Loblaw ending 50% discount on some food items raises concerns about anti-competitive behaviour

The revelation that Loblaw will end its 50 per cent discount on perishable foods like meat, fruit and vegetables as they near their best-before dates should attract the attention of Canada’s Competition Bureau, says one industry expert.  Prof. Sylvain Charlebois, the director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-food Analytics Lab, believes the action taken by the grocery chain to align its policy with other food retailers might be … Read more

The U.S. is heading for a momentous vote. Canada’s ambassador says we have to be ready

Canada’s ambassador to the United States says Ottawa must take concrete steps to prepare for the outcome of this fall’s pivotal presidential election, which could see Donald Trump returned to power. In an interview with CBC News on Saturday ahead of a Canadian cabinet retreat in Montreal — where she will brief ministers — Kirsten Hillman said … Read more

New sugar refinery to be built in Hamilton will be Canada’s largest, says company

A new sugar refinery set to open in Hamilton’s port lands in 2025 promises to be Canada’s largest, with capacity to produce 4,000 tonnes of refined sugar per day, or one million per year.  The Sucro Can Sourcing facility, at the foot of Hamilton’s Sherman Street North, will use Randle Reef as an active part of its … Read more

Federal dental care program will exclude 4.4M uninsured Canadians: report

Politics A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says millions of uninsured Canadians will be left out of the new federal dental program because their family income is too high. Enrolment began last month in new program, set to be fully implemented in 2025 The Canadian Press · Posted: Jan 17, 2024 … Read more

Day after Trump win in Iowa, Trudeau says U.S. faces choice between optimism, retreat

Voters in the United States likely will face a choice in the November presidential election between optimism for the future, or nostalgia for a past that never existed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday. And while a second Donald Trump presidency “won’t be easy,” Trudeau told a Montreal business audience, the federal government is prepared for … Read more

Gasoline prices help drive inflation up to 3.4%

Canada’s annual inflation rate jumped to 3.4 per cent in December, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday. That’s after both October and November saw inflation hold steady at 3.1 per cent compared to the previous year. StatsCan said that the price of gasoline, air travel, passenger vehicles and rent drove the figure higher in December. Food … Read more

National home sales in 2023 lowest since 2008 despite December ‘bounce,’ CREA says

Canada’s housing market is seeing some of the lowest annual sales volumes in more than a decade, according to the latest statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association, even though December saw a jump in sales compared to the month before. In a statement, CREA noted that the annual home sales total of 443,511 units in … Read more

Why scientists say Canada’s logging industry produces far more emissions than tallied

Canada’s forestry sector is responsible for far more greenhouse gas emissions than show up in official tallies, potentially leading to policies that aren’t in line with the country’s climate goals, a new study suggests. The peer-reviewed study, published in the academic journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, found that annual greenhouse gas emissions attributable … Read more