Montreal/Vancouver | Reuters –– Canada’s biggest rail union said no progress had been made in negotiations on Friday with Canadian Pacific Railway to reach a deal before a Saturday deadline as worries about a potential strike weighed on the country’s crude oil prices. If the two sides fail to reach a deal, a strike is […] Read more
CP talks said stagnating as strike deadline looms
Regulatory change urged to help expand rural broadband
A parliamentary committee is calling on the federal government to use legislative tools to help shore up broadband access for rural and remote areas of Canada. The House of Commons’ standing committee on industry, science and technology, chaired by Vancouver area Liberal MP Dan Ruimy, on Tuesday released its report and recommendations for meeting federal […] Read more
U.S. grains: Export concerns pressure soy
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures fell to their lowest in nearly two weeks on Thursday on worries about declining demand from top importer China, traders said. Wheat futures firmed to their highest since April 10, their third straight day of gains, while corn eased for the fourth time in five […] Read more
Supreme Court finds for provinces in ‘Free the beer’ case
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s top court on Thursday ruled against a New Brunswick man who had argued he had the constitutional right to buy beer more cheaply in a neighbouring province, saying that the law does not impose absolute free trade across the country. Dubbed the “free the beer” case in Canadian media, it […] Read more
Ontario backs Mondelez’s Toronto bakery expansion
One of the world’s biggest snack food companies is up for an eight-figure investment from the Ontario government to boost production at its Toronto plant. The province on Monday announced the Mondelez Canada bakery in East York will get up to $22.6 million from the Jobs and Prosperity Fund, by way of that program’s Food […] Read more
Grain handle down, costs up in CP’s Q1
Increased traffic in potash and intermodal containers offset an eight per cent drop in grain carloads in Canadian Pacific Railway’s first quarter, against higher costs and “challenging” conditions. Calgary-based CP on Wednesday booked net income of $348 million on gross revenues of $1.662 billion for the quarter ending March 31, down from $431 million on […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat rallies to one-week top, pulls corn higher
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Wednesday, with the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract gaining 1.9 per cent and hitting a one-week high on concerns that rains forecast for the U.S. Plains will not meet earlier expectations. “The forecast for the rain in the southern Plains has […] Read more
Two unions set to strike Saturday at CP
Unions representing engineers, conductors and signal maintainers on Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) have served formal notice to strike starting Saturday. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents about 3,000 CP engineers and conductors, served strike notice late Tuesday, as did System Council No. 11 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), representing over […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn futures drop despite slow planting pace
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell to their lowest in nearly two weeks on Tuesday, their third straight day of declines, as traders shrugged off concerns about cold weather causing planting delays in the U.S. Midwest. “You plant more in the month of May than in the month of April, […] Read more
Germany moving ahead with plans to restrict glyphosate
Berlin | Reuters — German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner on Tuesday said she was finalizing a draft regulation to end use of glyphosate herbicide in household gardens, parks and sports facilities, and to set “massive” limits for its use in agriculture. The chemical, made by Monsanto, is at the centre of a heated debate in […] Read more
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