U of T's injunction request hearing won't happen before convocation

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

A drone image of the Pro-Palestinian protest encampment at University of Toronto's King's College Circle. The image was taken after notices of trespass were issued by the university to end the encampment on Friday. (Patrick Morrell/CBC News - image credit)


The University of Toronto's request for an injunction to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on its campus won't be heard before the start of convocation events.

Court documents show the hearing at Ontario Superior Court of Justice is set for June 19 and 20, after the scheduled start of convocation ceremonies. On its website, the school says the ceremonies will run from June 3 to 21.

In an email on Wednesday night, a spokesperson for U of T said convocation will be held as scheduled. More than 13,000 graduating students are expected to receive their degrees during the ceremonies, the school said.


"Our spring convocation ceremonies are proceeding in person as planned at Convocation Hall on our St. George Campus," the university said in a statement.

In a court document, Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen says the court is aware that the university would like the hearing to be held sooner.

"I appreciate that those hearing dates do not accommodate the university's interest in having the issue resolved before graduation ceremonies are over. In my view, however, that is the earliest that the hearing can be held in order to afford the respondents a fair opportunity to answer the application," Koehnen writes.

A number of groups are seeking intervener status in the injunction hearing and have until end of the day Thursday to make their written submissions, the judge said.

Order sought to authorize police to end encampment

The university has asked the court to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse orders to leave the encampment, which was set up on campus on May 2 on the grassy area of King's College Circle. The encampment is near Convocation Hall, where graduation ceremonies at U of T are traditionally held.

The school filed a notice of motion this week, aimed at bringing an end to the demonstration, saying the encampment was causing irreparable harm to the institution.

As part of the relief sought, the university is asking for an order authorizing police to "arrest and remove persons, objects and structures" who violate the terms of a court order.

It is also seeking to prevent protesters from blocking access to university property or setting up fences, tents or other structures on campus.

Two students sit on the grass at King's College Circle on Thursday, May 9, where the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto is located. (Aloysius Wong/CBC)

On Tuesday, a handful of faculty members spoke out against the university's actions, saying they are appalled at the idea of the school administration calling the police on its own students.

On Friday, the university issued trespass notices to people in the encampment that said the protest was unlawful and they had until Monday morning to leave. The students in the encampment defied the notice.

Encampment organizers have called on the university to cut its ties with Israel, divest from companies profiting from Israel's offensive in Gaza and terminate partnerships with the country's academic institutions deemed complicit in the war.

School administrators have already said U of T will not end any partnerships with Israeli universities, and that no matter the outcome of the negotiations, demonstrators must vacate the school's St. George campus.

On Oct. 7, Hamas and other militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies. More than 100 were released during a November cease-fire in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Israel's offensive in Gaza against Hamas has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry.

Judge sets dates to hear University of Toronto's injunction bid against encampment

The Canadian Press
Wed, May 29, 2024 

TORONTO — The University of Toronto's request for a court order to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on its downtown campus is expected to be heard in three weeks.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen has set a timetable that lists June 19 and 20 as the injunction hearing dates.

The judge acknowledges in a court filing that those dates "do not accommodate" the university's interest in resolving the issue before convocation ceremonies begin in early June but he says a fair opportunity must be given to the respondents to make their case.

The university wants to end the encampment that was set up on May 2 and is asking the courts to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse orders to leave.

The university is arguing that the encampment prevents others from accessing and enjoying school property, poses health and safety risks and has prompted numerous reports of harassment, hateful speech and violence – claims denied by protest organizers.

The protesters are challenging the injunction request and have refused to leave the site, ignoring a trespass notice issued last week.

In a court document filed Wednesday, the judge said there is an urgency to the university's injunction request because the encampment on a grassy area known as King's College Circle is adjacent to Convocation Hall, where graduation ceremonies are held.

But he said it's his view that June 19 and 20 is the earliest an injunction hearing can be held "in order to afford the respondents a fair opportunity to answer the application."

The university has scheduled convocations from June 3 to 21.

Protesters have said that they don't see how their presence at King's College Circle would disrupt convocations at the downtown campus. University president Meric Gertler has stressed that graduation ceremonies would proceed "no matter what."

A number of groups are seeking intervener status in the injunction hearing and they have until end of the day Thursday to make their written submissions, the judge said.

Since filing its motion, U of T has submitted affidavits to the court from its assistant director of campus safety, students, faculty members "and the wider community about their experiences with the encampment."

The school says the injunction is necessary “to restore the university’s ability to preserve the space as an open, free and public atmosphere for respectful discourse and debate.”

Demonstrators have said they will stay put until the university meets their demands, which include disclosing investments in companies profiting from Israel's offensive in Gaza.

Similar encampments on university campuses have cropped up across Canada in recent months, with several schools considering or taking legal action against the protesters.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024.

The Canadian Press

U of T seeks court injunction to clear encampment as protesters stay put

The Canadian Press
Tue, May 28, 2024 




Protesters at a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto said Tuesday they will stay at the site despite threats of discipline from the school and a looming legal action.

Protesters reaffirmed their commitment to the encampment as the university seeks expedited court scheduling for its request for an injunction.

"Having been threatened by the university with academic sanctions, including suspension and expulsion, having been threatened with arrest and police violence — despite all of this, despite all these threats being made, we remain," said Erin Mackey, one of the encampment organizers.

"We've been clear from the very beginning that by virtue of being here, it does not warrant the University of Toronto calling the police on their own students," she added.

Deborah Cowen, a professor at the university who came to support the protesters, said she was "deeply, deeply disappointed" by the administration's decision to seek an injunction to dismantle the encampment.

"I'm outraged by our administration's actions," she said, pointing to what she called an "unprecedented" and "egregious" threat of mass termination and other forms of discipline.

"And that comes when we haven't seen a serious good faith effort at negotiation,” she said.

The University of Toronto is asking the courts to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse orders to leave the encampment, which was set up on campus earlier this month.

The university has filed a notice of motion in court aimed at bringing about an end to the demonstration while saying the encampment was causing irreparable harm to the institution.

Among the relief sought, the university is asking for an order authorizing police to "arrest and remove persons, objects and structures" who violate the terms of a court order.

It is also seeking to prevent protesters from blocking access to university property or setting up fences, tents or other structures on campus.

The protesters have said they are prepared to fight back with their own legal team and refused to leave the site, ignoring a Monday morning deadline set in a trespass notice issued last week.

Richard Moon, a University of Windsor law professor whose areas of expertise include freedom of expression, said injunction requests before the courts have to be decided "on a kind of balance of probabilities," taking into account the interests and rights of both parties.

"On one side is: what are the harms to the university and the members of the university community ... that stem from this encampment and its continuation, and on the other side: what would the injury be to those engaging in the encampment – their speech interests – if the encampment was shut down?" he said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Moon said that, in his view, U of T's court filing does not "clearly demonstrate" that antisemitic hate speech has been coming from the encampment itself, or that protesters are blocking entry to buildings or restricting other people's movements across the campus.

The university said in its court filing that it has received "many concerning reports" about violence, property damage and discriminatory speech "within and surrounding the encampment area."

It said areas around the encampment have had reports of confrontations between protesters and counter-protesters, as well as antisemitic slurs, among other things.

Moon said a recent court decision to grant Université du Québec à Montréal a partial injunction against pro-Palestinian protesters who set up an encampment on that campus shows that such court orders can be limited and still allow people to protest.

A Quebec judge ruled Monday that safety measures such as removing obstructions and allowing the fire department to visit the camp to make sure it's safe need to be put in place, and that doing so won't infringe on the encampment members' right to protest.

"It is possible to issue an injunction that is limited in scope and addresses particular issues of that kind," Moon said. "It doesn't involve shutting down the entire encampment."

A court date to hear U of T's injunction request has yet to be set. A number of groups sought intervener status in the matter during a case conference on Tuesday, with the judge now set to consider those submissions.

Sohail Adish, a U of T student not involved in the protest, said he has mixed feelings on the encampment and on the university's response.

"I feel like they're in their right to protest as long as it's peaceful and the university is in their right to allow or disallow people on the campus," he said.

"As for students getting expelled, staff getting fired, I'd say, it really depends on what kind of actions they commit."

Adish said he had concerns for the safety of the encampment, particularly when it came to fire safety.

Similar encampments on university campuses have cropped up across Canada in recent months, with several schools considering or taking legal action against the protesters.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2024.

 

Bombardier plots defense against lawsuit over 2018 stock tumble

Monique Mulima, Bloomberg News

Bombardier Inc. said it plans to “vigorously defend itself” against a shareholder lawsuit after the Superior Court of Quebec authorized the class action case to proceed.

, Bloomberg

Bombardier Inc. said it plans to “vigorously defend itself” against a shareholder lawsuit after the Superior Court of Quebec authorized the class action case to proceed.

The lawsuit brought by Denis Gauthier alleges that Bombardier and top executives including former Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare and former Chief Financial Officer John Di Bert “made false and misleading representations” in their 2018 financial outlook, according to a statement from the company.

Bombardier shares lost about two-thirds of their value in the space of less than four months in the second half of 2018 as its cash flow failed to improve at the pace investors expected. At the time, the company was dealing with costly aircraft-development programs and laying off staff. Management was also under scrutiny from Quebec’s securities regulator for a controversial executive stock sales plan. 

The class action suit alleges that Bombardier failed to disclose material facts to investors in a timely matter. Gauthier is the plaintiff on behalf of everyone who acquired Bombardier securities from Aug. 2, 2018 to Nov. 8, 2018, and then held them until Nov. 8, 2018, according to the press release.

Bombardier, Bellemare and Di Bert have denied any wrongdoing and the company said in its press release that it is considering its options including the potential to file an appeal.

The Montreal-based company eventually sold the centerpiece of its commercial jet program to Airbus SE and unloaded its rail transportation division in a successful effort to stay solvent. The firm is now focused on manufacturing private jets. 

 

CANADA

Airline prices, concentration key concerns driving Competition Bureau scrutiny

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

Market concentration, higher prices and a mounting tally of customer complaints are fuelling a Competition Bureau study into Canada's airline industry.

In a release Monday, the regulator said two carriers continue to dominate the skies while new airlines seem to struggle to enter the market. Domestic fares also appear "relatively high" and more and more passengers are filing complaints, it said.

The backlog of customer complaints about airlines has hit a record high topping 72,000, according to the Canadian Transportation Agency.

The bureau's review, which will draw on feedback from the public and interested parties, looks to pave the way for recommendations to government that would "make it easier for new businesses to compete and easier for consumers to make informed choices."

First announced on May 9, the market study is the bureau's first since it gained new powers in December that include the ability to compel information from companies.

Matthew Boswell, the competition commissioner, stressed the importance of the airline industry to residents and the economy.

"Since the Canadian population is spread out over vast distances, other modes of transportation may not be feasible replacements for air travel. More competition in the industry will mean lower prices, better services, and improved productivity," Boswell said in the release.

Over the past 13 months, newer low-cost carriers Swoop and Lynx Air have disappeared from the skies and WestJet scooped up Sunwing Airlines. The latter two made up 72 per cent of seat capacity from Western Canada last year, according to the bureau.

Meanwhile, Air Canada and WestJet have strengthened their grip on the domestic market over the past year, even as rival Porter Airlines rapidly expands in a bid to become the country's third major airline.

Canada's two largest carriers commanded 82 per cent of domestic traffic among national carriers last month versus 74 per cent in April 2023, statistics from aviation data firm Cirium show.

The diminishing set of operators coincides with a six per cent decrease in domestic flight volume between April 2023 and this month, though that may be due in part to a renewed focus on international trips.

While big cities remain amply served, smaller ones have fewer options, which can also result in higher prices and, when things go awry, stranded passengers.

Over the past five years, the Competition Bureau has raised concerns about the merger of Canadian North and First Air and the would-be acquisition of Transat by Air Canada, which scrapped the plan in 2021 amid regulatory hurdles in Europe.

The latest study is not an investigation into specific allegations of wrongdoing, the Competition Bureau noted Monday.

"However, if the bureau finds evidence that someone may be doing something against the law, we will investigate and take appropriate action," the regulator said.

John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, said the review should consider service levels to various parts of the country as well as rules around flight changes by airlines after the ticket was purchased.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2024.

China can’t use Canada as trade path for cheap goods, Freeland says

Brian Platt and Erik Hertzberg, Bloomberg News

Chrystia Freeland (Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Canada won’t allow itself to become a foothold for oversupplied Chinese goods that could pass through to its democratic allies, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said.

But she did not commit to following the path of U.S. President Joe Biden, who announced massive tariff hikes against Chinese goods earlier this month. For now, Canada is simply reviewing its trade measures toward China, Freeland said. 

“Canada absolutely recognizes that China has an intentional, state-directed economic policy which is leading to overcapacity and oversupply in specific sectors,” Freeland told reporters on Tuesday. She said the Asian country isn’t “playing by the rules” when it comes to steel, aluminum, some critical minerals and metals and manufacturing products.

“We cannot let Canadian industry be wiped out by Chinese oversupply and overcapacity,” Freeland said.

She pointed out Canada also has a free trade agreement with every other Group of Seven country, and suggested China could try to exploit those connections.

“Canada will not be a country through which there can be transshipment, and we’re very mindful of that,” Freeland said.  

The new U.S. tariffs quadrupled the country’s tariffs on Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles, bringing the rate up to 102.5 per cent, and targeted other products including semiconductors and solar cells. Canada currently imposes a small tariff of about six per cent on Chinese vehicles.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trade Minister Mary Ng have said Canada is watching what the U.S. has done, but have declined to say whether Canada intends to hike its own tariffs.

Trudeau’s government has also been cracking down on Chinese investment in certain mining sectors, and is further toughening its investment screening rules in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and space technology. 

With assistance from Jay Zhao-Murray.

 

Ontario judge to uphold Red Lobster's U.S. bankruptcy case in Canada

The Canadian Press

Red Lobster restaurant signage is seen in Schaumburg, Ill., Monday, May 20, 2024. A lawyer for Red Lobster Canada, Inc. says he will ask an Ontario court today to recognize and enforce the chain’s U.S. bankruptcy protection proceedings, a process which documents show could include selling Canadian assets. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Nam Y. Huh

An Ontario judge issued an order Tuesday that recognizes and enforces Red Lobster’s U.S. bankruptcy protection proceedings in Canada. 

The order from judge Michael Penny was requested by lawyers for the beleaguered seafood restaurant chain's Canadian business, who told a virtual court their client is working to steady its operations. 

"Everything we are trying to do today is to stabilize the business," said Linc Rogers, a lawyer representing Red Lobster Canada, Inc.

The future of the chain, best known for its expansive seafood offerings, Cheddar Bay biscuits and family-friendly atmosphere, was thrown into question earlier this month, when its Florida-based parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. and shuttered dozens of restaurants. 

Penny granted Red Lobster Canada a stay which prevents creditors from taking action against it, last week. His Tuesday order to recognize the U.S. proceedings will hand the company more breathing room as the case south of the border winds through court and the chain contemplates its future.

That future could involve selling off some or all of the company's Canadian assets, a May 20 affidavit from the chief executive of Red Lobster Management LLC shows.

"With a looming liquidity crisis and no meaningful ability to raise fresh capital, the RL Group’s board of directors ... determined that a value-maximizing sale would be the best possible alternative," the filing from Jonathan Tibus says.

Red Lobster, which expanded to Canada in 1983, has 2,000 Canadian employees, who are mostly part-time and non-unionized. The chain has 27 locations across Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. 

The company leases most of its properties in the country and owns two in Ontario, including a Brantford restaurant site and an Etobicoke location on The Queensway, where it owns a building but not the land.

Stuart Brotman, a lawyer representing information officer FTI Consulting, told the court Tuesday that Red Lobster Canada "has been and is expected to continue to be cash flow positive," however, Tibus said in his affidavit that the overall company has faced "significant challenges."

Those challenges include "disruptions to its supply chain, hyperinflation affecting food, labour and delivery costs, substantial increases in the cost of capital and real property leases, and shifts in casual dining trends both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic."

Another filing from the company shows its annual customer count dropped by 30 per cent since 2019 and has only "marginally improved from pandemic levels."

Even its “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” promotion, which was at one-time made a permanent offering, hampered the company's financial performance. 

Tibus labelled it a "significant cash drain" that filings say cost Red Lobster US$11 million.

The company is now investigating whether its former chief executive Paul Kenny and Thai Union, a seafood conglomerate with a stake in Red Lobster, encouraged marketing of the promotion that was so "excessive" it triggered "major shortages of shrimp with restaurants often going days or weeks without" the seafood.

Thai Union said it has been a supplier to Red Lobster for more than 30 years and it intends for the relationship to continue.

"We are aware of the meritless allegations in the bankruptcy court pleadings and look forward to a full representation of the facts," Thai Union said in a statement.

By June 2023, Tibus said the company had begun working on a plan to reduce spending and waste while restoring growth to the company. Court documents show the plan was meant to "simplify" the menu and "implement a sensible promotional calendar with fewer limited-time offers."

However, Tibus said the brand is still facing "significant liquidity and operational challenges, which were exacerbated and accelerated by significant over-market and underperforming leases and poor operational and marketing decisions by prior management."

Red Lobster did not respond to a request for comment on the filing or the future of its Canadian assets.

The chain was founded in the U.S. in 1968 but has since amassed 551 U.S. restaurants and several in Mexico, Ecuador, Japan, and Thailand.

Its court records say it counts more than 64 million customers per year and is responsible for 20 per cent of all North American lobster tails and 16 per cent of all rock lobsters sold worldwide.

It began as a privately owned company but was bought by food manufacturer General Mills, which eventually spun off its restaurant division as a publicly traded company.

General Mills sold the brand in 2014 to Golden Gate Capital and in 2016, Thai Union Group bought a stake in the chain but is reportedly divesting from Red Lobster.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2024.

 

Weight-loss drugs are coming to bite a sugar industry in denial

Ilena Peng and Dayanne Sousa, Bloomberg News

NOVO-NORDISK A/S-SPONS ADR (NVO:UN)

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In a room filled with more than 800 sugar traders, Sally Lyons Wyatt, an executive at consumer researcher Circana, had an important message to deliver: Ozempic is coming for your industry.

“Does it have the ability to be huge in the future?” she asked during her speech at the New York Sugar Dinner earlier this month. “It does.”

Nobody appeared to be paying attention. As is traditional at the event, traders were preoccupied with the clock, having placed bets on how long the speech would last.

The oversight extended beyond the dinner. Traders, brokers and analysts met at conferences, individual presentations and meetings throughout New York Sugar Week, an annual event that gathers traders from across the world. They swapped outlooks on how much sugar would be available in the upcoming season, discussed the role of biofuels, and even argued about rules on the New York exchange.

Demand was a footnote. That’s even as executives from Walmart Inc. warned that Novo Nordisk A/S’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly & Co.’s Zepbound are impacting food sales, and multiple analyst surveys have showed that less-hungry customers are spending fewer dollars at grocery stores and restaurants. 

Sugar traders, used to seeing demand grow as population expands, could be overlooking the next big demand hit. The drugs, which cut cravings, will result in a decline in calorie consumption in the U.S. of 1.5 to 2.5 per cent by 2035, with a drop of as much as five per cent in the consumption of sweets such as baked goods, confectionery and soda, Morgan Stanley analysts including Pamela Kaufman said in a report last month.

Expanding market

Morgan Stanley forecast about a 10th of the U.S. population will be on the so-called GLP-1 medications — originally designed to treat diabetes but being used by many as a powerful weight-loss tool — by 2035.

“I’m spending a lot of time thinking about it because I think it could be really important,” said Stephen Geldart, the head of analysis at London-based commodities trader Czarnikow Group Ltd. “Maybe I’m wrong, but if no one else is paying any attention, that’s great. I’m quite happy to do things that no one else is looking at.”

Even with tight supplies and sky-high prices limiting uptake of the medications, sales of GLP-1 drugs for both obesity and diabetes already exceeded US$19 billion in 2023. The global obesity market alone could top $100 billion by the end of the decade, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates, while Bloomberg Intelligence forecasts $80 billion of sales.

More than 60 per cent of U.S. consumers taking the drugs said they had cut back on sweet treats like candy, ice cream and baked goods, and many said they had either significantly — or entirely — stopped eating those products, according to Morgan Stanley.

Not everyone in the sugar market is worried about weight-loss drugs. In New York, Carlos Murilo Barros de Mello, the head of sugar in the Americas at brokerage Hedgepoint Global Markets, said the industry hasn’t spent significant time estimating consumption because shifts are “minuscule” relative to production swings.

The impact hasn’t been felt yet as “it’s still very much further down the line,” said Kona Haque, head of research at ED&F Man. “And don’t forget, this is still very much an advanced-economy, affluent-society syndrome where people are trying to tackle obesity.”

Haque stressed that sugar demand is still growing in emerging markets, where the medications aren’t yet being marketed. And even in places like the U.S., there is still a strong need for sugar as many customers prefer it over alternatives like high-fructose corn syrup, said Plinio Nastari, founder of Brazilian consultants Datagro.

Global picture

“I suspect it’s not a big enough factor to be concerned about the bigger global picture,” said Tom McNeill, managing director at consultancy Green Pool Commodity Specialists. 

Demand growth has long been buoyed by increasing populations and rising incomes in regions like Asia and Africa. Sugar also still accounts for 80 per cent of global sweetener use, holding up against competition from substitutes like high fructose corn syrup, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. 

Still, demand has taken a hit over the past decade as health conscious consumers cut back. Global consumption is growing at just 1.2 per cent a year now, compared to the 10-year average of 1.6 per cent, according to the International Sugar Organization.

Global per capita sugar consumption in 2022 was just 22.1 kilograms, recovering slightly from a pandemic low but still 3.5 per cent below 2016 levels. European consumption took a similar 3.3 per cent dip from 2016 to 2022, while in the U.S., Mexico and Canada trade zone it dropped 6.1 per cent, ISO data showed.

As the use of GLP-1 drugs spreads, cheaper versions are also popping up. Once patents on branded drugs expire, so-called generics sold at lower costs could also boost the overall uptake.

In Brazil, local pharmaceutical company Biomm SA is already looking to supply a generic version of Ozempic once Novo Nordisk’s patent expires, which could happen as soon as 2026. Sales of that drug already represent a $600 million market in Brazil, according to investment firm Ace Capital, and as many as 7 million people could become users once lower-cost options hit drugstores.

A country like the U.K., for example, which consumes about two million metric tons of sugar a year, could see losses of “tens of thousands of tons,” Czarnikow’s Geldart said. “That sort of stuff at the margins, it makes a difference.”

Food diversification

GLP-1 drugs have already moved stock prices, with the S&P Consumer Staples Index falling last October after Walmart said consumers were buying less food. Analysts at Truist Securities downgraded shares for Krispy Kreme Inc. on uncertainty over the medications’ impact. Nestlé SA is even launching a new line of frozen foods specifically targeting users of GLP-1 drugs.

Back at the sugar dinner, Circana’s Lyons Wyatt encouraged companies to understand what GLP-1 users are “craving” and diversify product offerings, including with smaller serving sizes. But with nobody listening, even the executive joined in on the joke.

“I accept bribes,” she said, referring to how long her speech would last.

WORKERS CAPITAL

Omers said to explore selling stake in Texas renewable energy Firm

Gillian Tan and Paula Sambo, Bloomberg News

Ontario’s pension fund for local-government workers is exploring selling a stake in Leeward Renewable Energy, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

, Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Ontario’s pension fund for local-government workers is exploring selling a stake in Leeward Renewable Energy, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System is working with advisers to solicit interest in the Dallas-based company, which may be valued at about $3.5 billion including debt in a transaction, said the people, who requested anonymity discussing confidential information.

Representatives for the Canadian pension fund declined to comment. Leeward didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The company, led by CEO Jason Allen, operates and owns a portfolio of 31 solar, wind and energy storage facilities across the U.S., its website shows, and is developing dozens of new ones. Leeward says it expects to commercialize more than 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity over the next couple of years. 

The infrastructure arm of Omers acquired the business from ArcLight Capital Partners in 2018, and Leeward expanded in 2021 by buying a solar project platform from First Solar Inc.