Ruling against Canadian lumber
Canada’s softwood lumber industry suffered another blow after the U.S. International Trade Commission unanimously voted Thursday that its imports have harmed the American lumber industry. In a 4-0 vote, the agency sided with the U.S. lumber coalition. The U.S. Commerce Department last month lowered preliminary duties. Most Canadian producers will pay a combined countervailing and […]
Bitcoin hacked?
The frenzy surrounding bitcoin amped up further Thursday as the virtual currency soared above $15,000 for the first time, just days before it starts trading on major U.S. exchanges. At the same time, there are fresh concerns about the security of bitcoin and other virtual currencies after NiceHash, a company that mines bitcoins on behalf […]
Carbon tax causing pain
Large carbon emitters in Alberta are expected to pay upwards of $1.2 billion a year in levies by 2020 under updated regulations announced today. The government, however, says its plan includes a phase-in period and significant funding assistance to make it easier for industry to adapt to the new regime, while offsets and credits mean […]
Marketing marijuana
David Brown’s marijuana marketing students are often shocked to learn how difficult it is to — well — market marijuana. Advertising medical cannabis is essentially banned in Canada, with some exceptions. Restrictions on recreational weed are set to be a bit looser, but Brown still advises students to think of the constraints as opportunities. “These […]
Nestle, the maker of Hot Pockets and Purina dog food, is expanding into vitamins and supplements by buying Atrium Innovations for $2.3 billion. Canada-based Atrium Innovations makes Garden of Life gummy vitamins, protein powder and protein bars. Atrium also makes fish oil capsules and other supplements under different brand names. Packaged food makers like Nestle […]
Trade deficit down
Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.5 billion in October as exports improved and imports took a step back. The agency says the shortfall was less than half the $3.4-billion deficit in September. Economists had expected a deficit of $2.7 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. Exports increased 2.7 per cent to […]
Feds willing to share pot tax
The Trudeau government is willing to give provinces and territories a bigger share of the revenue from a federal excise tax on cannabis, provided that the extra money is devoted to helping municipalities cope with the impact of legalizing recreational pot. The feds have proposed giving provincial and territorial governments half of the estimated $1-billion […]
Trade talks delayed
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau concluded talks with the Chinese premier in Beijing, but they were not able to announce the start of formal free trade talks. Trudeau said there wasn’t one particular issue that held up the talks, but he wants a progressive trade deal that includes addressing issues such as gender, the environment and […]
Christmas tree shortage
Holiday shoppers might have to fork over a little more for the evergreen scent of a natural Christmas tree this year as a shortage south of the border and increased demand for real trees put pressure on prices. Canadian Christmas tree farmers are raising prices as much as 10 per cent as the effect of […]
‘unstoppable’ labour market
A wave of job creation last month knocked the unemployment rate down to 5.9 per cent — its lowest level in nearly a decade. The economy churned out another 79,500 net new jobs in November and drove the jobless rate down 0.4 percentage points from 6.3 per cent the month before, Statistics Canada said Friday […]
