B.C. only province with rising greenhouse gases December 22, 2009
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British Columbia was the only province in the country to report an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from major industries in 2008, according to figures released by Environment Canada.
The figures cover so-called “facility greenhouse gas emissions” from power plants and heavy industries such as mining, pulp and paper, and petroleum.
British Columbia’s dubious distinction was largely the result of oil and gas extraction, Environment Canada said.
The current boom in exploration for shale gas, which has a higher CO2 content, is likely to have played a significant role, energy policy consultant Chris Bataille said.
“On a year-by-year basis I wouldn’t want to put too much weight on it,” he said, “although in the long run we can probably expect emissions to increase from natural-gas extraction in B.C.’s northeast.”
Last week B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell was honoured in Copenhagen for introducing a provincial carbon tax.
But critics such as George Heyman of the Sierra Club say the honour is tainted because the B.C. government continues to offer tax breaks to the petroleum industry.
“This is one of the disturbing contradictions in the Campbell Liberals’ climate-change policy,” he said. “They’ve introduced targets, they’ve introduced a carbon tax ? and yet we’re actually going in the wrong direction.”
But even with last year’s poor result, B.C. still ranks far below Alberta in such facility emissions. In 2008, its heavy industries emitted eight times as much greenhouse gas as B.C., Environment Canada figures show.
Ottawa links with Magna on ultralight car plant December 20, 2009
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Ottawa will contribute to a $7.2 million joint venture with Magna International aimed at making Canada a manufacturing hub for lightweight cars of the future.
Industry Minister Tony Clement unveils details of a joint venture with Magna International Inc. in Woddbridge, Ont.(Cheryl Krawchuk/CBC)
Industry Minister Tony Clement was flanked by Magna officials in Woodbridge, Ont., on Friday, announcing a joint venture between the National Research Council and auto parts maker Magna that aims to develop ultralight auto parts.
“This ability to build the world’s lightest, most durable cars, and make them affordable to Canadians ? I don’t have to tell you how excited we are about this,” Clement said.
The joint venture will bring together the intellectual heft of the National Research Council to take their know-how outside of the lab and link up with private firms such as Magna to develop the next generation of car parts.
It is not clear how much of the $7.2 million price tag Ottawa will contribute.
“What we’re talking about is more jobs for Canadians,” Clement said, although he declined to pin a precise number of jobs that might come out of the deal.
Other private companies will also have access to the site, which will be housed in an existing Magna facility, Clement noted.
“This deal creates the ideal conditions for the next breakthrough in automotive technology,” Clement said.
Automakers are scrambling to develop ultralight auto parts because they reduce the amount of fuel cars will consume and can help improve durability.
“We’re competing with the world, and we can win,” Clement said.
The research facility is expected to be operational by the summer of 2010.
Autoworkers confident after meeting with Chrysler October 17, 2009
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Canadian Auto Workers president Ken Lewenza has high praise for Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne after the two men met Thursday at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hill, Mich.(Chris Young/Canadian Press)
A meeting between representatives of the Canadian Auto Workers and the Chrysler Group LLC late Thursday has given union president Ken Lewenza new confidence about the future of the struggling automaker.
The meeting at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., was scheduled to last three hours. Instead, it lasted six hours and ended only after Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne took the autoworkers out for dinner at a local fish restaurant.
Marchionne spent much of the time “expressing his confidence in the corporation” and the future of its products, Lewenza told CBC News.
“I left there feeling a sense of confidence for the first time in a long time,” he said. “This is a guy that’s focused and determined to turn the corporation around, not just for the short term but for the long term.”
Turning Chrysler around won’t be easy.
Sales of Chrysler vehicles in the United States were down 42 per cent in September from the year before, and down 32 per cent internationally. The company laid off 12 percent of its United States workforce, or 360 employees, from its field offices and headquarters on Oct. 1. And it is scheduled to begin talks with U.S. congressional leaders who want the company to reverse its recent termination of 789 dealerships.
‘The existing products that we have in the pipeline at our Canadian plants are incredibly important to the company.’?Ken Lewenza, CAW president
Chrysler has fared slightly better in Canada. The company rehired 1,200 workers at its Dodge Grand Caravan assembly plant in Windsor in August due to increased demand, and sales of the minivan rose six per cent in September over the year before.
Still, the next nine or 10 months will be “a very difficult time for Chrysler workers and CAW members,” Lewenza predicted.
But Marchionne “clearly indicated that the existing products that we have in the pipeline at our Canadian plants are incredibly important to the company,” he added.
‘A worker’s CEO’
Thursday’s was the first formal meeting between Lewenza and Marchionne, who took over as CEO from Robert Nardelli on June 10.
The two men spent much of the day “getting to know each other,” Lewenza said, and he liked what he saw.
Marchionne has streamlined Chrysler management team, improved communication between departments in the area of product quality and improved plans to get vehicles to market quickly, Lewenza said.
“He’s a worker’s CEO,” Lewenza said. “He puts in the hours that are necessary, he empowers his leadership team, and he certainly made the CAW leadership yesterday feel very, very comfortable with the presentation he gave.”
A spokesperson for Chrysler refused to comment on the meeting, calling it private.
Marchionne and other senior executives will outline the company’s strategic plan to economists and the media at its annual meeting on Nov. 4.
Feds ask WTO to resolve trade dispute with U.S. October 8, 2009
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Canada has asked the World Trade Organization to resolve a trade dispute with the U.S. over country-of-origin labelling rules that discourage cattle and hog imports, the federal government announced Wednesday.
It has asked a WTO trade dispute panel to strike down the rules on the grounds they make it difficult for Canadian cattle and hog exporters to compete fairly.
The rule requiring American food processors to label where meat and other products come from is costing Canadian beef exporter $1 million a day.(CBC)
The rule requires firms label meat and other products according to country of origin at every stage of production and on the supermarket shelf.
Talks that started last December have failed to resolve the issue. Canada’s beef industry estimates changing the labelling rule would could save Canadian cattle exporters $1 million a day.
The rule, which went into effect Sept. 30, mandates that American meat processors segregate animals according to where they are born and fed.
The legislation divided cattle into three groups: U.S.-born and raised cattle, Canadian-born and U.S.-raised cattle, and Canadian-born and raised cattle imported for immediate processing. Canadian cattle exporters have said the rule discriminates against cattle directly from Canada.
American processing plants are reluctant to absorb the higher cost of labelling and transporting Canadian beef. Those that do are paying reduced prices for the cattle they accept.
The rule also applies to chicken, lamb, pork, fish, goat meat, ginseng, pecans, macadamia nuts and peanuts. Processed foods ? anything cured roasted, smoked or cooked ? are exempt. Food served at restaurants or sold in specialty markets, such as butcher shops, is also exempt from the labelling rule.
Canada-U.S. agricultural trade totals about $37 billion annually.
With files from The Canadian Press (more…)
Ivanhoe Mines to sign deal with Mongolia October 5, 2009
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Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines is set to sign a deal with the government of Mongolia to develop its Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine, the company announced Monday.
Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto are partners in the project, ranked as one of the largest copper finds in the world. It is 80 kilometres north of the border with China.
Ivanhoe Mines, 3-month chart.
Ivanhoe’s chairman is billionaire Robert Friedland, known for the discovery of one of the world’s biggest nickel deposits, in Voisey’s Bay, Labrador.
Geologists have estimated there are 21 million ounces of gold and 17 million tonnes of copper at the Mongolia site.
Ivanhoe said the agreement will set tax rates and set out regulations relating to construction and operation of the mine and will be signed in the capital ?Ulan Batar ? on Tuesday.
Last month, the Mongolian government announced it would cancel its 68 per cent tax on copper and gold effective Jan. 1, 2011. Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto have been negotiating a profit-sharing agreement with the Mongolian government for several years.
Ivanhoe shares were up close to five per cent, or 66 cents, at $14.29 in early afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange Monday.
Provinces key to trade deal with EU: Charest October 4, 2009
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Provinces need to be at the table when Canada negotiates a future free trade deal with the European Union, says Quebec Premier Jean Charest.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest believes Canada could benefit from a free trade agreement with the European Union(CBC)In order to avoid protectionist policies it is critical that provinces have a say in talks with the EU about government procurement, which the provinces control, Charest told a crowd of supporters Thursday night at a Montreal gala hosted by the Fraser Institute think-tank.
Canada’s free trade agreement with the U.S. did not include such provisions, which led to protectionist “Buy American” policies, Charest said.
“That’s what this whole “Buy American” issue is about now. It’s about government procurement on both sides of the Canadian and American border, which was not part of the free trade agreement ? but will be part of this agreement that we are going to negotiate with Europe,” he said.
A free trade deal with the EU would help secure Canada’s economic future, Charest said. “We’re not a big market, we’re 33 million people, but we have natural resources, we have universities, we have research centres. This is an opportunity for Europe to set foot in America, without having to go through the United States.”
A free trade deal with the EU would also help Canadian provinces attract immigrants, Charest added.
The Quebec premier is one of Canada’s main negotiators with EU representatives, who launched formal talks about a bilateral deal last May.
With files from The Canadian Press (more…)
Signature Vacations joins forces with Sunwing September 30, 2009
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Two of Canada’s major vacation travel businesses are being combined as Sunwing Vacations will join forces with tour operator Signature Vacations and its retail division SellOffVacations.
On Tuesday, European firm TUI Travel PLC, which controls Signature and its retail division SellOffVacations, announced plans to hand over the business units and $101 million to Sunwing.
Consolidation in the Canadian tourism sector may be underway after Sunwing Vacations absorbed its rival, Signature Vacations.(Darryl Dick/Canadian Press)
In return, Sunwing, owned by the Hunter family of Toronto, will give TUI a 25 per cent voting interest and 49 per cent ownership in the expanded Sunwing Travel Group.
Stephen Hunter will become president and chief executive officer of Sunwing.
TUI Travel operates in 180 countries and last year had revenue of more than $24 billion. But its First Choice Canada division, through which it controls Signature, has lost money of late, including $20 million in the first half of 2009.
Over the last five years, and not including the new partnership, the Sunwing Travel Group says it has increased revenue dramatically to $660 million from $30 million while maintaining underlying profitability.
“The new company will generate approximately $900 million in combined revenue, which we estimate places it in second place behind Transat AT in the Canadian packaged tour market,” said Cameron Doerksen, an analyst who covers the sector for Versant Partners Inc.
Despite the topline growth, concerns over the viability of Sunwing’s finances have arisen as the company has been one of the most aggressive competitors in adding capacity.
“This merger should put to rest any further skepticism about Sunwing?s financial wherewithal,” Doerksen said.
The Canadian tour operator market has been plagued in recent years by too much capacity and too many players. So the move is viewed as a positive for the sector as a whole by eliminating one major competitor, even as it strengthens another.
Citing competitive pressures, Conquest Vacations closed up shop in April.
For the new Sunwing, Doerksen expects the merged company will rationalize some capacity, and achieve operational synergies and economies of scale.
With files from The Canadian Press (more…)
CAW talks with Ford continue September 23, 2009
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Contract talks between the Canadian Auto Workers and Ford Canada are continuing on Wednesday, contrary to reports that discussions had broken off.
Earlier Wednesday, a report claimed talks with Ford had broken down over the company’s refusal to keep its plant in St. Thomas, Ont., open regardless of union concessions.
But on Wednesday afternoon, the CAW shot down that report, saying talks that began Sept. 8 were continuing. “The report … that the two sides have broken off talks is not correct,” the union said in a release.
Ford has said it will not keep the plant going past 2011. The company had earlier asked the CAW for concessions similar to those it gave Chrysler and General Motors this year. Fifteen hundred jobs are at stake.
Ford wants concessions similar to those the CAW gave its rivals.(Canadian Press)
The Toronto Star quoted CAW president Ken Lewenza as saying Ford has no new models on the drawing board it can build in St.Thomas.
“It certainly doesn’t look good, but we’re going to keep trying and we’re not giving up,” Lewenza said. “We’re going to keep pushing. A lot can happen between now and then.”
The CAW represents more than 7,000 workers at Ford facilities in the Ontario cities of Oakville, Windsor, Brampton and St. Thomas.
Verenex Energy shares drop 18% as dispute with Libya escalates June 22, 2009
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3-month TSX chart for Verenex Energy
Shares of Verenex Energy Inc. plunged more than 18 per cent Monday as its dispute escalated with Libya’s state-run National Oil Corp. over the oil company’s proposed sale to China National Petroleum Corporation International.
Verenex announced Monday it has received two letters from NOC accusing the Calgary-based company of being improperly pre-qualified to bid for a property it acquired in 2005, which gives it about 2.15 billion barrels of crude oil reserves.
Verenex said it considers the allegations to be “without merit and vigorously denies them.”
The letters are the latest indication that NOC intends to scuttle the sale, which would see CNPCI pay $10 a share to acquire Verenex in a deal worth $499 million.
Investors responded to the news by sending Verenex shares down $1.58 to $7 in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
NOC has said several times that it intends to exercise its pre-emptive right to acquire Verenex on the same terms and conditions offered by CNPCI.
NOC approval is required for any change in control of Verenex under the terms of an exploration and production sharing agreement.
“Investors are cautioned that there can be no assurance that consent to the offer by CNPCI will be received soon from Libyan authorities, or that a sale transaction will be concluded on the terms contemplated, or at all,” Verenex said in a statement.
Verenex said NOC had indicated earlier that the company would have to pay an approval bonus to obtain NOC’s consent to the sale. Verenex estimated the bonus would amount to $46.7 million.
The company said the latest actions by Libyan authorities suggest they are either trying to get a bigger approval bonus or drive down the purchase price for NOC to acquire Verenex.
The company said it was considering all options, including legal action, and that the Canadian government “has expressed its concerns” to the Libyan government over the matter.
Verenex said it has sent a letter to CNPCI extending the outside date under their agreement to Aug. 24.
Canwest gets another extension to reach deal with creditors June 17, 2009
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Canwest Global Communications Corp. said Monday a key group of creditors agreed to extend a midnight deadline for its Canwest Media Inc. subsidiary to reach a deal on a long-term recapitalization.
3-month TSX trading for CanwestLast month, Canwest was given until midnight Monday, June 15, to reach an agreement-in-principle with a noteholder committee that represents creditors holding $761 million in outstanding notes.
That deadline has now been extended to the end of June and the company still faces a July 15 deadline to come up with a definitive agreement.
Canwest missed $30.4 million in interest payments on the notes in March, but then got a series of extensions while it tried to work out a long-term plan.
In a memo to staff Monday, CEO Leonard Asper said the company is making progress with its lenders.
“We should expect that our efforts to recapitalize the business will go on throughout the summer,” he wrote.
“We all know that there is still a lot of heavy lifting ahead of us. But the fact is, the company and all of our businesses have to keep doing business, innovating, serving our customers and beating our competitors.”
The company managed to raise about $175 million in fresh financing in May, which it said would give it sufficient credit “to operate its business in the ordinary course as it continues its work to effect a recapitalization transaction.”
However, it’s believed any debt restructuring deal would require Canwest to appoint new management.
The company’s total debt load is about $4 billion. It ran up a big chunk of that total when it bought the Southam newspaper chain and other assets in 2000 for $3.2 billion from Conrad Black’s Hollinger group.
It took on more debt when it acquired the specialty channels of Alliance Atlantis Communications more than two years ago.
Shares of Canwest were down 0.5 of a cent to 19.5 cents in afternoon trading on the Toronto stock market.
With files from The Canadian Press
