Business
EU seal ban challenged by Canada
The EU has agreed to ban the import of seal products - prompting a challenge from Canada which culls hundreds of thousands of seals each year.
Canada and EU sign deal to open aviation market
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Canada and the European Union signed an "open skies" pact on Wednesday under which airlines from the two trading partners will be able to fly freely between any airport in the 27-country EU and any in Canada.
Taser maker denies problems as Alta. re-examines weapons
Taser International continued Thursday to dismiss reports that some of the stun guns it manufactures can deliver larger than expected electrical currents, as another province moved to test the devices.
Taxpayers' cash no solution to ABCP crisis
A proposal that the federal government provide a bailout for a restructuring of $32-billion of frozen asset-backed commercial paper has sparked anger among some holders of the frozen notes, who say that taxpayers' money should not be used to fix t...
BCE’s LBO Fails, Sets Up Fight Over C$1.2 Billion Fee
BCE Inc. is demanding a C$1.2 billion ($980 million) breakup fee after a group led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan terminated its C$52 billion takeover, the biggest leveraged buyout to collapse.
Alberta giving biofuels a $239M boost
CALGARY -- Alberta will implement renewable fuel standards as part of a provincial energy strategy, the government introduced yesterday. Premier Ed Stelmach used the occasion to once again press Ottawa for an agreement about emission targets and a...
Big Canadian banks keep slice of deep rate cut
The Bank of Canada slashed its key interest rate yesterday by three-quarters of a percentage point to the lowest level in half a century and confirmed Canada's economy is "entering a recession" because of the deepening global economic slump.
Stimulus coming in January budget: Flaherty
OTTAWA -- The Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, said Wednesday night there would be additional fiscal stimuli in the government's Jan. 27 budget because economic conditions are "deteriorating."
Latin American workers win $2.4-million award
Foreign workers who complained of substandard pay and housing while working on the Canada Line have won a $2.4-million discrimination award against their employers. However, it is not clear that they will be able to collect.
CTV plans layoffs, cuts as it braces for slump
A week after its biggest rival announced layoffs, CTV Inc. is preparing to cut costs across its network by chopping discretionary expenses, imposing a hiring freeze and eliminating jobs.
Alberta trims $6.5-billion from surplus
CALGARY -- Teflon-coated Alberta, long protected from the global economic downturn by its oil and gas wealth, is now feeling the full force of the world's financial panic.
Throne speech to focus on the troubled economy
Governor General Michaelle Jean is set to deliver the speech from the throne this afternoon, a document that will outline the federal government's plan for the coming year.
Debt-laden CanWest writes off $1 billion
Broadcaster and newspaper owner Canwest Global Communications saw its operating profit increase by 13 per cent to $558 million in the last fiscal year, but it still posted a net loss of $1.04 billion, including a $1.01 billion write-down of goodwi...
Record costs threaten Canada's picture of health
Canada's health-care spending is expected to reach its highest level ever - $171.9-billion this year, or $5,170 per person - growing faster than the economy and outpacing inflation and population growth, new figures show.
Government assets could be sold to balance budget, Flaherty says
WINNIPEG - The Harper government is considering selling real estate and other Crown assets to help keep the budget balanced as the economy worsens. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, at the Conservative party policy convention here, made it clear that...
CanWest cuts 560 jobs, five per cent of workforce, in financial streamlining
TORONTO — Cost pressures and plunging share prices prompted Canadian publisher and broadcaster CanWest Global Communications Corp. (TSX:CGS) to cut 560 jobs - about five per cent of its workforce - Wednesday as the company faces a rougher economy ...
CPP sanguine despite loss of $10 billion
The Canada Pension Plan lost $10.3 billion during the early weeks of the worst global stock market crash in generations. John Denison, president of the CPP Investment Board, acknowledges more of Canadians' retirement savings have evaporated since ...
Ottawa bows to banks to keep credit flowing
Pressure from Canada's big banks pushed the Harper government yesterday to overhaul the terms of financial assistance programs it recently designed to keep credit flowing through the Canadian economy.
Harper, first ministers to discuss economic crisis
OTTAWA -- The prime minister meets today with his provincial and territorial counterparts to talk about the global economic crisis.
Flaherty favours aid for long-term auto plans
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL; TORONTO -- Ottawa is willing to go to the aid of teetering auto companies, but will consider help only for plants that are thought to be "sustainable," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said yesterday.