Tausi Insider

Two provincial privacy watchdogs say they have received data breach reports from Sobeys, which has been dealing with “IT system” issues for much of the past week affecting customers seeking prescriptions at some pharmacies it operates. Quebec’s access to information commission confirmed Thursday it received a declaration of a “confidentiality incident” from the grocer. It said confidentiality incidents occur when there is unauthorized access, use or loss of personal information or or any other breach of the protection of this information. Alberta’s privacy commission also confirmed that it has been notified by the company about the incident and is aware that it is being investigated. At the federal level, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada says it is in communication with the company to obtain more information and determine next steps. On Monday the parent company of Sobeys, Empire Company Ltd. EMP-A-T, released a statement on the issue, saying some pharmacies were havi...

The economic update that was meant to shed light on how Canada will compete with new clean-spending measures in the United States and elsewhere has instead sowed confusion about one of the key elements of that strategy. Last spring, the federal government announced that it was exploring carbon contracts for differences (CCFDs). As presented then, the mechanism would guarantee companies making clean-technology investments of financial benefits from planned carbon-price increases, even if the price did not actually go up to $170 per tonne by 2030 as planned. Since August, when Washington committed US$370-billion to climate-related measures via the Inflation Reduction Act, Ottawa has faced increased pressure to follow through. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has suggested that Canada’s national carbon price means it doesn’t need to match subsidies in the U.S. But Canadian industries have complained that political uncertainty around the market-based mechanism – including whether it will be...

Walmart WMT-N proposed a $3.1-billion legal settlement on Tuesday over the toll of powerful prescription opioids sold at its pharmacies, becoming the latest major drug industry player to promise major support to state, local and tribal governments still grappling with a crisis in overdose deaths. The retail giant’s announcement follows similar proposals on Nov. 2 from the two largest U.S. pharmacy chains, CVS Health CVS-N and Walgreen Co. WBA-Q, which each said they would pay about $5-billion. Most of the drugmakers that produced the most opioids and the biggest drug distribution companies have already reached settlements. With the largest pharmacies now settling, it represents a shift in the opioid litigation saga. For years, the question was whether companies would be held accountable for an overdose crisis that a flood of prescription drugs helped spark. With the crisis still raging, the focus now is on how the settlement dollars – now totalling more than $50 billion – will be use...

The operator of Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons in China said on Thursday it had forged a two-year partnership with Alibaba Group’s grocery chain that will see the two launch co-branded products. E-commerce giant Alibaba’s BABA-N Freshippo will begin sales next month at its stores, of which it has more than 300, as well as through its official app, it said in a statement. Products will include drinks such as Velvet Cocoa Coffee. Tims China, whose backers include Tencent Holdings, opened its 500th outlet in China last month and has set its sights on having a “profitable network” of 2,750 stores in the country by 2026. Even so it would still lag Starbucks, the dominant foreign coffee brand in China with 6,000 stores and which also has a wide-ranging partnership with Alibaba. Tims China was founded in 2019 by Cartesian Capital Group and Canada’s Restaurant Brands International, which also owns the Burger King and Popeyes brands in addition to Tim Hortons. https://www.tausiinsider...

Jordan Bitove during a panel discussion in Toronto on Nov. 17. Cole Burston/Tausi Insider Jordan Bitove will take complete ownership of Torstar Corp., the parent company of the Toronto Star and Metroland Media Group, as part of a settlement agreement after a bitter falling out with business partner Paul Rivett, according to a statement from the company. “Paul Rivett and I went into our partnership with the best of intentions, united in our desire to build a more resilient and competitive Torstar,” Mr. Bitove said in the statement. “Areas of disagreement emerged which we were not able to resolve.” Mr. Rivett will be departing Torstar. “It was my absolute pleasure to have been involved, even briefly, with the storied Star and Metroland organizations,” he said in the statement. The two businessmen purchased Torstar in 2020 for $60-million through their company NordStar Capital. Owing to their equal partnership, they became deadlocked over business decisions earlier this year and, starti...

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud speaks at the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 25. AHMED YOSRI/Reuters The energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iraq met on Thursday and stressed the importance of adhering to OPEC+ output cuts that last until the end of 2023, the Saudi energy ministry said in a statement on Friday. Iraq’s energy minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani met Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on a visit to the kingdom which began on Wednesday. The two sides also pointed to, “the ability to take further measures, if required, to achieve balance and stability in the market,” according to the statement. OPEC+, an alliance that groups together Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members and their allies, including Russia, next meets on Dec. 4 in Vienna. In its last meeting on Oct. 5 an output cut of 2 million barrels a day was agreed. Prince Abdulaziz said earlier this week ...

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, on Oct. 19. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press Employees in federally regulated private-sector workplaces are now eligible for 10 days of paid sick leave. As of Dec. 31, workers who have been continuously employed for at least 30 days will have access to three paid sick days. Workers will then get a fourth sick day as of Feb. 1, and will accumulate one additional day at the start of every month up to a maximum of 10 days per year. On the campaign trail in 2021, the Liberals pledged to introduce 10 days of paid sick leave for federally regulated workers. In a news release, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says the paid leave means “more workers won’t have to choose between getting well and getting paid.” The Canadian Labour Congress applauded the new policy in a statement, urging provinces that do not offer paid sick leave to follow suit. https://www.tausiinsider.com/new-paid-sick-leave-rules-coming-into-effect-f...

La Maison Simons has been accused of promoting euthanasia after releasing two promotional videos featuring Jennyfer Hatch in her final days. Brent Lewin Quebec fashion retailer La Maison Simons is facing criticism for videos that highlighted a B.C. woman’s choice to receive medical assistance in dying. The videos – one 30-second version and a three-minute one – were released online in late October, the day after Jennyfer Hatch died. They feature Ms. Hatch speaking about finding beauty in her final days, and show footage of her gathering with loved ones – blowing bubbles on a beach, playing music and sharing cake around a table in the forest. The videos end with the phrase “All is Beauty,” with a small Simons logo appearing underneath. “Even now, as I seek help to end my life, with all the pain, and in these final moments, there is still so much beauty,” Ms. Hatch says in a voice-over in the videos. While the campaign does not feature any products or sales messages, it raises question...

Surging inflation has eased in recent months, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says more evidence is needed to show that price increases are coming down in the long term. YUKI IWAMURA/AFP/Getty Images If there was any question that the Federal Reserve is willing to push the U.S. economy to the edge of recession – or even over it – to defeat inflation, Fed Chair Jerome Powell removed it Wednesday. Speaking with reporters after the U.S. central bank’s seventh interest-rate increase of 2022, Mr. Powell indicated that he’s prepared to slow the dizzying speed of U.S. interest-rate increases heading into 2023. But he made it clear that he’s not prepared to stop – even as he and his Fed colleagues projected that further rate hikes will bring the U.S. economy to a near-standstill next year. “We’re not at a sufficiently restrictive policy stance yet, which is why we say that we would expect that ongoing hikes would be appropriate,” Mr. Powell said in his news conference following the r...

Ontario’s tourism minister says the province won’t be extending the staycation tax credit for another year, despite the hard-hit industry recommending the move as a way to help it recover from the pandemic. Neil Lumsden, the minister of tourism, culture and sport, says in a statement that the province temporarily introduced it for the 2022 tax year to spur pandemic recovery for the tourism, hospitality and culture sectors. That will end this year, but Mr. Lumsden says the province is supporting the sector in other ways, including $48.1-million for festivals and events and $19.1-million in support for Regional Tourism Organizations in 2022-23. A joint report earlier this week from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario said the sector won’t fully recover until 2025 and suggested dozens of ways the provincial and federal governments could help. Those recommendations included permanently keeping the staycation tax credit, which allows Ontarians t...

Twitter on Thursday suspended the accounts of journalists who cover the social media platform and its new owner Elon Musk, including reporters working for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and other publications. The company hasn’t explained why it took down the accounts and made their profiles and past tweets disappear. The sudden suspension of news reporters followed Musk’s decision Wednesday to permanently ban an account that automatically tracked the flights of his private jet using publicly available data. Twitter also on Wednesday changed its rules to prohibit the sharing of another person’s current location without their consent. Several of the reporters suspended Thursday night had been writing about that new policy and Musk’s rationale for imposing it, which involved his allegations about a stalking incident that affected his family on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. “Same doxxing rules apply to `journalists’ as to everyone else,” Musk tweeted Thursday. He later added: ...

Large banks and insurers have once again jointly obtained a court order that permits them to hold either online-only or hybrid annual general meetings. Jenny Kane/The Associated Press Financial institutions: Do right by your shareholders and meet them face-to-face next year. Large banks and insurers have once again jointly obtained a court order that permits them to hold either online-only or hybrid annual general meetings (a format that allows investors to attend virtually or in the flesh) because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It may sound inconsequential, but it’s not. The 2023 AGM season will mark the fourth straight year that some of Canada’s largest companies will have legal cover to forgo in-person gatherings entirely even though electronic-only meetings erode shareholders’ rights. Yes, coronavirus is still with us. But given that many of these same corporations are urging their employees to return to the office, it’s starting feel like one of the lingering effects of the pandemic ...

Mazars, the auditing firm working with major cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has paused all work for clients in the crypto industry, news outlet Coindesk reported on Friday, citing an emailed statement from Binance. “Mazars has indicated that they will temporarily pause their work with all of their crypto clients globally, which include Crypto.com, KuCoin, and Binance. Unfortunately, this means that we will not be able to work with Mazars for the moment,” a Binance spokesperson said to Coindesk. Mazars had performed a so-called proof-of-reserves check on Binance’s bitcoin holdings earlier this month, finding its bitcoin reserves on a single day in late November were overcollateralized. The audit firm has deleted the webpage containing a report on the check, published on Dec. 7. Mazars and Binance did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The pause by Mazars comes amid intense scrutiny, sparked by the bankruptcy of the FTX exchange, of how such platforms hold user funds. B...

A Canadian energy regulator said on Friday that it has laid charges against Suncor Energy Inc. SU-T after a worker was injured in 2019 on the Terra Nova floating oil production storage and offloading vessel. Suncor is charged with failing to ensure that every worker wore a safety harness in certain situations and used appropriate protective equipment, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board said in a statement. On Dec. 29, 2019, a Terra Nova worker fell from a ladder while conducting gas testing. Suncor, Canada’s second-largest oil producer, has faced scrutiny from investors over its poor safety and operational record, resulting in former chief executive Mark Little resigning in July. The Calgary-based company has outlined steps to improve safety at its core oil-sands operations in Alberta after a string of fatalities in the last two years. Suncor, Terra Nova’s operator, owns 48 per cent, and Cenovus Energy Inc. and Murphy Oil Corp. own smaller stakes. Terra Nov...

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried left the Bahamas on Dec. 21 on a U.S.-bound flight to face fraud charges as federal prosecutors announced that two of his former associates had pleaded guilty to similar charges and were now cooperating with the government. Reuters Federal prosecutors on Wednesday said they have charged Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Zixiao (Gary) Wang, the former Chief Technology Officer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX) with defrauding investors in the crypto trading platform. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a video statement that both Wang and Ellison have pleaded guilty to the charges and have agreed to co-operate with prosecutors. He said that Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, is now in FBI custody and is on his way to the United States. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a separate statement that it has also charged Ellison and Gary Wang for their roles in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors of FTX. Elliso...

The Biden administration on Friday said it was ordering Mastercard Inc MA-N to stop blocking the use of competing networks to process debit payments. Under a proposed order, Mastercard would have to start providing competing payment networks with the customer account information they need to process payments, the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces competition laws, said in a statement. “This is a victory for consumers and the merchants who rely on debit card payments to operate their businesses,” Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. In a statement, Mastercard said it had reached an agreement with the commission on the routing of certain debit card transations, adding that it believes its current practices are “lawful” and that it provides options to merchants. “We will continue the work to update our processes to comply with the consent order and provide even greater choice,” the company said. https://www.tausiinsider.com/u-s-orde...

Then-McDonald's CEO Stephen Easterbrook speaks during a grand opening ceremony in Chicago, Ill., on June 4, 2018. Scott Olson/Getty Images The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday charged former McDonald’s Corp Chief Executive Stephen Easterbrook with making false and misleading statements to investors about the circumstances of his 2019 termination. The SEC hit Easterbrook with a five-year officer and director bar and a $400,000 civil penalty. McDonald’s fired Easterbrook in November 2019 for exercising “poor judgment” by engaging in a relationship with a McDonald’s employee, the SEC said. But Easterbrook failed to disclose other additional violations of company policy he committed by engaging in undisclosed relationships with other employees of the fast-food giant, it said. The agency also charged McDonald’s MCD-N with “shortcomings” in its public disclosures related to Easterbrook’s ouster, but did not impose any fines on McDonald’s due to the firm’s “substa...

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario says it is continuing to investigate a “cybersecurity incident” that has knocked out its website and mobile app since Tuesday. The provincial Crown corporation says in a brief statement on Wednesday that its website and mobile app remain unavailable. The LCBO says its shops are open to customers as they were unaffected. The latest incident comes as Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children continues to recover from a December ransomware attack, with the hospital saying it had restored about 80 per cent of its priority systems as of last week. A notorious ransomware group later apologized for that attack, claiming it was carried out by one of its partners. Ontario’s Cybersecurity Expert Panel concluded in a September report that the broader public-services sector needed more work to achieve “cyber maturity.” https://www.tausiinsider.com/lcbo-continues-to-investigate-cybersecurity-incident-site-and-mobile-app-still-down/?feed_id=325284&_unique_id...

An estimated 300 jobs in British Columbia will likely be gone by the end of the year as Canfor Pulp Products CFX-T closes the pulp line at its Prince George pulp and paper mill. The Vancouver-based company made the announcement about the permanent closure Wednesday, blaming a lack of fibre for its pulp operations. The Canfor statement said the specialty paper facility at the mill will stay open. Canfor Pulp CFP-T president Kevin Edgson said the company will begin an “orderly wind-down process” over the next few months and expects to close the pulp line by the first quarter of 2023. He said Canfor will be working to support affected employees through the transition. B.C. Premier David Eby said Thursday the government is deploying a crisis response team to Prince George in an effort to support those people and their families who are losing their jobs. “This is obviously devastating news for those 300 individuals who have lost their jobs for their families, these are people with mortgag...

Former OPSEU boss Warren 'Smokey' Thomas speaks to reporters at Queens Park in Toronto in a file photo on Jan. 21, 2019. Chris Young/The Canadian Press The former president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union — Warren ‘Smokey’ Thomas — has called the recent allegations of financial improprieties made against him by the union “bogus” and is vowing to defend them. Mr. Thomas released a statement on Tuesday afternoon, just a day after OPSEU filed a lawsuit accusing him and two other former union executives of improperly using millions of dollars in cash and assets for personal enrichment. The statement, issued by Mr. Thomas’s lawyers, said that the lawsuit was riddled with “errors, falsehoods and untrue allegations.” “Mr. Thomas rejects the claims against him and intends to defend his good name,” the statement read. The union alleges that Mr. Thomas, who served as president of OPSEU for 15 years before retiring from the union last April, along with Eduardo Almeida, the...