Canada Post proposes 25-cent price hike on stamps

Canada Post proposes 25-cent price hike on stamps

Canada Post is proposing an increase to regulated postage rates next year, bringing the price of most stamps up by 25 cents to $1.24. The organization says it has kept letter mail rate increases to a minimum over the past decade and the one-time increase would help align stamp prices with the rising cost of providing … Read more

Canada has a bill of rights for air passengers. What about train riders?

Canada has a bill of rights for air passengers. What about train riders?

A 10-hour delay on a Via Rail train in Quebec over the long weekend is raising questions about rail passengers’ rights in Canada — or the lack thereof. Passengers on a train from Montreal to Quebec City were left stranded as they ran out of food, water and working toilets when their train broke down … Read more

Local journalism in Atlantic Canada in trouble as company known to ‘slash and burn’ buys dozens of newspapers

Local journalism in Atlantic Canada in trouble as company known to ‘slash and burn’ buys dozens of newspapers

If you want to understand the struggling local news landscape, look no further than Atlantic Canada, where a takeover has kept the region’s largest newspaper publisher in operation, but still leaves local journalism in a tenuous state. Toronto-based Postmedia, whose titles include the National Post and the Montreal Gazette, has taken over the financially insolvent SaltWire … Read more

Australians now have the legal right to disconnect from work. But how effective will it be?

Australians now have the legal right to disconnect from work. But how effective will it be?

Australia’s right-to-disconnect law has come into effect — giving employees the right to refuse contact if their employers reach out to them by phone or email after hours, a type of law that has popped up around the world. “What we’re simply saying is that someone who is not being paid 24 hours a day shouldn’t … Read more

U.S. military announces $20M US grant to build cobalt refinery in Ontario

U.S. military announces M US grant to build cobalt refinery in Ontario

The U.S. military has made its largest move so far in a novel national-security effort to fund mining initiatives in Canada.  The Pentagon on Tuesday announced a $20 million US grant to create a cobalt refinery in northern Ontario’s Temiskaming Shores. The money will go to the Toronto-based Electra Battery Materials Corporation; the government of Canada is adding … Read more

Google has illegal monopoly over online searches, U.S. judge rules

Google has illegal monopoly over online searches, U.S. judge rules

Alphabet’s Google broke the law with monopolistic behaviour over online search and related advertising, a federal judge ruled on Monday, the first victory for U.S. antitrust authorities who have filed numerous lawsuits challenging Big Tech’s market dominance. The decision is a significant win for the U.S. Justice Department, which had sued the search engine giant … Read more

Over 100,000 short-term rentals could be homes: StatsCan report

Over 100,000 short-term rentals could be homes: StatsCan report

A new report by Statistics Canada shows the country’s total number of short-term rental listings increased by more than 60 per cent between 2017 and 2023, while the number of short-term rental units that could be used as long-term housing grew by more than 80 per cent. The report identified more than 100,000 short-term rentals that … Read more

First-time homebuyers can now apply for a 30-year mortgage. Is that a good thing?

First-time homebuyers can now apply for a 30-year mortgage. Is that a good thing?

The 30-year amortized mortgages announced in the 2024 federal budget are kicking in on Thursday. First-time homebuyers who are purchasing newly built homes can now qualify for a 30-year mortgage, giving them five additional years to pay off an insured mortgage. For other mortgages where default insurance is required, a 25-year amortization limit is still … Read more

TC Energy signs deal to sell minority stake in pipeline to Indigenous groups

TC Energy signs deal to sell minority stake in pipeline to Indigenous groups

TC Energy Corp. is selling a minority stake in its Western Canadian natural gas transmission network to a consortium of Indigenous communities for $1 billion. The Calgary-based pipeline company said the deal, announced Tuesday, will enable 72 Indigenous communities to take a 5.34 per cent stake in its Nova Gas transmission system and Foothills pipeline … Read more

U.S. private equity firm to buy Héroux-Devtek in deal valued at $1.35B

U.S. private equity firm to buy Héroux-Devtek in deal valued at .35B

Aircraft landing gear maker Héroux-Devtek Inc. says it has signed a deal to be acquired by U.S. private equity firm Platinum Equity Advisors LLC in a deal valued at $1.35 billion. Under the agreement, Platinum Equity will pay $32.50 in cash per share for the company.  Based in Longueuil, Que., Héroux-Devtek is one of the … Read more