Rusal to add Abramovich to lawsuit against Potanin over nickel miner pact

Reuters | February 16, 2024 | 

Russian businessman Roman Abramovich.

 (Image: Wochit News | YouTube.)

Aluminum giant Rusal obtained permission by a London court on Friday to add Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and his firm Crispian Investments Ltd as defendants in the case against Vladimir Potanin, CEO of Nornickel.


The application marks the latest flare-up in relations between two of Russia’s biggest metal companies.

Nornickel is the world’s largest palladium producer and a major miner of refined nickel. Potanin holds a 37% stake in it, while Rusal holds 26.4% and former Chelsea Football Club owner Abramovich has a 4% stake.

The aluminum giant claims that Potanin violated a shareholder agreement signed in December 2012, causing losses for Rusal. Abramovich and his investment company Millhouse, later replaced by Crispian Investments, were parties to the deal.

Crispian Investments objected to Rusal’s application, while Abramovich did not respond to it, said David Mumford, KC for Rusal at Friday’s hearing.

Judge Sean O’Sullivan, however, ruled that Abramovich and Crispin could be added to the case, after the hearing.

“The joining of Crispian Investments Limited and Mr. Roman Abramovich as parties to the case is another step for the implementation of Rusal’s claims against Mr. Vladimir Potanin and his company Whiteleave Holdings Limited,” Rusal said in an emailed statement.

Potanin’s Interros holding company declined to comment.

Nornickel has not been directly targeted by Western sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Britain has placed sanctions on Potanin and Abramovich.

Oleg Deripaska, founder of Rusal and also sanctioned by Britain, is not a party to the litigation.

The dispute that led to the lawsuit, first filed in October 2022, and Rusal’s further claims, centre on the 2012 framework agreement between Nornickel’s two largest shareholders, which protected dividend payouts among other things.

Disagreements over dividends and governance have been the main reason for on-and-off rows. At the time of the 2012 framework agreement, Abramovich helped to cool a dispute over how much profit should be returned to investors and how much should be invested in Nornickel.

Rusal alleges in court filings that Potanin “had overseen the transfer of crucial assets out of the NN Group (Nornickel) under false pretences and/or at undervalues to the advantage of himself and his associates, dishonestly procured the transfer out of …the NN Group of hundreds of millions of dollars and mismanaged the NN Group, which has led directly to certain industrial accidents.”

(By Clara Denina, Sam Tobin and Polina Devitt; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Mexican mining sector balks at plan to ban open-pit mines

Reuters | February 15, 2024 | 


La Herradura, one of Mexico’s largest open-pit gold mines. 

(Image by Fresnillo.)

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s proposal to ban open-pit mining will generate uncertainty and curtail investment for the key sector, mining industry representatives said this week.


Lopez Obrador announced the proposal to prohibit new concessions for open-pit projects last week amid a slew of initiatives as he looks to shape political debate ahead of a June presidential election that his protégé is expected to win.

The proposal is unlikely to pass in the short-term, as Lopez Obrador does not have the two-thirds super majority in Congress needed to change the constitution.

But the frontrunner to succeed him, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, has said she will adopt his proposals as part of her platform.

The industry says such a move would be disastrous for the sector, which fuels 2.5% of gross domestic product. Mexico is the world’s top silver producer and a major gold and copper producer.

Of the 124 mines affiliated with the Camimex mining chamber, fewer than half are open-pit yet they represent 60% of Mexico’s output, according to the chamber.

“Prohibiting open-pit mining would imply the destruction of a strategic sector,” the chamber said in a statement this week.

It said open-pit mines represent more than $3.9 billion in investment and 200,000 direct jobs, and warned that a ban would eventually affect supply chains, forcing Mexico to import minerals at a higher cost.

Since taking office in 2018, Lopez Obrador has not granted mining concessions of any type, arguing that past governments gave too many approvals.

Mining executives have previously raised concerns over that practice as well as a 2023 law that shortened concessions and tightened water extraction permits.

“It’s no secret that this administration has been averse to mining,” said Jorge Ganoza, president of Canada’s Fortuna Silver Mines, which operates an underground silver and gold mine in southern Mexico. “If it were to continue, we would certainly see Mexico lose ground compared to other mining nations.”

Fortuna Silver has cut investment in Mexico from nearly half of its global spending to around 10% in recent years, he said.

That trend could continue if the proposal passes, said Riyaz Dattu, an attorney who advises Canadian companies on international arbitration. Canada represents 70% of foreign mining investment in Mexico.

“Companies cannot operate without an understanding on whether their investments will hold true in the next 10-20 years,” he said. “This will drive investments away.”

Environmentalists say open-pit mining carves out swaths of earth and uses dangerous chemicals, and Mexican Environment Minister Luisa Albores has called it “the most polluting” type of mining.

The ministry is also seeking to end fracking and prohibit concessions in water-scarce areas.

(By Daina Beth Solomon and Divya Rajagopal; Editing by Ernest Scheyder and Rosalba O’Brien)

Three dead as bus carrying B2Gold employees attacked in Mali

Reuters | February 16, 2024 |

Fekola is located near Mali’s border with Senegal. 

(Image courtesy of B2Gold presentation)

B2Gold Corp on Thursday said that three of its employees died after sustaining injuries in an attack on an employee transport convoy in Mali.


A bus transporting B2Gold employees from the Fekola mine to Bamako was attacked approximately 75 kilometres west of Bamako, the Canadian miner said.

Mining and processing activities at the Fekola mine have not been impacted by the incident, B2Gold said, adding that it is working with the Malian government to understand further details of the attack.

Initial reports indicate several other employees travelling on the bus were wounded, all of whom have been transported to a local hospital, the company said.

(By Gnaneshwar Rajan; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

Australia lists nickel as ‘critical mineral’ to unlock billions in support

Reuters | February 16, 2024 | 

Nickel sulphate test. (Image IGO)

Australia classified nickel as a “critical mineral” on Friday, opening the way for the crisis-hit industry to access billions of dollars in cheap government loans, as its prime minister prepared wider policy support for the green energy industry.


Australia wants to build a battery chemicals industry to reap more value from its mineral wealth, but the nickel sector is facing thousands of job cuts after a jump in Indonesian supply saw prices plunge 40% in a year.


“The international nickel price is forecast to stay relatively low through 2024, and likely for several years to come until the surplus of nickel in the market is corrected,” Resources Minister Madeleine King said in a statement.

“In the meantime, this puts further Australian nickel operations at risk,” she said.

Placing nickel on the critical minerals list means nickel companies will have access to financing under Australia’s A$4 billion($2.6 billion) Critical Minerals Facility which offers low interest loans, and related grant programs.

BHP considers closing Western Australia nickel operations amid price decline

Critics have suggested that the nickel downturn could dash Australia’s value-adding ambitions, suggestions that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to dismiss in a speech later on Friday.

Australia plans to unveil a substantial funding package for the green energy sector in a bid to drive the domestic development of clean energy technology, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) said in a report.

The nickel industry’s woes were highlighted on Thursday when BHP said that it was considering putting on care and maintenance its Nickel West division, for which it also announced a $2.5 billion writedown.

The operations employ 3,000 people and the announcement comes on the back of several closures this year.

Glencore, Australia’s second largest nickel producer behind BHP, said it was “very concerned” by the recent closures and nickel announcements and that a comprehensive government policy response was needed to support the sector amid “challenging market conditions.”

Including contractors, its Murrin Murrin operations employ more than 1,200 people.

The news sparked a rally in Australian nickel miners, with IGO shares closing up 8.7%.
Green premium

Australia and some producers have been pushing for a “green premium” in nickel to account for stronger regulations on environmental issues, governance and worker safety, but so far that has not emerged as a must-have for buyers.

King said discussions have been progressing with counterparts in the US, Canada and the EU to “ensure the high standards applied in Australian mining and production of nickel and other critical minerals are reflected in future pricing on international markets.”

“When the playing field is fair, Australian resources stand a fair chance,” she said.

But South32 CEO Graham Kerr said that the green premium concept was “a hard one to get behind” because it relied on governments picking and choosing industries to support.

“Where do a large volume of nickel units go?” he asked in a Thursday interview with Reuters. ” To China. Do they care whether it’s got a green premium ?”

South32’s Columbian nickel project Cerro Matoso is also under review due to low prices.

($1 = 1.5359 Australian dollars)

(By Melanie Burton; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Kim Coghill)

Peru approves $2 billion Antamina copper mine expansion

Cecilia Jamasmie | February 16, 2024 | 



Permit allows to extend the productive life of Antamina copper-zinc mine to 2036. 

(Image courtesy of Minera Antamina.)

Peru’s environmental watchdog has granted Antamina, the country’s largest copper-zinc mine, a long-awaited permit that allows it to kick off a $2 billion expansion to extend the operation’s productive life from 2028 to 2036.


The Modification of the Environmental Impact Study (MEIA) approval allows the mine, co-owned by Glencore (LON: GLEN), BHP (ASX, LON: BHP), Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B)(NYSE: TECK) and Mitsubishi (TYO: 8058), to apply changes within existing components. These include the expansion of the open pit and the optimization of the mine’s dumps and tailings dam.

“The MEIA is an important milestone for Antamina and the Peruvian mining industry (…) It broadens our horizon and allows us to continue working hand in hand with the authorities and communities,” Víctor Gobitz, chief executive of Antamina said in the statement.

Antamina’s mine area will be increased by 25% and the open pit will be deepened by 150 metres. This represents an extraction of up to 173,000 tonnes of ore a day, with a waste movement of up to about 742,000 tonnes daily.

The project also includes replacing the primary ore crushing station and installing a new rock crusher. Dam storage capacity will be increased to 1,572 million tonnes from the current 1,100 million tonnes.

The granting of the permit comes only a week after representatives from the largest mining companies operating in the country met with Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines, Oscar Vera, to provide feedback on a new digital initiative expected to speed up permitting in the world’s second largest copper producing nation.

Sibanye-Stillwater, Heraeus team up to save palladium

Cecilia Jamasmie | February 15, 2024 | 

Demand for palladium, mainly used by the auto industry, is dropping.

(Stock image: Ivan Traimak.)

Precious metals producer Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SSW)(NYSE: SBSW) has teamed up with metals trader and recycling company Heraeus Precious Metals to explore new uses for platinum-group metals (PGM), particularly palladium, in the hydrogen market.


The partners aim to develop alternative markets for the battered-metal, as prices fell more than 40% last year due mainly to weak demand from China. The rout has rolled into 2024, with the palladium price falling below platinum’s last week for the first time since 2018.

The joint venture, which will be equally funded by both parties, says that while palladium demand has been dominated by auto catalysts for the past few decades, is time to find new applications for the metal.

“Over the longer term, demand for palladium in the automotive sector is expected to decrease, creating an opportunity to consider new applications for the metal (…) Palladium has a very high selectivity for hydrogen and thus can be used in a broad range of applications,” the companies said in the statement.

Palladium is mainly used by the auto industry, which makes up four-fifths of its demand. Consumption of the metal, however, dropped by almost 40% in 2023 as carmakers switched to cheaper platinum for the devices that reduce harmful emissions and as more drivers opted for EVs.

Sibanye and Heraeus expect to ultimately ensure a “sustainable PGM supply basket”, which should include palladium, platinum and critical raw materials, such as iridium, ruthenium and rhodium.

“We expect hybrids to become the dominant engine type underpinning demand for palladium in the medium term,” Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive, Neal Froneman said in the statement. “Longer term and in response to changing demands, the PGM industry must innovate and stabilize the platinum group metals market,” he said.

Palladium and platinum prices decline has driven producers in South Africa, including Sibanye-Stillwater to apply severe cost-cutting measures.

The company is even axing jobs at its mines in the United States, with about 7,000 workers expected to be affected.

Fellow miner Impala Platinum Holdings has offered voluntary job cuts, including at its deep-level Rustenburg complex. Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has also held talks with the government about potential job cuts.

 

Prince Edward Island signs exclusive tourism marketing deal with NHL

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press

Fans pose below the NHL logo outside Falcon Stadium before an NHL Stadium Series outdoor hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche, at Air Force Academy, Colo. on Sat., Feb.15, 2020. Canada’s smallest province is looking to boost its tourism profile through a deal with the National Hockey League. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/David Zalubowski

Canada’s smallest province is looking to boost its tourism profile by capitalizing on the popularity of the National Hockey League.

Under a marketing agreement announced earlier this week, Prince Edward Island’s tourism agency, Tourism P.E.I., has been designated as the “official travel destination partner of the NHL.”

The provincial government is paying the league $2.5 million in the first year of a three-year deal but can opt out after Year 1 or negotiate a new deal for Year 2.

Corryn Clemence, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I., said the exclusive designation will allow the Island to use the NHL's broadcast and social media reach to promote itself in target markets such as Ontario and New England.

“It has the potential to hit so many different sectors like meetings and conventions,” Clemence said of the campaign in an interview Thursday. “To have the prestige of the NHL really elevates what we are trying to do.”

The agreement also allows on-site promotions at arenas, and digitally enhanced ads to be shown on the dasher boards that surround NHL ice rinks, she said. As well, the league has agreed to host a business meeting on the Island and will allow the province to use the NHL logo with its own tourism branding.

Clemence said the fan convention at the recent NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto featured a Tourism P.E.I. booth, adding that Tuesday night’s television broadcast between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning included promotions for visiting the province.

She said her organization, which represents about 450 tourism operators in the province of about 175,000 people, discussed the idea with the NHL about 18 months ago and formal talks on a deal were then taken over by the province.

Clemence says the agreement can bolster P.E.I.'s tourism sector, which is one of the top three industries on the Island along with agriculture and the fishery, and provides millions in tax revenues to the provincial government.

“It’s really important for us to be very strategic with any initiatives we take on because we need to see that return for our industry but also for the Island economy.”

Brodie O’Keefe, director of operations and industry investment with Tourism P.E.I., said the Crown corporation’s annual marketing budget is $5.5 million and the funding for the agreement with the NHL is a separate allocation.

O’Keefe responded to some of the criticism of the deal from those who say the province is spending millions on marketing with the NHL while there are housing shortages and emergency room closures on the Island.

“Visitors to P.E.I. generate tax revenues of approximately $85 million each year,” he said. “That money goes back to the government so they can use it to support other departments and other programs.”

Sergio Carvalho, a marketing professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says he thinks the deal can be effective at increasing tourism dollars because of the NHL's ability to increase fan awareness of P.E.I.

“They are allowing the prestige of the NHL brand to be transferred to the P.E.I. brand,” said Carvalho. “If the tourism team from the province knows how to work this well they can maximize this.”

He said the agreement has the potential to see returns that are several times its face value and will have a “long term effect” for the province.

“I think $2.5 million for a deal like this with such a prestigious brand in North America is a very good deal,” Carvalho said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2024.

 

How grocers decide what gets donated and what gets dumped

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press

On a cool-but-sunny February day in Toronto’s west end, a temperature-controlled truck pulls up at the rear of a Metro grocery store, where pallets of food about to reach their sell-by date sit waiting. It's time for the Daily Bread food bank’s weekly pickup.

Each package of meat, loaf of bread and deli item has been carefully inspected before ending up on the loading dock.

For grocers, selling perishable items means making continual choices about every item on display — especially the ones nearing the end of their shelf life. For those that don’t sell in time, most stores try to donate them to food banks rather than throw them away. 

"It's daily calls (on the floor)," said John Crisafulli, manager of the Metro location, during a walk-through with a Canadian Press reporter. All departments begin their day by scanning for items nearing expiration and picking them out, along with those with blemishes or flaws that make them undesirable. 

Metro’s guidelines are straightforward. Two days ahead of their best-before dates, packaged items are discounted at 30 per cent. If still unsold the night before, an employee pulls the items off the shelf and freezes them in the backroom storage for donations to local food banks. 

Some of those products are also sold on food-rescue apps such as Too Good To Go, said Dave Dinning, senior director of operations at Metro in Ontario.

But the shelf life of fresh produce is harder to determine and left to the employees' discretion.

Take the apples, for example. Crisafulli examined the honeycrisps, galas and Granny Smiths, rearranging the display and picking out misfits with blemishes, bruises or holes. He then placed less appealing picks in a bag, marked it at $2 and re-shelved it in the discount section. Later, fresher apples replenished the selection. Finally, unsold quantities become fodder for animals.

At Metro, this process happens several times a day. 

There are three things you can do with unsold food — discount, dispose or donate, said John Lowrey, an assistant professor at Northeastern University's D'Amore-McKim School of Business who studies food waste and retail donations. Deciding a fresh item's fate can be labour-intensive, he added. 

"It requires the employee to first inspect the product, and move (it) to another part of the store," Lowrey said in an interview. And if it doesn't sell, it gets re-inspected before being thrown away. 

Donations can be more efficient.

Food retailers often donate food to avoid waste management costs and fees for landfills, Lowrey said. They may also qualify for tax incentives.

"Because when you are faced with leftover food, you can either pay a per-pound pickup fee to waste management companies ... or remove it for free and donate it to the food bank." 

Last year, Metro said it donated four million kilograms of food through its One More Bite program. Other Canadian grocers, including Loblaw, Sobeys and Walmart, similarly donate some of their surplus food.

Loblaw said its franchises, stores and distribution centres donated 6.7 million kilograms of food to local organizations in 2022. 

Sobeys and Walmart have their own programs but didn’t respond when asked for details.

Food banks have been in a long-standing partnership with grocery retailers — major chains and local stores, said Kirstin Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks Canada. 

"We rely on the support of grocery stores," she said, as donations from food drives went down during the pandemic and haven’t recovered. Beardsley said food banks receive about 50 per cent of donations from the food industry, including retailers, manufacturers and farmers.

Donations aren’t one-size-fits-all. Edmonton's Food Bank, for instance, receives a large amount of rescued food from its partners Loblaw, Sobeys and Walmart — including strawberries, spinach and other fresh produce. 

Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank, meanwhile, doesn't accept fresh produce from its partners, Metro and Food Basics, given the challenges of a tight turnaround window — and ensuring food remains healthy to eat.

Food past its best-before date is still safe to consume, despite losing its peak freshness, said Heather McLeod-Kilmurray, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, who focuses on food law.

"Grocery stores believe consumers won't want to buy that food and won't want to see it on the shelves," she said. "It gives the impression that food is not safe or something that you'd want to buy. But, in fact, that's not true."

Food bank staff typically sort through the donations, adding an extra layer of food safety measures before redistributing.

But there might be a possibility that food donation is linked to higher store prices, Lowrey suggested.

"Food donations in a sense might be a double-edged sword," he said.

Lowrey said, anecdotally, his study found when grocers intervene early in the product's sellable shelf life, replacing it with fresh inventory, it makes the overall quality higher for shoppers.

"This, in turn, raises the quality of products on the shelf and average prices — which keeps prices high," he added. 

Nonetheless, Lowrey said grocers' donation initiatives promote sustainability and help communities meet their emergency needs.

For Daily Bread, the store-level partnership with Metro banners is a lifeline. 

With every pallet loaded into the back of the truck each day, one less family is going to bed hungry — and one less pallet ends its journey in a landfill.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2024.

Mi'kmaw communities invest in Nova Scotia battery plants

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press

A corporation co-owned by 13 Mi'kmaw communities is investing in new battery plants with Nova Scotia Power in what both parties are calling a step toward reconciliation. 

The project, announced Thursday by Wskijinu'k Mtmo'taqnuow Agency Ltd., is expected to draw and store electricity during off-peak periods and release it back to the grid when needed.

The company is getting up to $18 million for an equity loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to help facilitate the partnership. 

Crystal Nicholas, its president, said creating a greener future is a priority for the Mi'kmaw Nation, and the investment in the storage facility marks "true economic reconciliation."

"I'm very optimistic that this will continue to open doors for the WMA to partner with a lot of other companies," said Nicholas.

Construction of what will be the largest energy storage project in Atlantic Canada is set to begin this year in White Rock, Bridgewater and Waverly and continue through 2026. 

The first site is expected to be operational next year.

Peter Gregg, the president and CEO of Nova Scotia Power, said the partnership will help mitigate project costs and allow the utility to conduct meaningful work with Mi'kmaw communities.

The equity loans are part of the Canada Infrastructure Bank's goal to invest at least $1 billion in Indigenous infrastructure by accelerating projects and providing access to capital.

Ehren Cory, CEO of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, said infrastructure is but one element in the effort to help build a more equitable future with Indigenous partners and move closer to economic reconciliation.

Economic reconciliation is a recently popularized term to describe fostering positive relationships between Indigenous Peoples, industry and government to ensure they can meaningfully participate in the economy.

"The social licence to operate is really important," Cory said of infrastructure projects.

"And it requires full and informed consent and engagement with communities, obviously. But I think, increasingly, it's also going to potentially include having seats at the table."

Nicholas agreed, saying that as the titleholders to the land, anything Mi'kmaw can do to help Nova Scotia move away from fossil fuels is a step forward in protecting their territories.

"We think we should be part of that," she said.

"I see it as leading by example. At the end of the day, it's a win-win scenario — making a difference in the lives of Indigenous communities, but benefiting all."

Politicians have been trying to capitalize on the idea of economic reconciliation, with Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu holding a roundtable on that topic last week featuring cabinet colleagues, Indigenous leaders and bankers. 

Participants agreed that in order to make meaningful progress on economic reconciliation, more needs to be done to lessen government involvement and urge the financial sector to remove barriers, Hajdu's office said.

The Canadian Infrastructure Bank sees its Indigenous equity loan as reaching toward that.

The Liberals committed to lending affordable capital to Indigenous communities through the bank in its 2023 budget. 

The program allows communities to purchase equity stakes in infrastructure projects in which the bank is also investing, but the bank is only mandated to invest in the likes of clean power, green infrastructure, broadband technology and transportation.

An Indigenous loan guarantee program is another long-awaited policy plank from the Liberal government. It promised in its fall economic statement that this year's federal budget would include more detail. 

A loan guarantee would protect lenders from potential defaults by including language that a third party — in this case, the federal government — would pay the bill should the borrower default.

The Indian Act, through which First Nations peoples are goverened, does not allow communities to use their land or other assets as collateral, making such programs vital for economic development.

It is still unclear whether the prospective loan guarantees would facilitate equity ownership in oil and gas projects or whether the Liberals would exclude such ventures from the program.

At the time of its announcement, Indigenous leaders worried the exclusion of oil and gas would put communities at a significant disadvantage.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has also touted the idea of economic reconciliation, recently announced his support for a plan that would allow First Nations to collect tax from resource projects on their lands, with industry receiving a tax credit in return.

The policy was developed by the First Nations Tax Commission, an arm's-length body that works to support First Nations taxation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2024.

 

WestJet CEO apologizes for accessibility failures, defends airline's record

Christopher Reynolds , The Canadian Press

WestJet chief executive Alexis von Hoensbroech apologized for incidents where the airline failed to accommodate people living with disabilities, saying he hopes to improve travel accessibility.

“To our guests who didn’t have a good travel experience with us, we are sincerely sorry, and we are committed in doing better," von Honesbroech said during a House of Commons transport committee hearing on accessible transportation on Thursday.

More than 99.9 per cent of the carrier's 260,000-plus customers who required support last year — roughly 700 each day, the vast majority of whom used wheelchairs or mobility aids — had a good experience, he said.

"Every case that goes wrong is one too many," the CEO said.

The appearance followed a committee session last week that saw lawmakers take Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau to task over "shocking" failures around accessibility.

Rousseau acknowledged mistakes, and pointed to an expedited accessibility scheme announced in November along with new measures to improve the travel experience for hundreds of thousands of passengers living with a disability.

Several incidents have surfaced at Canadian airlines over the past year.

In August, a B.C. man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off of an Air Canada plane in Las Vegas. Last fall, former Paralympian Sarah Morris-Probert hauled herself up WestJet aircraft stairs rather than being able to board using her wheelchair.

"Everyone’s always very sorry and very committed to doing better whenever these things happen, but these high-profile incidents continue to plague Canadian airlines," Conservative MP Mark Strahl told von Hoensbroech.

“Thoughts and prayers are no longer acceptable."

Von Hoensbroech highlighted steps WestJet is taking to boost accessibility. These include a process to confirm to customers that mobility aids were loaded into the cargo hold and procedures to properly store those devices on board across its whole network. Both measures are set for rollout "very soon," he said.

Advocates insist tougher rules and enforcement are needed to reduce accessibility barriers.

“As a blind passenger, I dread entering Canadian airspace, because I never know how good or bad will be my treatment," said David Lepofsky, a lawyer who chairs the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, in a Wednesday news release that called for stricter regulations and a crackdown by regulators.

“Month after month, the media has reported on inexcusable and recurring incidents where an airline loses or destroys a passenger’s wheelchair, leaves a passenger with disabilities to crawl off an airplane, or strands a passenger with disabilities for hours in a Canadian airport without needed assistance.”

Current regulations codify important principles but fail to spell out financial consequences for breaches, said Gabor Lukacs, president of the Air Passenger Rights advocacy group.

"The culprit is the perennial problem of inadequate enforcement and inadequate legislation," he told the committee.

Penalties against large airlines over disabilities violations occasionally top $100,000. "However, when the media is not paying attention, the fines are insignificant," Lukacs said.

Last week, the Canadian Transportation Agency penalized Air Transat to the tune of $11,000 after it failed to quickly provide a suitable replacement for a passenger's mobility aid that had been lost on arrival in Venice. Airline owner Transat A.T. Inc. took in $3 billion in revenue last year.

The agency’s enforcement team tracks complaints to scan for a pattern of contraventions, and looks to impose fines when it sees a problem as “systemic,” said Tom Oommen, the agency’s director general of analysis and outreach, in an interview last month.

Lukacs also called for a government mandate to track and post statistics on disability-related complaints and mishandled mobility aids, as the U.S. Department of Transportation does.

WestJet received and investigated about 200 complaints related to accessibility last year, some involving damage to mobility aids — "quite small numbers relative to the very large amount of passengers with (disabilities) that we carry," said Todd Peterson, the airline's head of regulatory affairs.

NDP MP Taylor Bachrach cited WestJet incidents where mobility aids were left behind, a passenger was picked up, dropped and injured because staff weren't comfortable with the lift device, and the wheelchair rim of a four-year-old with spina bifida was damaged, rendering her immobile for more than a month.

“When the committee hears things like the number of accessibility complaints is a very small fraction of the total number of people with disabilities transported, I'll just say it: it sounds like minimizing the problem or trying to rationalize it," Bachrach said.

Von Hoensbroech took pains to stress the complex, integrated nature of air travel.

In the case of the ex-Paralympian, airport congestion in Los Cabos, Mexico, meant that the plane was forced to park on the tarmac rather than at the gate, leaving stairs as the only way to board. Crew members had offered to carry Morris-Probert on board in her wheelchair, but the ex-Paralympian considered that option dangerous, von Hoensbroech said.

“There's an approved process on how to do it," he said, but called her experience "humiliating" nonetheless. "I don’t like that either, but it was the next best option."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2024.

Cenovus reports second-highest quarterly production ever, driven by oilsands

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

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Cenovus Energy Inc. is the latest Canadian oilsands company to report surging production levels just in time for the anticipated startup of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

The Calgary-based company said Thursday it saw its second-highest quarterly production ever in the fourth quarter of 2023, with output of 808,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

That compares with 806,900 boe/d in the same period of last year and represents an increase of approximately 12,000 barrels per day from the third quarter of 2023.

The uptick in output was largely due to strong performance from Cenovus' oilsands assets, in particular its Foster Creek site in northern Alberta where new well pads added about 10,000 barrels per day of production relative the third quarter.

Cenovus is also bringing new well pads on at its Christina Lake oilsands site and anticipates continued production growth at its Sunrise oilsands facility as it brings on new well packages over the next two to three years.

In a conference call with analysts, CEO Jon McKenzie said investments in oilsands growth projects are beginning to bear fruit. 

While planned maintenance and turnaround projects will temper oilsands output over the summer, he said 2024 should exceed 2023 in terms of total production. 

"December was probably the second-highest production month that we've ever had as a company," McKenzie said.

"We expect Q4 to be even bigger next year than it was this year, particularly as we bring on more well pads right across the business."

Shares in Cenovus rose seven per cent on Thursday to close at $23.51. 

For the full year 2023, Cenovus' crude oil production from the oilsands averaged 593,400 barrels per day, including 186,300 barrels per day at Foster Creek and 237,400 barrels per day at Christina Lake.

The company's 2024 guidance calls for oilsands production to be in the range of 590,000 to 610,000 barrels per day.

Additional production growth is expected in 2025 and 2026 due to ongoing optimization work at both Foster Creek and Christina Lake.

Cenovus' higher production in its most recent quarter was offset by lower commodity prices, so that the company's fourth-quarter earnings fell to $743 million from $784 million a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter also declined to $13.13 billion, down from $14.06 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.

But the company's near-record-setting output is part of an overall industry trend as Canadian oilsands producers ramp up output in preparation for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which is in the final stages of construction and will provide the industry with a long-awaited additional 590,000 barrels per day of export capacity to the West Coast.

The additional pipeline capacity not only gives Canadian oil companies the ability to grow their production, it is also expected to reduce the price discount Canadian producers typically take on their oil in part due to a lack of export capacity.

Cenovus is a major contracted shipper on Trans Mountain, and McKenzie said the company continues to expect the startup of the expansion to take place by the middle of this year — in spite of the latest round of construction-related difficulties that have plagued the project.

Earlier this month, Imperial Oil Ltd. also announced its oilsands production surged in the fourth quarter, with its Kearl oilsands facility achieving all-time record output in the final three months of 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2024.

WORKERS CAPITAL

CPP Investments earned 3.4% in latest quarter, net assets grew to $590.8 billion

BNN Bloomberg

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board says its fund earned a net return of 3.4 per cent in its latest quarter.

CPP Investments chief executive John Graham says strong performance of global equity and fixed income markets during the final months of calendar 2023 contributed to the fund's continued growth.

The fund ended the third quarter of its 2024 financial year with $590.8 billion in net assets, up from $576.1 billion at the end of the previous quarter.

It says strength in public equity, fixed income, credit, private equity, energy and infrastructure assets helped boost results.

The gains were offset in part by foreign exchange losses due to a stronger Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar.

The results for the fund resulted in a 10-year annualized net return of 9.3 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2024.