CANADA

Key recommendations from the government's review of the Cannabis Act

Story by The Canadian Press 

OrTTAWA — More than five years after cannabis was legalized in Canada, the government has released its final report of the legislative review of the Cannabis Act.

The report is the result of 18 months of work by a panel of industry experts to assess the progress of cannabis legalization and make recommendations to improve upon cannabis legislation.

Here are some of the key recommendations made by the report.

Public health

The report makes a number of public health recommendations concerning issues including product promotion, packaging and labelling, children and youth, and potency.

It calls on Health Canada to set and monitor targets for reducing youth and young adult cannabis use, to help implement school prevention programs, and to redouble efforts to inform Canadians about the risks of accidentally exposing children to cannabis.

It also expresses concern about the trend toward higher potencies of THC in cannabis products, recommending that the limit remain at 10 milligrams per package and that Health Canada establish a definition of higher-potency products and apply additional warnings to such products. THC is the psychoactive component of cannabis.

“If the current trend towards consuming higher-potency cannabis cannot be halted or reversed, then Health Canada should be ready to implement additional product regulations,” the report says.

The report also recommends the development of a “standard dose” for use on labelling, and makes several recommendations to improve and simplify the labelling on packaging.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis

The report has several recommendations regarding First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, including that Health Canada should co-develop culturally appropriate materials and programs containing health information about cannabis.

It also calls on Health Canada to co-develop amendments to the Cannabis Act to better protect health and safety in Indigenous communities, authorizing nation-to-nation agreements to control commercial cannabis activities.

Industry recommendations

The report recommends amending regulations to allow cannabis cultivators to sell products directly to distributors, and also recommends consideration of a review of the excise tax model, as it was based on a much higher average price than today’s prices.

Reforms to the excise tax regime could include higher duties on cannabis products with higher concentrations of THC in order to discourage consumption of higher-risk products.

The report also makes several recommendations targeted at improving diversity in the cannabis industry, including collecting demographic data.

Medical access

The report recommends allowing pharmacies to distribute cannabis products to people with medical authorization.

It says Health Canada should prioritize moving past the distinct medical access program so cannabis can be part of conventional medical care by being considered within standard drug approval pathways. The report says this should start with the rapid advancement of a pathway for health products containing CBD, a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis.

It also encourages more research on the therapeutic use of cannabis in Canada, and recommends the establishment of a knowledge hub focused on the use of cannabis for medical purposes.

The report also urges Health Canada to support the development of clinical guidance documents regarding medical use of cannabis to help increase the knowledge of health care professionals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press

BlackRock, 'dismayed' by $8.5 billion Texas divestment, urges rethink


A climate change activist stands outside of BlackRock headquarters, ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), in San Francisco, California, U.S., October 29, 2021. 

REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo© Thomson Reuters

By Isla Binnie

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senior BlackRock executive said on Thursday the world's largest asset manager was "dismayed" by a Texas state fund's move to pull $8.5 billion in assets, and urged the fund's administrators to reconsider.

Texas State Board of Education Chair Aaron Kinsey said on Tuesday the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) was terminating a contract with BlackRock, covering around 15% of its assets, to comply with a 2021 state law that curbed agencies' business with financial firms accused of boycotting energy companies.

It was the latest broadside in a tussle between Republican state and federal officials and Wall Street firms over using environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investing.

BlackRock Vice Chairman Mark McCombe wrote to Kinsey on Thursday that the firm had generated $250 million for PSF since 2006 and repeated previous rejections of the allegation it discriminates against oil and gas firms.

"We urge you to reconsider your decision and prioritize Texas schools and families who have benefited from BlackRock's consistent, long-term investment out-performance," McCombe wrote in the letter.

Kinsey said he made the move to fulfil his duty to manage money for the energy-producing state.

BlackRock said state law did not require the divestment because the funds' outperformance showed "divestment would not be in the best interest of Texas PSF".

Letters sent by PSF to BlackRock, dated March 19 and seen by Reuters, requested termination of contracts to manage investments in international equities and one specific fund, without giving a reason.

BlackRock had $10 trillion of assets under management at the end of 2023. McCombe said it had $320 billion in energy investments globally, and $120 billion in Texas-based public energy companies.

Just last month, Chief Executive Larry Fink appeared with Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick at an event in Houston aimed at stoking investment in the state's power infrastructure.

(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Franklin Paul and Daniel Wallis)

CalPERS says Exxon should drop lawsuit against climate-conscious investors

FILE PHOTO: ExxonMobil logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo© Thomson Reuters

At Isla Binnie

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The largest U.S. public pension fund plans to ask Exxon Mobil to drop a lawsuit against investors that filed a shareholder resolution asking the U.S. oil major to curb greenhouse gas emissions faster.

California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), which according to its most recent disclosure holds a 0.2% stake in Exxon, disclosed at a meeting of its officials this week that it will raise the issue ahead of the energy company's annual shareholder meeting in May.

Exxon sued in January to block a proposal from two investors asking the company to speed up the pace of its emissions reductions from being put to a shareholder vote. The investors responded by dropping the proposal, but Exxon has refused to drop the legal action against them.

"We don't think it's particularly helpful for companies to be suing the people who provide their capital," CalPERS investment director Drew Hambly told a board meeting of the $444 billion pension fund on March 18.

"We will certainly voice that opinion with the company when we have that opportunity in our engagement," Hambly added.

Exxon did not respond to a request for comment. The company's Chief Executive Darren Woods defended its handling of the matter on Monday at the CERAWeek industry conference in Houston.

"These are not legitimate investors... That process has been hijacked to the detriment of our shareholders, and we're basically trying to correct the problem," Woods said

Exxon's lawsuit marked a departure from companies turning to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to exclude investor proposals from shareholder votes.

Exxon said in its lawsuit that activist investors want to constrain its business rather than increase shareholder value, and noted that such resolutions have burgeoned.

It is not the first time that CalPERS has emerged as a thorn in Exxon's side over environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues. In 2021, the pension fund backed a successful board challenge by an activist investor against Exxon in a push to better position it for the energy transition.

CalPERS administrative board president Theresa Taylor told the fund's meeting on Monday that Exxon's legal action against the activist shareholders was part of a broader effort to impede investors over ESG.

"We need a plan and that plan needs to include whether or not we keep those people in our portfolios," Taylor said, referring to Exxon.

A CalPERS spokesperson did not respond to a request for further comment on whether the pension fund was considering shedding Exxon from its investment portfolio.

(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Additional reporting by Sabrina Valle in Houston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

‘Absolutely disgusting:’ Unifor says Bell laid off hundreds of employees through virtual meetings


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Bell has reportedly laid off another round of employees.

According to Unifor, a union representing some workers of one of Canada’s three national telecom providers, the layoffs took place through virtual group meetings.

The layoffs happened Wednesday, a day after the union held a rally in Ottawa protesting the last round of job cuts that impacted nine percent of Bell’s workforce six weeks ago.

Employees the union represents have “been living in dread” of invites to the virtual meetings that announced their departure, Lana Payne, Unifor’s national president, said in a statement.

More than 400 employees were informed they were losing their jobs in a 10-minute virtual meeting, the union said in a press release. An HR and labour relations manager from Bell read the attendees a notice, who were not allowed to unmute themselves to ask questions.

These employees were declared “surplus,” with some eligible for a “retirement incentive.”

The method led the union to express “outrage” with the termination method, leading Bell to change its approach. Future meetings will include Unifor representatives, and attendees will be allowed to unmute themselves.

Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer Len Poirier called the terminations “absolutely disgusting.”

“Our dedicated, loyal, workers, who are predominately women, will have to explain to their families… that they are being let go from Bell for no good reason other than making sure that their shareholders and Board of Directors come first when getting paid.”

MobileSyrup has reached out to Bell for comment but did not hear back at the time of publication.

Source: Unifor

Industrial carbon price cuts three times the emissions of consumer levy: report



© Provided by The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Canada's carbon price could slash greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 100 million tonnes a year by 2030, but only about one-fifth of that will come from the consumer carbon price at the centre of Conservative attacks.

A new analysis published Thursday by the Canadian Climate Institute said the price applied to big industrial emitters plays a far greater role in cutting emissions than the consumer fuel levy.

But the consumer levy is still worth the political battle the Liberals are facing, said Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.

The analysis, he said, is clear that carbon pricing is the most effective way to cut emissions so Canada can meet its climate targets.

"Without it, I don't know how we could get there," Guilbeault said.

"You could make the case that if you don't do pricing you would have to invest billions of dollars of taxpayers money to get the same result."

He made the comments as the minority Liberal government faced the remote prospect of a confidence vote Thursday thanks to a Conservative motion over carbon pricing.

As expected, the motion — brought by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre — went down to defeat 204-116, with only Tory MPs voting in favour.

The climate institute concluded that together, all existing climate policies should prevent 226 million tonnes of emissions from being released in 2030, or one-third of the total emissions Canada produced in 2021.

Without any of those policies, emissions will be 40 per cent higher in 2030 than with all of them, said institute president Rick Smith.

But the carbon pricing system for big emitters is by far the biggest contributor.

The consumer fuel levy will prevent between 19 million and 22 million tonnes of emissions by 2030. The big industrial price will prevent between 53 million and 90 million tonnes.

"Industrial carbon pricing is the most important contributor to emission reductions," Smith said.

Smith said because most climate policies interact with each other, it is very hard to attribute one specific total to an individual policy, which is why there is a range in the report.

He also said the reason is simple math: big industry emits far more than households and small businesses do, so cutting its emissions delivers a bigger impact.

That is true even though the price big emitters pay is only applied to a portion of their emissions, while consumers pay it on all fuel purchases.

The report's findings somewhat counter some of the political rhetoric surrounding carbon pricing, including the disproportionate amount of attention heaped on the consumer carbon policy.

"This debate on the consumer carbon price has sucked way too much oxygen out of the room," Smith said.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is adamant that if he wins the next election, consumer carbon pricing is toast. He has been less clear about the big emitters system.

Canada's national pollution pricing program applies only in jurisdictions that do not have equivalent policies of their own.

Only Quebec, British Columbia and Northwest Territories have their own policies for both consumers and big industry.

Six provinces have introduced their own provincial systems for big emitters, all of them because of the federal requirement.

Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Yukon and Nunavut use both the federal consumer levy and Ottawa's big emitters program.

It is not clear if provinces would keep their own systems for major industry in place if the federal government did not demand it.

Most provinces have come out against raising the carbon price on April 1, following Poilievre's lead.

Guilbeault said Thursday he will keep fighting in favour of carbon pricing, including the consumer levy, because the climate and the planet cannot wait.

"It takes political courage," he said. "That's usually the case for difficult things and climate change is a difficult thing."

He has challenged Poilievre — who has not laid out what alternative plans he has for the climate — to show Canadians a policy that delivers as many emissions cuts as carbon pricing without costing them anything.

Guilbeault said he has worked in environmental policy for 30 years and there is simply no "low hanging fruit" that magically cuts emissions at no cost.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2024.

Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

Ex-public servant linked to ArriveCan didn't disclose outside business until after suspension, official says

Story by Darren Major • 20h • 

An IT contractor and former public servant who worked on the ArriveCan app didn't file a conflict of interest report until after he was suspended from the Department of National Defence (DND), a government official says.

David Yeo, founder and president of Dalian Enterprises, was hired by DND in September after spending years accepting millions in government contracts.

Public servants are allowed to have other jobs but must provide the government with a report on their separate business dealings for a conflict of interest assessment within 60 days of being hired.

Bill Matthews, DND deputy minister, said Yeo didn't file a conflict of interest report until March 3. He was suspended in February.

"This report was received after he had been suspended from his position with the department and 165 days after he began working [for DND]," he told MPs on the House public accounts committee on Thursday.

Yeo appeared before the same committee on Tuesday and told MPs that he took steps to address any conflict of interest concerns by agreeing to have no involvement with Dalian's DND projects and putting the company into a "blind trust."

But Matthews said Thursday that the government has evidence he was still involved in Dalian after he was hired at DND.

Related video: ArriveCAN contractor says he was 'not involved' in app's development (Global News)  Duration 2:35   View on Watch

"Even if [Yeo's assertions] were true, it would not remove the requirement to disclose his business activities to his employer," he said.

"Whether his failure to report his other activities to his employer was due to his poor understanding of the rule, poor judgment or poor ethics, we have evidence that Mr. Yeo carried on in his role at Dalian after joining the public service."

MPs questioned how the department could be unaware of Yeo's business dealings given that Dalian had been a contractor for years.

Matthews said that Yeo's supervisors were aware that he was a contractor for Dalian but suggested they didn't know he was the head of the company.

"He was doing basically the same job as an employee that he was as a contractor," he said.

"They knew he was a contractor. They were unaware of his broader business dealings."

Yeo appeared before the government operations committee in October to discuss ArriveCan, but presented himself as Dalian's founder and president. He didn't tell MPs on that committee that he had been hired by DND.

Bloc Québécois MP Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné pressed Matthews on how the department didn't take notice of one of its employees appearing before a parliamentary committee as the head of a contracting firm.

Matthews indicated that Yeo was "very far down" in the department and suggested that's why no one picked up on his committee appearance.

Assistant Deputy Defence Minister Troy Crosby chimed in to say that he asked the same question when Yeo's position with the department came to light last month. He said that Yeo's supervisors weren't watching committee hearings at the time and Yeo attended committee outside of his working hours.


A person holds a smartphone set to the opening screen of the ArriveCan app in a photo illustration made in Toronto, Wednesday, June 29, 2022. (Giordano Ciampini/The Canadian Press)© Giordano Ciampini/The Canadian Press

Matthews said that DND started an investigation into Yeo and Dalian last month and offered to interview Yeo as part of the process. He said Yeo resigned from DND before the interview was conducted.

"We were heading down a process to, in all likelihood, terminate his employment," Matthews said.


"Obviously, before doing that we wanted to give the employee a chance to tell his side of the story. He elected to resign before that happened."

Dalian is one of the contractors facing increased scrutiny due to its work on the controversial ArriveCan app.

An auditor general report released last month found that the ballooning cost of the project was in part due to the government's over-reliance on government contractors.

While the report stated that it was "impossible to determine" the total cost of ArriveCan due to poor record keeping, the auditor general estimated it cost roughly $60 million. Of that figure, the report suggests Dalian received $7.9 million — although Yeo disputed that figure.

Yeo said Dalian's work on ArriveCan was completed before he took the job with DND.

The government has suspended all contracts with Dalian.

‘Canada should not dump garbage where you draw your water’: chief

Story by The Canadian Press

 • 

Safeguarding water near a planned nuclear waste facility requires more rigorous examination, Indigenous consultation and mitigation measures, an Algonquin First Nation chief told a federal committee Thursday.

In testimony before the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, Kebaowek Chief Lance Haymond said, “Canada should not dump garbage where you draw your water.” 

The committee hearing is part of a larger study on freshwater issues across Canada.

“I want to talk about a project poisoning the Ottawa River,” he explained while describing the cultural and historical importance of the waterway to the Algonquin nation. “The Kichi Sibi, as we call it … has been our highway for time immemorial.”

Haymond told the committee that he asked Ottawa to hold back permits issued two weeks ago to Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), which is developing the facility. The permits allow CNL to move forward with construction despite risks to Blanding's turtles and two bat species. Haymond told Canada’s National Observer that the permits amount to a kill order.

In January, Kebaowek First Nation urged the federal government to withhold SARA [Species at Risk Act] permits due to “insufficient consideration” of the impact on at-risk species and the First Nation’s rights and responsibilities to protect endangered species on their ancestral territory.

But the federal government’s review determined that construction of CNL’s radioactive waste disposal facility won’t jeopardize the recovery of endangered turtle and bat populations.

The committee testimony arrives amidst a court challenge launched by Kebaowek First Nation in February. The court challenge questions whether the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was properly considered by nuclear regulators before approval of the Chalk River waste disposal facility.

“The consultation process, however, was flawed from the outset,” suggests the Federal Court application launched by Kebaowek. “It was not procedurally fair and did not consider the UN Declaration, Canada’s UNDRIP Implementation Act, or how these instruments might affect the depth and scope of consultation.”

CNL gave Kebaowek nine months to provide input, and the nation offered it through an Algonquin-led environmental assessment, Haymond told the committee.

However, he believes enough time for consultation was not given and that “most decisions had already been taken.”

“We were routinely scoped out of the process,” he added. “If we were consulted, we would have asked for other site selections."

Haymond brought forward concerns about tonnes of nuclear waste stored in the facility that might leach from the site into the Ottawa River over the next few hundred years once synthetic containment liners break down.

Haymond also brought up Chalk River’s history, beginning with its role in the Manhattan Project developing plutonium in the early 1940s and leading to the world’s first nuclear reactor meltdown in 1952. Algonquin nations were never consulted about a nuclear research facility at that time, he said.

— With files from Natasha Bulowski

Matteo Cimellaro / Canada’s National Observer / Local Journalism Initiative 

Matteo Cimellaro, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

Feds issue permit to build nuclear waste disposal site

Story by The Canadian Press • 20h • 

Construction on Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ radioactive waste disposal facility won’t jeopardize the recovery of endangered turtle and bat populations, according to the federal government.

On March 18, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) was granted a federal permit required under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) to start construction on its near-surface waste facility (NSDF) about 180 kilometres northwest of Ottawa.

For the permit, three endangered species were considered: the Blanding’s turtle, the little brown bat and the northern long-eared bat.

Ultimately, the company’s permit application was approved in mid-March by the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), a branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The decision by CWS said CNL successfully demonstrated feasible measures will be taken to minimize the impact of construction on the three species and construction will not jeopardize their recovery.

Some measures will include identifying turtle and bat hot spots, “creation of turtle-crossing systems,” installation of temporary fencing around construction areas and permanent fencing along roadways, according to the decision.

“The alternative of not proceeding with the activity is not compatible with the government’s obligations and commitments of substantially reducing the risks associated with nuclear legacy waste or with the objective of creating opportunities for the revitalization of the Chalk River Laboratories,” reads the decision. The project’s location and footprint were chosen to minimize impacts to these species, it noted.

Blanding’s turtles and two species of bats are not the only creatures some First Nations and environmental groups are concerned about. In January, Kebaowek First Nation urged the federal government to withhold SARA permits due to “insufficient consideration” of the impact on at-risk species and the First Nation’s rights and responsibilities to protect endangered species on their ancestral territory. Kebaowek Chief Lance Haymond pointed to Algonquin-led studies that found black bear dens and eastern wolf pups were at risk.

Eastern wolves are listed as threatened in Ontario, but not at the federal level, so construction or activities on their habitat do not require a SARA permit.

Gretchen Fitzgerald, national programs director at Sierra Club Canada Foundation, wrote to Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault earlier this year asking him to instruct the department to wait until the impacts on other animals, including migratory birds and eastern wolves, are “thoroughly assessed” before issuing a SARA permit.

She called the permit a “terrible decision” and hopes “the minister will take a second look and listen to the Kebaowek First Nation and others who are calling for more work to be done to identify and protect habitat for endangered species, including wolves, that can be found at the site,” said Fitzgerald in an emailed statement to Canada’s National Observer.

In 2015, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessed the eastern wolf as threatened due its restricted range and small population. If this wolf, currently listed as a species of special concern, was formally recognized as threatened, their habitat would have to be protected and could include the NSDF site. The federal government must make a decision on the eastern wolves’ status by August.

During one of several consultations on eastern wolves, CNL said it would cost up to $160 million if the NSDF project was cancelled and planning and approval processes started from scratch.

Kebaowek Coun. Justin Roy said the Algonquin-led studies identified active bear dens and wolves as recently as last summer and provided photos and videos of the animals’ activities from cameras previously installed at the site.

— With files from Matteo Cimellaro

Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

Canada’s military is running counter-intelligence probes without warrants: review

Story by Alex Boutilier • 22h • 

Canadian Armed Forces stand at CFB Kingston in Kingston, Ont.

.© Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

The Canadian Armed Forces’ counter-intelligence unit risks violating military members’ privacy rights by probing their computer activity without a warrant, a new report suggests.

The report follows on the independent National Security and Intelligence Review Agency’s 2021 findings that the unit was ill-equipped to handle the “active counter-intelligence threat” of white supremacy within the ranks.

The report, published by NSIRA Thursday, recommended the military suspend the counter-intelligence unit’s investigations of members’ computer use until it establishes a “reasonable legal authority” to do so.

“DND employees and CAF members have a reasonable expectation of privacy when using work computers for personal use,” the NSIRA report read.

But rather than getting a warrant to investigate suspected wrongdoing, the review agency found that the counter-intelligence unit “may be inappropriately relying on … CAF policies” even when members’ have a reasonable expectation of privacy for their online activities.

It’s another blow to the CAF’s counter-intelligence unit, a group established in 1997 and responsible for identifying and investigating security threats to military personnel and assets.

The unit acts like a military version of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada’s domestic spy agency. But unlike CSIS, the counter-intelligence unit can only collect information if there is a connection to the Canadian Forces or the Department of National Defence (DND).

Global News

Military ill-equipped to handle ‘white nationalism’: watchdog

View on WatchDuration 2:04

The unit focuses on serious threats to the CAF and DND, including terrorism and extremism, as well as organized crime, subversion or sabotage. But since its inception in 1997, 10 separate internal reviews into the unit found that it lacked resources and had strict policy limitations that resulted “in an inability to fully meet its mandate.”

The NSIRA report is heavily censored due to national security and legal concerns, making it difficult to parse what the review body found out about how the counter-intelligence unit was probing members’ computer use.

But generally speaking, law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Canada need to obtain a warrant to collect information on Canadians that falls under Charter-protected rights to privacy.

“When (the unit) was created in 1997, the legal landscape with regard to the Charter was much different than it is today, and technology has expanded in a way that computers have become an all-encompassing tool,” the report read.

“In addition, surveillance capacity and techniques have evolved. The law has evolved accordingly to protect Charter rights by requiring the state to obtain specific judicial authorizations (warrants) where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.”

Under DND policy, employees and CAF members can use work devices for specific personal purposes, such as communicating with family and friends, shopping for personal items, or accessing news sites.

Those activities can “generate revealing and meaningful private information” protected under the Charter, NSIRA suggested.

“NSIRA is concerned that (the unit) has not adequately considered their legal authorities to determine whether they have reasonable lawful authority to conduct warrantless searches for (counter-intelligence) purposes,” the report read.

The review released Thursday follows another NSIRA probe made public in 2022, which suggested the Force’s counter-intelligence and security units “have been organized into narrowly focused vertical silos that do not work together in an integrated manner.”

The counter-intelligence squad had a “narrow” set of security threats it focused on, NSIRA reported – infractions that rose beyond standard military discipline but fell below the threshold of criminal activity.

That narrow scope of counter-intelligence investigations led the review body to concluded the unit was “limited” in its ability to route out white supremacist groups within the CAF – which NSIRA called an “active counter-intelligence threat.”

“The presence of white supremacy within the Canadian military has been well documented,” the agency’s 2022 report read.

“White supremacists groups actively seek individuals with prior military training and experience, or conversely, encourage individuals to enlist in order to gain access to specialized training, tactics and equipment.”

The threat can’t be countered by the counter-intelligence unit alone, the report added, but noted that the unit “may not be fully utilized to proactively identify white supremacist” threats within DND and the CAF.

The 2022 report also found that the counter-intelligence unit’s investigations are lengthy, and delays “run contrary” to the unit’s mission to safeguard military personnel and assets.

In response to the 2022 NSIRA report, a spokesperson said DND was committed to giving the unit more resources to “optimize use of its lawful investigative capabilities.”

DND did not immediately respond to Global News’ request for comment Thursday.

SpaceX forced workers to sign illegal severance agreements, US agency claims


SpaceX headquarters is shown in Hawthorne, California, U.S. 

 REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo© Thomson Reuters

By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX has been accused by a U.S. labor agency of requiring employees who were laid off or fired from the rocket and satellite maker to sign unlawful agreements barring them from disparaging the company and joining class-action lawsuits against it.

The complaint, filed late Wednesday by a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional official in Seattle, comes as SpaceX is already facing a separate case before the NLRB and has in turn filed a lawsuit claiming the agency's structure violates the U.S. Constitution.

SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, California, is accused in the new complaint of requiring separated employees to sign severance agreements with confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses that restrict them from exercising their rights under U.S. labor law, the labor board said in a release on Thursday.

Those provisions are common in severance pacts signed by workers, but the NLRB has said such agreements must make clear that workers cannot waive their rights to advocate for better working conditions or file complaints with the NLRB.

The NLRB said the complaint, which was not immediately available, also alleges that agreements signed by SpaceX employees to bring legal disputes in arbitration rather than court and forego participation in class actions against the company were illegal.

Related video: Gravitas | SpaceX's secret deal with the pentagon (WION)
Duration 5:50  View on Watch

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An initial hearing in the case is scheduled for October before an administrative judge, whose decision can be reviewed by the NLRB'S five-member labor board appointed by the U.S. president. Board rulings can be appealed in federal court.

The complaint seeks to force SpaceX to rescind the agreements and block it from enforcing agreements already signed by workers.

The company's lawsuit against the labor board, which is pending in a Texas federal court, stems from a separate case in which the agency claims SpaceX illegally fired eight engineers who circulated a letter that criticized Musk, the company's CEO and founder, and accused him of sexist conduct.

SpaceX has denied wrongdoing in that case and has argued that the NLRB's in-house enforcement proceedings violate its constitutional right to a jury trial. The company also says that limits on the removal of board members and administrative judges violate the U.S. Constitution.

Amazon.com, Starbucks, Trader Joe's and three Starbucks baristas who oppose unions at the stores where they work are making similar claims in pending lawsuits and board cases.

SpaceX has asked a New Orleans-based U.S. appeals court to reconsider its recent decision rejecting the company's bid to keep its lawsuit in Texas. A judge had transferred the case to California, where SpaceX is based, and the administrative case involving the fired engineers is proceeding there.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Leslie Adler)

US regulators urge Congress to look into grocery profits


 The Kroger supermarket chain's headquarters is shown in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.

 REUTERS/Lisa Baertlein/File Photo

By Siddharth Cavale and Jessica DiNapoli

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission recommended Thursday that policymakers look further into profits at grocery store operators that remain elevated since the pandemic and promotions that consumer products makers offer retailers.

The FTC also is suing to block Kroger's acquisition of smaller grocery store rival Albertsons, citing concerns the deal would hike prices for millions of Americans.

The FTC launched the study in 2021 when it ordered Walmart, Kroger, Procter & Gamble, grocery wholesalers and others to turn over detailed information relating to the supply chain crisis during the pandemic, which contributed to double-digit price increases on household necessities.

Big box and chain stores secured limited resources, leaving small independent grocers at a disadvantage, FTC Chair Lina Khan said on a public call to discuss the report. This harmed communities reliant on these smaller retailers and could have also strengthened market dominance of larger corporations, she added.

"If we end up finding that these types of practices violated any of the antitrust laws including the (Robinson) Patman act, I'll be very interested in making sure we take swift action," she said without providing details.

Related video: FTC Files Lawsuit to Halt Kroger-Albertsons Merger, Citing Concerns Over Higher Grocery Prices (Benzinga)   Duration 0:31   View on Watch

The Robinson-Patman Act of 1936 is a U.S. antitrust law preventing large franchises and chains from engaging in price discrimination against small businesses.

Several representatives of smaller grocery operators spoke on the call saying that during the pandemic, they faced shortages of toilet paper, cleaning products and pet supplies as manufacturers prioritized their biggest clients.

"It was a true test of survival for a lot of our customers," said Brian Patterson, head buyer at Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distributing Co.

Walmart and Kroger are among chains that have touted gaining U.S. grocery market share. Kroger's most recent quarterly statements said it improved volume share consistently for the past five quarters. Walmart said it gained market share in "virtually every category," citing its lower prices.

Walmart and Kroger did grow share from 2018 to 2022, but only modestly, according to Coresight Research data.

"A global pandemic is what caused stress to the supply chain, not the companies that the study selectively targeted," said Sean Heather, senior vice president for International Regulatory Affairs and Antitrust at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business advocacy group.

“It is no surprise that the Chamber values corporate profits more than everyday Americans’ pocketbooks," replied Douglas Farrar, FTC spokesman.

BROAD INTEREST

The FTC said it will pass the report onto lawmakers, "where there has been broad interest" from members of both parties.

U.S. President Joe Biden has already taken aim at grocery chains this year.

"Today’s FTC report shows grocery retailers increased profits during the pandemic and have maintained or increased those margins even as their own costs have come down," the White House said in an email to Reuters on Thursday.

"President Biden knows grocery prices are still too high for hardworking families," it said.

In Thursday's report, the FTC found that a measure of annual profits for food and beverage retailers "rose substantially and remains quite elevated." The commission said revenues for grocery retailers were 6% over total costs in 2021, and 7% in the first nine months of 2023, higher than a peak of 5.6% in 2015.

"This casts doubt on assertions that rising prices at the grocery store are simply moving in lockstep with retailers’ own rising costs," the FTC said, adding that elevated profit levels "warrant further inquiry" by both policymakers and the commission, which is tasked with protecting the public from unfair business practices.

The FTC also said trade promotions, payments by consumer goods companies to retailers for favorable product placement in stores and on e-commerce websites, "may warrant further study."

The reduction in spending harmed traditional grocers that use a "high-low" pricing strategy with more frequent promotions, the FTC found.

Retailers that offer "everyday low pricing" with fewer promotions, like Walmart, benefited, according to the study.

Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its stock price along with those of Procter & Gamble and Kroger closed flat to slightly up at day's close on Thursday.

The FTC added that the report does not make claims of illegality. "We're shedding light on what we're seeing in the market, which has broader relevance to policymakers beyond law enforcement."

(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli and Siddharth Cavale in New York; Editing by Franklin Paul and David Gregorio)