Rogers gets all necessary league approvals to buy Bell's MLSE stake
Rogers said Wednesday those five leagues have signed off on the deal that would see it increase its ownership stake in the company to 75 per cent.
The deal also includes the transfer of NBA TV (Canada) from Bell to Rogers, and that aspect is subject to approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
Rogers' sports portfolio also includes Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays and their Rogers Centre home.
MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum, via his holding company Kilmer Sports Inc., owns the company's other 25 per cent stake. OMERS, a Canadian pension fund, purchased a five per cent indirect stake in MLSE in the summer of 2023 through a 20 per cent direct stake in Kilmer Sports for US$400 million.
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5 minutes ago
- CTV News
Canadian dollar to weaken against global markets, currency expert predicts
Sorry, we're having trouble with this video. Please try again later. [5006/404] A foreign exchange expert made a bearish call for the Canadian dollar on Monday, anticipating the loonie will hover around 70 cents against the U.S. dollar as other currencies strengthen. Dan Tobon, head of G10 FX Strategy at Citi Research says he doesn't expect a major collapse in the Canadian dollar, but says a correlation with the U.S. economy, potential for deeper Bank of Canada rate cuts and a removal of positive hedge ratio adjustments will impact it. 'We're not structurally bearish in the dollar, but certainly the next few months could still see some weaker dollars,' Tobon told BNN Bloomberg in an interview. 'It's going to be hard for the Canadian dollar independently to sell off. More likely what will happen is it'll be both the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar underperforming everything else.' On Monday afternoon, the Canadian dollar was trading at around 72 cents per one American dollar. Tobon said a soft patch in U.S. labour market data can weigh on the Canadian dollar due to a close relationship between both economies. He noted that Canadian investors have been buying back Canadian dollars as they hedge their U.S. asset exposure, which has supported the currency and said this flow appears to be running out, removing a key source of support for the loonie. 'If you're Canadian and you buy a U.S. asset, you have to sell your Canadian dollars to buy U.S. dollars to buy that asset,' said Tobon. 'Historically, most investors are actually happy to maintain that, because historically, when equity markets go down, the dollar tends to perform well. It's almost like a built-in hedge.' 'The other thing too is U.S. rates tend to be higher, so you're actually earning some carry. This used to be a great scenario. I can buy U.S. equities, I have the dollar exposure where I'm actually earning a little carry, and it's a hedge. In case of risk off. Things have changed a lot this year, and as we saw back in April, we saw the correlation flip, where we saw risk off, but with that risk off, a weaker dollar and higher U.S. Treasury yields. What started happening is this belief that maybe the dollar isn't the hedge that it always was.' He said markets are currently pricing only one more cut from the Bank of Canada over the next year but sees scope for more aggressive cuts than expected. Despite sticky inflation, weakness in other parts of the Canadian economy could lead to deeper rate cuts as inflation normalizes amid the Canada-U.S. trade war. 'We saw a huge amount of Canadian dollar buying by a lot of the Canadian pensions in the first half of the year, especially after April,' said Tobon. 'They weren't necessarily de-risking their U.S. exposure, they were just de-risking their dollar exposure, but that effectively meant they were buying a lot of Canadian dollars over the last couple months.' Loonie against global currencies While some weaknesses against the U.S. dollar is expected, Tobon sees broader Canadian dollar weakness against the European Union's euro, Japanese yen, and other currencies as a bigger concern. One Canadian dollar is trading at around 0.62 Euros and 107 Japanese Yen. 'It's very hard to get a situation where the Canadian dollar is weakening significantly, but maybe the Euro and Australian dollar and these other currencies are strengthening significantly,' said Tobon. 'The betas effectively make the adjustment. Maybe we can get down towards US$70. That's not a monster move from here, but it's something that's definitely notable. The bigger issue is, then, are we going to get broader Canadian weakness against the euro, against the yen, against these other currencies?'
CTV News
34 minutes ago
- CTV News
Bobby Webster named Toronto Raptors new head of basketball operations
Toronto Raptors' Scottie Barnes poses with General Manager Bobby Webster as he is presented with a ball to mark his All-Star selection before NBA basketball action against the Indiana Pacers in Toronto on Wednesday, February 14, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors' search for a new team president is over. General manager Bobby Webster will have his contract extended to be the team's head of basketball operations. The team will not appoint a president at this time. Masai Ujiri, the Raptors' former team president and head of basketball operations, was dismissed earlier in the off-season. A team statement says that Webster will lead the team as General Manager with the support of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment leadership, MLSE president and chief executive officer Keith Pelley, announced. Webster, 40, is entering his ninth season as GM in Toronto and 13th with the Raptors, and his 21st overall in the NBA. One of the architects of the 2019 championship team, Webster has led Toronto's overall roster building, organizational structure, and day-to-day basketball operations. Before being named general manager in June 2017, he held the titles of assistant general manager and vice-president, basketball management and strategy. A native of Hawaii, Webster came to the Raptors after seven years at the NBA's league office, under the leadership of commissioners David Stern and Adam Silver. He worked primarily on the NBA's collective bargaining agreement and was part of the team that successfully negotiated the 2011 CBA with the National Basketball Players Association. He and his wife Lauren, an entrepreneur and company founder, live in Toronto with their three children. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.
35 minutes ago
Who controls the food supply? Proposed changes to seed reuse reopens debate
It's a small change that risks cultivating a big debate. On one side is the principle of farmer's privilege — the traditional right of Canadian farmers to save seeds at the end of a growing season and reuse them the next year. On the other is the principle of plant breeders' rights — the right of those who develop new seeds and plants to protect and profit from their discoveries. The issue has been dormant for a decade. Now, proposed changes to government rules regarding plant breeders' rights are reviving that debate. It also raises questions about how Canada gets its food and who controls what is grown. Ultimately, it's about food security, said Keith Currie, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. The group supports the changes, which include narrowing the scope of farmer's privilege. Not only keeping us competitive to keep food costs down, but also to make sure that we maintain new varieties coming forward for that food availability. Enlarge image (new window) The proposed changes could reduce the right of farmers to save and reuse seeds for crops like fruits and vegetables. Photo: The Canadian Press / Giordano Ciampini In a notice (new window) dated Aug. 9, the government announced proposed changes to Canada's Plant Breeders' Rights Regulations — a form of intellectual property protection for plants, similar to a patent. The regulations give plant breeders a monopoly over the distribution of their product for a set period, as a way to to encourage investment and innovations such as varieties with higher yields or more resistant to drought or pests. It's a big business. Estimates of the economic impact of the seed industry in Canada range from $4 billion to $6 billion a year. The right to reuse The changes would remove the right of farmers to save and reuse seeds and cuttings from protected fruits, vegetables, ornamental varieties, other plants reproduced through vegetative propagation and hybrids. For most plants recognized under the law, the protections last for 20 years. Personal gardens and many other kinds of crops such as wheat, cereals and pulses, where seed saving is more widespread, would not be affected. Among the other proposed changes is to extend the protection for new varieties of mushrooms, asparagus and woody plants like raspberries and blueberries to 25 years from the current 20 years. A public consultation on the changes runs until Oct. 18. Enlarge image (new window) NDP agriculture critic Gord Johns is calling for parliamentary hearings into the proposed changes. Photo: Kendal Hanson/CHEK News NDP agriculture critic Gord Johns says the changes raise an important issue for Canadians. He questions why the government is holding the consultation in summer when most farmers are focused on growing and harvesting crops — not drafting submissions for public consultations. They keep doing this over and over again, said Johns of the federal government. They announce regulatory changes that impact farmers and their livelihoods [and] they schedule the consultation period during the busiest time of the year for farmers. Johns said companies producing new kinds of seed should be adequately compensated for their innovation and intellectual property. But he said farmers who grow and harvest the food Canadians eat shouldn't be starved by big corporations choking off their seed supply. He wants the House of Commons agriculture committee to hold hearings and take a closer look at the changes being proposed. A spokesperson for Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald said the government is committed to encouraging innovation, investment, research and competitiveness in Canadian agriculture, horticulture and ornamental industries. The spokesperson said the government will review all feedback before determining next steps. Access vs. innovation Former prime minister Stephen Harper's government triggered a debate in 2015 when it adopted measures to bring Canada's rules more in line with guidelines adopted by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, known as UPOV 91. The rules are separate from patent law or technology use agreements which some seed companies use to prevent farmers from saving and reusing seeds. Changes to plant breeders' rules are now again on the table. Last year, a government consultation resulted in 109 submissions, the majority supportive of change. Meanwhile, lobbyists have been busy behind the scenes. According to the federal lobbying registry, 13 people from several different groups or companies are currently registered to lobby on plant breeders' rights including the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Canola Growers Association, the Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and Swiss-based Syngenta, owned by Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Enlarge image (new window) Wheat is not included in the proposed changes, but a research director for the National Farmers Union worries they could be the start of a 'slippery slope.' Photo: Reuters / Todd Korol Cathy Holtslander, director of research and policy for the National Farmers Union, says the proposed changes risk hurting farmers while increasing profits and the power of seed-producing companies — often multinationals with foreign ownership. While the changes are focused on an area of agriculture where seed saving is less common, Holtslander warns the changes are a slippery slope that could lead to an erosion of the rights of farmers. If they were to go after wheat with the amendment, there would be a huge uproar and people would really be angry and push back, Holtslander said. She said what's being proposed paves the way for other crops to be included later. The seed industry does not want farmers' privilege to exist for any seed. They want to be able to require people to buy new seed every year, she said. Holtslander's group plans to fight the proposed changes. She said the issue goes beyond the question of individual farmers reusing seed. If the big multinational companies control the seed, they control our food supply, she said. Lauren Comin, director of policy for Seeds Canada, acknowledges the issue can be controversial but argues Canada needs strong intellectual property protection if it wants access to the newest innovations to compete on the world stage. It's incredibly important to have these frameworks to encourage investment companies, businesses, public entities, to know that they are going to somehow be compensated and protected, Comin said. She said that while the changes provide that certainty and that incentive for investment, she wants them to go further. While acknowledging there isn't enough certified seed for all of Canada's cereals and small grains crop, Comin would also like to see farmers compensate plant breeders when they reuse seeds, as they do in Europe. The farmer's privilege does not say that that use is free, she said. [Farmers] can choose to buy the latest and greatest product of innovation, which means that there is a tremendous amount of investment and effort that went toward developing this improved variety. Or they can decide that they don't value innovation, and they can go back to a variety that's unprotected and grow that. Currie, an Ontario grains and oil seed farmer who saves and reuses seeds, says Canada needs to balance the two principles. He says farmer's privilege is key to Canada's competitiveness, but so is access to new varieties of seeds and plants. While I do understand where some of the multinationals want to have better control, I believe in order for the industry to be viable, farmers have to have some control as well, he said.
