Canada column for
Sunday, Jan. 14/18
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
Protesters have gathered
outside the iconic Tim Hortons coffee shops encouraging a customer boycott.
They’re upset that
some of the chain’s franchisees have eliminated paid breaks and reduced health
benefits for employees to compensate for having to pay a higher minimum wage.
That was explained
as a way to cope with higher costs with the Jan. 1 increase in Ontario’s
minimum to $14 an hour from $11.60 and to $15 next year by the provincial government.
Parent company
Restaurant Brands International denounced the action against the workers,
saying it doesn’t reflect its values.
Many franchised
owners say, however, they have “no alternative” but to implement such
cost-saving measures “in order to survive.”
Restaurant Brands
has confirmed that some Hortons locations as well “in select markets have
slightly increased prices for some breakfast menu items.”
The Canadian-based
multinational fast food restaurant, founded by Horton, the late Toronto Maple
Leafs’ hockey player, has more than 4,600 outlets in 90 countries.
---
Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau has encountered some hecklers in a six-city town hall meeting
tour.
Similar to the
style of U.S. mid-term politicking, Trudeau has also turned to Twitter to speak
about the tour and meetings.
“We’ve accomplished
a lot in the first two years of our mandate, but we know there’s more work to do,”
he tweeted.
“Very productive
two-day cabinet meeting focused on how we can continue to grow our economy and
create more good, well-paying jobs for middle-class Canadians,” he added.
---
News in brief:
- It’s the end of
an era today, as Canada’s last Sears department stores are closing for good.
This involves the last 32 of the 130 Canadian stores hit hard by competition
and lagging sales. Sears had been in Canada for 65 years and court-approved
restructuring failed to keep them open with the loss of 12,000 jobs.
- Economists are
giving a 70-percent chance that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates by
0.25 percent on Wednesday. In advance of the possible increase to 3.45 percent,
the Royal Bank has increased its fixed-rate mortgage rates while other major
banks are considering the same. The Royal’s posted five-year fixed mortgage
rate is 5.14 percent, up from 4.99 percent and a special offer of 3.54 percent,
up from 3.39 percent, with a 25-year amortization.
---
Facts and figures:
The Canadian dollar
is slightly lower at 80.28 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.245 in
Canadian funds before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is holding
at 1 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.2 percent.
Stock markets are lower, with the Toronto
exchange index at 16,308 points while the TSX Venture index is 878 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is up to $1.182
a liter or $4.49 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Jan. 10) 9, 10, 19, 23, 28 and 49; bonus 15.
(Jan. 6) 12, 25, 36, 39, 42 and 45; bonus 29. Lotto Max: (Jan. 5) 1, 3, 13, 15,
28, 36 and 49; bonus 14.
---
Regional briefs:
- After days of
record-setting cold across Toronto and southern Ontario, mid-week temperatures
reached new highs near 50F. That ended on Friday as another Arctic blast
brought back the cold. Some snow accompanied the flash freeze that resulted in
dangerous travel in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. Environment Canada said
temperatures with a wind chill of near -40 are possible overnight this weekend
in Ontario.
- Saskatoon has
been named by the New York Times as the only Canadian city among the top 52
places in the world to visit this year. It said the Saskatchewan Prairie city
was primarily named because of the new Remai Modern Museum and its 8,000-work
collection. It said the museum is a “centerpiece of Saskatoon’s redeveloping
riverfront” with world-class modernist architecture. The top five places named
were New Orleans; Colombia; Basilicata, Italy; the Caribbean; and
Vierwaldstattersee, Switzerland.
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Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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