Asphalt chip pilot program – Business News

Canadian Press –
Dec. 27, 2018 / 5:30 pm | Story:
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The number of first time home buyers dropped in BC. this year, thanks largely to the increase in mortgage restrictions.

The BC Notary Association has released annual real estate reports for 2019, and surveys find it increasingly difficult to buy the first house itself.

Nearly 200 notaries from all provinces took part in the survey, and 59 percent said there was a decline in first-time homebuyers in 2018. Twenty-eight percent felt there was no change in numbers, while 13 percent believed there was an increase.

"While it is very pleasant to see many buyers first finding ways to get their first home, increasing restrictions and the potential for higher interest rates make some people cautious or decide to wait on the sidelines to collect more advances," the Association President BC Notary Daniel Boisvert said in a press release.

For more information about this story, visit Okanagan Edge.

Canadian Press –
Dec. 27 2018 / 14:15 | Story:
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A new report from the National Energy Council said the "main factor" in recent cuts in western Canadian crude oil prices was that oil production exceeded the export pipeline capacity of around 365,000 barrels per day.

A background report was prepared for federal Minister of Natural Resources Amarjeet Sohi who had asked NEB for advice on how to optimize existing pipeline and rail transportation.

NEB said it had launched an online forum to gather public input and would meet with pipe companies, producers, shippers, government officials and other experts in January to gather more answers for the minister.

The report noted that around one million barrels per day from the nameplate of Canada's oil pipeline capacity were added between 2013 and 2016 but there has been no new capacity since then.

It is estimated that the takeaway capacity of pipes available from Western Canada in September was 3.95 million barrels per day but oil production has increased to around 4.3 million barrels per day.

Discounts narrowed in early December after the Alberta government announced it would impose 325,000 barrels per day of temporary restrictions on industry starting January 1, a move designed to attract storage and restore normal market prices.

Canadian Press –
Dec. 27, 2018 / 10:57 am | Story:
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Enbridge received a $ 14.7 million refund for the fees it paid to Canada's federal energy regulator for a pipeline it would not build.

Pipa Northern Gateway should connect the Alberta oil tanker to a port in Kitimat, B.C., but the plan was separated when federal Liberals banned tanker traffic from the northern coast of British Columbia.

Without an oil tanker to serve the port, there is no point in sending Alberta bitumen to Kitimat and the project died in 2016.

Enbridge has paid the National Energy Board $ 14.7 million as a fee to monitor the construction and operation of the pipeline, which is a fraction of the manufacturing price.

Energy companies asked for a refund earlier this year and just before Christmas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet agreed.

Enbridge said it still lost $ 373 million in lost costs for the canceled project.

Canadian Press –
Dec. 27, 2018 / 10:19 am | Story:
245467

The fall in world oil prices has provided a Christmas miracle with lower gasoline prices in most of Canada, but a fuel price expert said motorists must fill up now ahead of the expected increase this weekend.

Dan McTeague, a senior oil analyst at GasBuddy.com, said gasoline prices were at almost 18-month lows as global oil prices had fallen over the past two months amid fears of an economic downturn, strained US-China trade and concerns that members of the OPEC oil cartel will not live until production cuts.

Despite the brief rise in oil prices on Wednesday, the average regular gasoline prices remained around 17 cents lower per liter than last year in Alberta and Ontario, 12 cents lower in Manitoba, six cents lower in Quebec, 11 cents lower in Nova Scotia and three cents lower are lower in Newfoundland and Labrador.

McTeague said the price is in B.C. up two to six cents per liter compared to the same time last year, but it would be lower if it wasn't for the disruption of fuel imports from Washington due to the country's Olympic Pipe Pipe blackout in mid-December.

Benchmark US West Texas Intermediate oil prices fell to US $ 42.53 on Christmas Eve, down 44 percent from US $ 76.41 per barrel on October 3. They rose to US $ 46.22 on Wednesday but tended to be lower Thursday.

McTeague said "extreme volatility" in the oil market is expected to continue to wreak havoc on gasoline prices in Canada in early 2019.

"I think what we see here is where oil prices – and pump prices as a result – go up and down five and 10 percent in one week, many of these are really signs of what we might see in 2019, price movements extreme, "he said.

Canadian Press –
Dec. 27 2018 / 9:19 in the morning | Story:
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Canada's main stock markets are expected to recover in 2019 from their worst performance in a decade that has caused exchange losses of 15 percent amid extreme volatility, falling oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty, market experts said.

"Our outlook for 2019 is one of cautious optimism," said Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager for Fiera Capital.

He hopes equities will outperform bonds because global growth remains relatively healthy with the possibility of a recession before the end of 2020.

The market is in the final stages of the economic cycle marked by the longest bull increase in history. That's usually the time when investors switch from growth-oriented stocks to defensive names in sectors such as finance, materials, industry and energy.

"This will be inherently positive for TSX," Bangsund said, predicting low double-digit returns and stronger performance for emerging markets. Bangsund did not see much increase for the US market.

"This is where we see opportunities to catch up, but that won't be a long-term trade. Ahead of the 2019 half we have to take advantage and position for 2020 a little more careful view."

The S & P / TSX composite index fell 15 percent in 2018 from the opening of January 16,209.13, with only a few trading days remaining in the year. That will be the worst year since the market fell 35.2 percent in 2008 during the Great Recession.

The market fell in February and fell again in October after reaching a peak of 16,586.46 in mid-July. Then it fell in December, reaching a two-year low of 13,776.88 on December 24.

"It is a difficult year for an investor to make money even in a typical balanced portfolio," Bangsund said in an interview.

The financial sector, the largest on TSX accounting, fell almost 15 percent. Energy, the second largest, dropped nearly 32 percent as West Texas Intermediate prices fell around 26 percent and Canadian crude oil prices were punished by a lack of pipeline capacity to remove oil from Canada.

Materials fell around 14 percent due to lower gold and copper prices amid rising US dollars.

The technology sector drives the same wave as American exchanges by gaining around five percent, but accounts for only three percent of TSX. The small health care sector fell 14 percent due to extreme volatility in cannabis stock because Canada legalized recreational pot consumption in October.

Although December energy sales that saw WTI fall to the lowest level of US $ 42.36 per barrel, Bangsund had a target price of US $ 70 per barrel for WTI in 2019, while others saw it ranged from mid $ 50 to the mid 60's.

"We are quite bullish on oil prices and as a result feed our bullish demand on the Canadian dollar and also on the Canadian stock market," Bangsund added.

That year is important for geopolitical uncertainty starting from Italy's budget dispute with the European Union to Brexit. But the top item affecting the market is the protectionist agenda by the Trump administration that targets renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, threatening car tariffs and launching confrontations with China.

U.S. Market also heading for the worst year in a decade despite being pushed earlier this year by the technology sector and strong corporate earnings driven by federal tax cuts. Towards the end of the year, the Dow Jones industrial average and the S & P 500 each fell around 12 percent after rising 25 percent and 20 percent respectively in 2017.

Returns on the public market will be challenged at least over the next few years amid rising interest rates and dampening global growth, predicts Kash Pashootan, CEO and chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel Inc.

"We don't expect any market crises or any major declines, but at the same time we are not under the illusion that we will have the same resilience and strength in equities that we have seen in the last few years," he said.

The volatility that marks 2018 can continue next year, added Craig Fehr, Canadian market strategist for Edward Jones.

"I don't think it will be a banner year," he said. "I don't think we are imitating 2017 where we see big gains and very little decline, but I think 2019 can be a good year for the equity market."

BMO chief economist Douglas Porter expects TSX to outperform the S & P 500 next year, a reversal of it performing poorly on U.S. exchanges. in seven of the last eight years.

"Usually, this is quite easy – when real commodity prices rise, TSX shines," he wrote in a note. "However, with reduced trade uncertainty (USMC) and a lot of bad news about energy being taken into account, next year can see a rare victory for TSX, at least on a relative basis."

Canadian Press –
Dec. 27, 2018 / 7:03 a.m. | Story:
245453

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. said members of Unifor had ratified a four-year employment agreement that included around 1,200 employees responsible for maintaining rail cars and locomotives.

Both parties reached a tentative agreement for Unifor Local 101R in early December. The previous contract will expire December 31.

Details of the agreement have not been disclosed but Unifor national president Jerry Dias said on December 2 that trade unions had been able to push significant profits.

Canadian Press –
Dec. 27, 2018 / 6:32 am | Story:
245447

The Canadian economy enters 2018 at an impressive rate. The country starts 2019 with a healthy record but signs of weakness have raised key questions: how long until good times end?

Through most of 2018, Canada's unemployment rate hovered near a 40-year low and employment creation remained strong because the evidence showed that the economy would approach a full tilt.

Handoff is also good – the country has posted three percent growth for all 2017, thanks largely to strong household spending. We have to wait a little for the final figure but the forecasters say 2018 is likely to have provided strong growth of around two percent.

But as 2019 approaches, there are fears that a solid economic expansion will begin to show its age.

Last month, the statement of the fall of the federal government projected another two percent growth for 2019, but many expect the number to be likely to come lower after the recent decline in oil prices.

In addition to the pullback in crude oil prices, experts point to jitters in financial markets, predictions of the American economy – a major contributor to Canada's growth – will begin to subside and Britain's difficult divorce from the European Union, which can be volatile throughout the global economy.

There is also the potential for a bigger threat: an escalation of trade wars between Washington and Beijing.

In trade, Canada made it through a year full of significant uncertainties, including difficult negotiations and the signing of an update to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

However, many of these unknown trades will be brought to the new year. The road to ratification of NAFTA 2.0 can bring more drama, punish American steel and aluminum tariffs and remain in force and the superpower clash between Canada's two biggest trading partners continues.

"There is always a reflection around the downturn in the cycle and, as I have said, the impact of the trade war between China and the United States can have a significant impact on the global economy – a negative impact on the global economy," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a new interview recently with The Canadian Press.

"We must ensure that we are ready to face rough waters if we meet them."

In Canada, potential problems include a combination of high household debt, a rate hike and a slower "terrible" wage growth for about half a year after a good increase in early 2018, said Matt Stewart, economic director for The Conference Canadian Board.

Higher interest rates, Stewart added, have given a hit to household spending, which has been a key driver of the good fortune of the Canadian economy.

"It's been a long time since we experienced a recession," Stewart said. "Until now, I think most of the news is still positive, but there is an increased risk."

Canadian Press –
Dec. 24, 2018 / 12:30 noon | Story:
245369

With no new cases of E. coli connected to romaine lettuce detected since mid-November, leafy green may be safe to eat again, the Canadian Public Health Agency reported Monday.

In the previous month, 29 people fell ill because of bacteria in lettuce, mostly in Quebec. A handful became sick in Ontario and New Brunswick, and three in British Columbia after traveling.

Polluted lettuce seems to come from three districts in California and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has banned the import of lettuce grown there. U.S. Food and Drug Administration The United States says 59 people have fallen ill due to the same outbreak in the United States.

E. coli, which is found in feces and sometimes in raw meat, can cause serious digestive problems, including bloody cramps and diarrhea. The government said no one died in the outbreak, but 10 people were hospitalized in Canada and two people had severe and long-lasting complications.

The bacterium in this outbreak is a genetic match for E. coli involved in a similar outbreak in 2017, the health agency reported.

"This tells us that the same type of E. coli causes disease in Canada and the US as seen in 2017 and shows there may be a recurrent source of contamination. Investigators use the evidence gathered in both outbreaks to help identify possible causes of contamination in these events, "said the agency.

Investigators still don't know exactly how the lettuce was contaminated, but the agency said people were sick eating it at home and in restaurants. Some people buy whole lettuce heads; others get it in a salad mixture.

"Retailers and industry partners continue to bring romaine lettuce to the Canadian market from growing regions not related to the outbreak and to help consumers easily identify the origin of romaine lettuce in the Canadian market," said the public health agency.

Canadian Press –
Dec 24, 2018 / 11:15 a.m. | Story:
245360

Air Canada's acquisition of the Aeroplan loyalty program has received all the necessary federal regulatory approvals before the shareholders' vote on the $ 450 million agreement reached by the airline in November.

Aeroplan owner's current shareholder Aimia Inc. scheduled to vote on cash transactions on January 8.

Under their agreement, Air Canada will buy the Aeroplan business from Aimia to get cash and also assume $ 1.9 billion in liabilities to holders of the points – partly supported by two banks offering Aeroplan credit cards.

Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will pay Air Canada around $ 1.2 billion in total. Banks and Visas have agreed to stick with the loyalty program until at least 2030.

Aimia and the Montreal-based airline said on Monday that they had received the necessary permits under the Competition Law and the Canadian Transportation Act.

Canadian Press –
Dec. 24, 2018 / 8:43 in the morning | Story:
245341

Canada's main stock index and loonie were slightly lower on Monday morning, resuming the downward trend that began last week and bringing the Canadian dollar to a 19-month low against the US dollar.

The Canadian dollar traded at 73.67 US cents, compared with an average of 73.71 US cents on Friday.

The S & P / TSX composite index fell 45.80 points to 13,889.64 after the first 90 minutes of a shortened trading day. The Toronto Stock Exchange closes at 1pm. and reopen Thursday after a two-day vacation.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 309.15 points to 22,136.22. The S & P 500 index fell 19.05 points to 2,397.83, while the Nasdaq composite fell 223.36 points to 6,305.03.

The February crude contract fell 91 cents to US $ 44.68 per barrel and the February natural gas contract fell 20 cents to US $ 3.55 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract rose $ 10.30 to US $ 1,268.40 an ounce and the March copper contract fell less than one cent to US $ 2.67 per pound.

Canadian Press –
23 Dec 2018 / 8:07 a night | Story:
245319

For the past 25 years, Edward Sonshine has been known as the king of Canadian shopping centers.

Now, the chief executive of one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the country wants to be known for other things: housing.

"I didn't change," Sonshine said in an interview at RioCan REIT headquarters in Toronto.

"Changes in our strategy are always a reaction to world change, business change, economic change."

Since its founding in 1993, RioCan has built a portfolio of around 250 retail, warehouse and office property properties.

Over the past year, the company has observed how it can better use the main locations of its shopping centers and plazas, many of which are on existing transit lines or that will soon be built.

Sonshine said that there was no reason for RioCan to turn this retail outlet into a multi-purpose property by adding rental units and office space to meet the growing demand for housing, especially in the largest cities in the country.

Last month, Canada's Mortgage Housing Corp reported that demand for rental housing continued to outstrip supply due to growth in immigration, senior populations and millennials.

"When you make it difficult for people to buy, they will rent. They have to stay somewhere," Sonshine said. "The population of big cities continues to grow. We see it as, the rental market has no other purpose than to be good."

Sonshine said the change was a coincidence because the company had tried to reduce its exposure to retail, because consumer habits continued to move towards online shopping instead of shopping at large malls.

"There is no question in my mind that the demand for retail space for the next five to 10 years will not grow," he said.

Sonshine said this first crystallized in 2015 when the company's main tenants, Target U.S. retailers, announced it would close its Canadian location.

Since then, RioCan has withdrawn from cities such as London, Ontario and Grande Prairie, California, and reinvested in the country's six main urban markets, where it projects the greatest growth. By 2020, RioCan wants more than 90 percent of rental income generated by properties located in these major cities, up from the current 75 percent.

At present there are eight specially constructed rental projects, or 2,300 units, under construction in Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary. The first two developments will be launched in the first quarter and summer 2019.

In five years, Sonshine saw RioCan's portfolio consisting of 10 percent of residential property, five percent of office property with the remainder still coming from the retail market.