The federal government says it has hammered out the final details with Visa and Mastercard to lower credit card transaction fees for merchants, but small business advocates say the deal doesn’t go nearly far enough. The deal concerns what is called an interchange fee, also known as a “swipe fee,” which sets aside a percentage … Read more
Canada’s newest premier says that in an ideal world, Ottawa would provide his territory with a blanket exemption from the carbon tax. “I mean, ideally, a complete exemption for the territory is what we would hope for,” said R.J. Simpson, chosen this week as premier of the Northwest Territories, in an interview Sunday on Rosemary Barton … Read more
For anyone with lingering night terrors from the last renegotiation of NAFTA, the notion of reopening the pact might evoke the trailer for a classic horror movie sequel: It’s baaaaa-aaaack. But this time is different, says the U.S. envoy to Canada. In an interview with CBC News, Ambassador David Cohen said officials in his country have … Read more
Federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s claim that Canada can achieve carbon neutrality in 2050 while simultaneously increasing oil and gas production is “incoherent.” Smith has long argued that carbon neutrality is about a transition away from emissions and not a transition away from oil and gas production, a source of … Read more
Ottawa will be getting a $40 million refund after it gave Quebec City-based biopharmaceutical company Medicago more than $300 million to develop and manufacture a home-grown COVID-19 vaccine that never made it to market. The news comes after Conservative, Bloc and NDP MPs on the House of Commons health committee grilled staff from Canada’s procurement department this … Read more
The head of Canada’s biggest grocery chain says the looming implementation of the grocery code of conduct would lead to higher prices for consumers, not lower ones. Speaking at a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting on Thursday morning on stabilizing food prices, Galen Weston, executive chairman of the Loblaws group of companies, said his … Read more
Ottawa will require foreigners applying to study in Canada to have double the amount of funds currently required, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Thursday. He also threatened to cap visas in provinces that don’t help house students or who won’t shut down educational institutions that he argues shouldn’t be operating. “There are, in provinces, the … Read more
Nun cho ga, the baby wooly mammoth whose extraordinarily preserved remains caused a sensation after they were dug up by a miner near Dawson City, Yukon, last year, could soon be heading to Ottawa — at least for a period. The rare specimen — believed to be about 30,000 to 35,000 years old — has been stored in a … Read more
