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith vowed to fight Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s environmental initiatives with “every power that we have,” including by having the oil-rich province defy federal legislation.

A federal goal of zeroing out the emissions from the nation’s power grids by 2035 and a plan to slash emissions from oil and gas companies by 42 per cent this decade are unachievable for Alberta, Smith said Tuesday at an energy conference in Calgary. If necessary, the province will use the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act that was passed last year as grounds to disregard federal laws, Smith said. The act’s constitutionality has been widely disputed, and its use may provoke a court case.  

“The constitution is very clear that we have the authority to develop our electricity grid, we have the authority to develop our resources,” Smith told reporters. “That’s what the Sovereignty Act is all about, making sure that we defend our areas of jurisdiction.”

Smith’s United Conservative Party won 49 of 87 seats in the provincial legislature in elections two weeks ago to form a majority government, defeating the left-leaning New Democratic Party. Smith is a vocal critic of Trudeau, and promises to push back against federal intervention in Alberta were a central theme of her campaign.  

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith vowed to fight Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s environmental initiatives with “every power that we have,” including by having the oil-rich province defy federal legislation.

A federal goal of zeroing out the emissions from the nation’s power grids by 2035 and a plan to slash emissions from oil and gas companies by 42 per cent this decade are unachievable for Alberta, Smith said Tuesday at an energy conference in Calgary. If necessary, the province will use the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act that was passed last year as grounds to disregard federal laws, Smith said. The act’s constitutionality has been widely disputed, and its use may provoke a court case.  

“The constitution is very clear that we have the authority to develop our electricity grid, we have the authority to develop our resources,” Smith told reporters. “That’s what the Sovereignty Act is all about, making sure that we defend our areas of jurisdiction.”

Smith’s United Conservative Party won 49 of 87 seats in the provincial legislature in elections two weeks ago to form a majority government, defeating the left-leaning New Democratic Party. Smith is a vocal critic of Trudeau, and promises to push back against federal intervention in Alberta were a central theme of her campaign.  

A federal goal of zeroing out the emissions from the nation’s power grids by 2035 and a plan to slash emissions from oil and gas companies by 42 per cent this decade are unachievable for Alberta, Smith said Tuesday at an energy conference in Calgary. If necessary, the province will use the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act that was passed last year as grounds to disregard federal laws, Smith said. The act’s constitutionality has been widely disputed, and its use may provoke a court case.  

“The constitution is very clear that we have the authority to develop our electricity grid, we have the authority to develop our resources,” Smith told reporters. “That’s what the Sovereignty Act is all about, making sure that we defend our areas of jurisdiction.”

Smith’s United Conservative Party won 49 of 87 seats in the provincial legislature in elections two weeks ago to form a majority government, defeating the left-leaning New Democratic Party. Smith is a vocal critic of Trudeau, and promises to push back against federal intervention in Alberta were a central theme of her campaign.  

Indigenous kept from economic opportunities from pot legalization: Senate committee

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 

Jun 15, 2023

A Senate committee says the current cannabis market and legislation has kept Indigenous Peoples from sharing in the economic opportunities that the legalization of recreational pot created.

The standing Senate committee on Indigenous Peoples said Thursday that it wants the country to shift its approach to cannabis to help Indigenous communities and entrepreneurs better benefit from the pot market.

A review the committee undertook left members "severely disappointed but not surprised" to hear that Indigenous Peoples found themselves often shut out of or facing additional barriers in the cannabis market.

"Once again, Indigenous Peoples have been excluded from participation in the economic prosperity of the country," said Brian Francis, a P.E.I senator hailing from Lennox Island First Nation, at a press conference in Ottawa.

"And once again, little regard has been given to how our lives have been impacted."

The committee he sat on found the Indigenous community's difficulties in fully taking advantage of cannabis legalization stem from legislation around the sale and distribution of cannabis, licensing and even the regulation and policing of the substance.

Many problems the community faces were identified before legalization happened in October 2018 in consultations that were "inadequate at best" and "could and should have been addressed five years ago," Francis said.

"This oversight, to put it as charitably as I can, cannot readily be corrected," he said.

"The cannabis market is now largely saturated. First Nations entrepreneurs will have to work twice as hard to gain a foothold in this market."

The committee found some First Nations are completely blocked from participating in the cannabis market because the federal government set the scope of the legal sale and distribution of pot, but left regulation of legal activity to provinces and territories.

This meant some First Nations groups had to enter into regulation and sale agreements with provinces and territories 

While agreements have been reached in British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan, Indigenous communities told the committee Quebec and the Northwest Territories have not made similar moves.

Thus, the committee would like the Minister of Health to amend the Cannabis Act to permit First Nations to regulate the possession, sale and distribution of cannabis on their lands. It is also recommending a meeting be held with First Nations, federal, provincial and territorial governments to solve jurisdictional challenges they face.

Legislation has also left few Indigenous communities with the licenses from Health Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that are necessary to operate in the cannabis industry.

As of last September, the committee counted 55 Indigenous-affiliated applicants for commercial cannabis licenses, with 12 of those located in First Nations communities. Some 47 Indigenous-owned or affiliated businesses have received commercial licenses, including six in First Nations communities.

The committee feels this number is small and indicates Indigenous cannabis entrepreneurs may face additional barriers in the licensing process, so it would like the CRA to review the licensing process.

The committee also turned its attention to the excise tax, which is imposed on cannabis products when they're delivered to buyers and shared between the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

For dried and fresh cannabis, plants and seeds, the tax amounts to the higher of $1 per gram or a 10 per cent per gram fee.

For edibles, extracts and topicals, it's a flat rate based on the number of milligrams of total THC in the product. There are additional duties in Alberta, Nunavut, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

First Nations communities do not receive a portion of the tax, but the committee wants the government to look at how they could share in the levy.

Rounding out the recommendations were suggestions around the policing, research and medical insurance related to cannabis, along with the committee urging the government to hear from the Inuit and Métis communities, which it did not reach because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There's certainly some work that still has to be done, but I would say this is a golden opportunity for the government to act," said David Arnot, a Saskatchewan senator, at the same conference as Francis.

"We've given them clear recommendations and if they follow those recommendations, that will really set the stage for a reconciliation, certainly, economic reconciliation."

Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole steps into top role at global strategy firm

The Canadian Press

Conservative MP and former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole is given a standing ovation as he delivers his final speech in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Monday, June 12, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole has been named as the president and managing director of risk advisory firm ADIT North America.

The firm provides services to companies, investment funds and agencies that operate or invest globally.

It describes itself as specializing in strategic intelligence, business diplomacy, due diligence, security and compliance. 

The regional branch of the Paris-based firm that O'Toole will helm encompasses operations in both Canada and Mexico. 

O'Toole, who served in the cabinet of former prime minister Stephen Harper, announced in March that he would not return to the House of Commons after the summer break.

He was leader of the Conservative party from August 2020 until February 2022, when the Tory caucus voted him out after a disappointing result in the last federal election. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2023.

ALIENATION

Financial stress is impacting the mental health of Canadians: Survey

Daniel Johnson, BNN Bloomberg 

Jun 15, 2023

Canadians are increasingly stressed about their financial situations, as the cost of living weighs on many people’s mental health, according to a new report. 

FP Canada released its 2023 Financial Stress Index Thursday highlighting that for the sixth consecutive year, money continues to be the main source of stress for Canadians, impacting 40 per cent of respondents. 

Results come amid elevated levels of inflation coupled with high prices for gas and groceries, the report said.

“Canadians continue to struggle with their financial picture, and financial stress can have a significant impact not only on financial well-being but also on mental health,” Tashia Batstone, the president and chief executive officer of FP Canada, said in a news release. 

The survey also found that 36 per cent of respondents experienced mental health challenges, like anxiety or depression, associated with their financial stress. 

Additionally, 48 per cent of respondents reported losing sleep over their finances this year, an increase from 43 per cent last year. 

The survey found that inflation, specifically elevated gas and grocery costs, were key factors adding to the financial stress of those surveyed. 

“As Canadians struggle to afford groceries, gas and other goods and services, nearly half (48 per cent) have less disposable income compared to a year ago, a substantial increase from 2022 (39 per cent),” the press release said. 

The survey also found that Canadians are struggling to save, as 35 per cent of respondents reported concerns regarding retirement savings and 32 per cent stated concerns about saving for a major purchase. 

“Younger generations are also more likely to feel the pinch, and Canadians aged 18-34 are the most concerned about saving for major purchases (50 per cent),” the release said. 

ABOUT THE SURE

The Financial Stress Index is conducted each year by FP Canada and Leger, a Canadian market research and analytics firm. Results were compiled between March 29 and April 7 using online responses from 2,004 Canadians.