Municipal service reductions being considered
Municipal service reductions being considered
Council has directed city staff to prepare three additional business cases about potential service reductions for consideration during 2026 budget deliberations
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CTV News
20 minutes ago
- CTV News
Speech from OPEC head to kick off Global Energy Show in Calgary
OPEC Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais talks during the ADIPEC, Oil and Energy exhibition and conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Monday Oct. 2, 2023. Al-Ghais is to deliver a keynote address at the Global Energy Show in Calgary on June 10. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili) CALGARY — More than 30,000 people from 100 countries are expected to descend on the white-collar heart of Canada's oilpatch next week for the Global Energy Show, which is to kick off with a keynote address from the head of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC secretary-general Haitham al-Ghais is set to deliver remarks on Tuesday morning, as recent output increases from his group's members and other producers have put pressure on global crude prices. Among the other speakers are 20 chief executives from major Canadian and international energy companies and several political leaders, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Energy show organizers say Calgary is expecting a 30 per cent increase in hotel bookings for the conference and trade show, and that exhibition space has been increased by one fifth year-over year. Nick Samain, senior vice-president at DMG Events, said as of two weeks before the event, pre-registrations were 78 per cent higher than last year. He says the show is seeing a big turnaround since the oil bust of 2015 and the COVID-19 pandemic. 'There's a sense of optimism that the show really hasn't had in a long time,' Samain said in an interview. 'Operationally, we've been going crazy to make sure we've got enough room for everybody.' The exhibition hall in the newly refurbished BMO Centre on the Calgary Stampede grounds is to feature a record 11 country pavilions and 500 company booths. The event was called the Global Petroleum Show until 2020, when it was rebranded to highlight the growing number of non-oil-and-gas participants in the energy space, such as nuclear and renewables firms. Samain said at the trade show, oil and gas makes up about 70 per cent of exhibitors, with other forms of energy making up the rest. The conference comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war throws global trade into disarray, raising the prospect of a global downturn that could dampen energy demand. The trade strife has driven calls for Canada to diversify its export markets for its energy products beyond its biggest customer, the United States, and remove some of the logjams that have prevented infrastructure from being built over the past several years. Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to speed up and simplify the regulatory process for projects deemed in the national interest. Samain said the show is an opportunity for people to hash out competing views about Canada's energy future. 'We're just big proponents of people meeting face to face,' he said. 'We find when people get together at an event like this, it really does (give) the opportunity for people maybe to see a different perspective.' A week after the Global Energy Show, another major event drawing dignitaries from abroad is to take place in a popular recreation area in the Rocky Mountains an hour west of Calgary. Canada is to host leaders from the United States, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy and the European Union at the G7 summit from June 15 to 17 in Kananaskis. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025. Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
22 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Algonquin Power is stirring. Is the rebound for real?
Step one in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.'s AQN-T turnaround: Shed renewable assets. Step two: Emphasize growth potential as a pure play utility. Step three: Deliver on potential. With step two in the bag after the company released a fresh outlook this week, which included better-than-expected profit growth through 2027, the share price rallied 16 per cent on Tuesday. Even after losing some momentum as the week wore on, the stock is still up about 26 per cent this year, as of Thursday's close on the Toronto Stock Exchange. But the strong gain, which broke four years of crushing downward momentum, puts a lot of pressure on step three – the delivering part. If you've lost track of Algonquin, you're probably not alone. It used to be a go-to stock for investors looking for a winning combination of renewable power, stable utility assets and a steadily rising dividend. A series of missteps related to the company's rapid expansion and bloated debt sent the share price plummeting. After it slashed its dividend – twice – the share price descended to an 11-year low in January. There was some conjecture that Algonquin would face yet another ignominy: getting tossed from the S&P/TSX 60 index of blue-chip companies for being too withered. Now, after selling most of its renewable energy assets, Algonquin is emerging with a fresh determination to become more profitable and efficient under new chief executive Rod West. To underscore the point, Mr. West referred to Algonquin as a 'pure-play' utility 10 times in a conference call with analysts this week, drumming home the idea that the company is now focused on regulated electricity, natural gas and water distribution. No wonder. Utilities are hot stuff right now, given rising energy needs as power-hungry data centres spring up in North America catering to demands for artificial intelligence. Economic concerns related to rising tariffs adds to their allure. In Canada, the utilities sector trails only materials – largely gold producers – and consumer staples so far this year. The U.S. utilities sector has outperformed the S&P 500, and the tech sector, by more than four percentage points this year. And in terms of valuations, standout Hydro One Ltd. H-T commands a higher price-to-earnings ratio than Google parent Alphabet Inc. Algonquin would like some of this love. Mr. West – who became CEO three months ago after leaving his position as group president of utility operations at New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. – believes that Algonquin can become a 'premium' utility. From investing to real estate, here's how you can Trump-proof your wallet By his definition, that means operating in attractive regulatory jurisdictions, gaining investor confidence with consistent growth and building financial strength with a solid investment-grade credit rating. He has some work to do: 'To become premium, we got to get to good,' Mr. West said on the conference call. But his upbeat forecasts were what likely inspired investors to jump on this turnaround opportunity while it's still in its formative stages. Algonquin plans to spend US$2.5-billion on replacing aging assets and making investments in new ones. These capital expenditures should increase the utility's rate base – assets that generate income – to US$9.1-billion by the end of 2027, or growth of about 5 per cent a year. It plans to cut its operating expenses to a target of 31 to 33 per cent of revenues, which is in line with peers. This, combined with successful electricity rate hikes, should help Algonquin maintain its investment grade credit rating, drive greater cash flow and improve profitability. Brian Chin, Algonquin's chief financial officer, expects profit should rise to a range between 42 and 46 US cents per share by the end of 2027, up from an estimated 30 to 32 US cents per share this year. That implies profit growth of about 42 per cent in just two years, and leads to one more benefit: Higher earnings will lower the dividend payout ratio (the share of profits distributed as dividends) below 70 per cent, from well above 100 per cent currently. That should restore confidence in the quarterly distribution. A turnaround opportunity in the normally staid utilities sector is undoubtedly attractive. If Mr. West delivers on his targets, investors who buy in to Algonquin's potential will be rewarded with a stock that looks cheap next to bigger, sturdier players such as Emera Inc., Fortis Inc. and Hydro One. But with Algonquin's share price well ahead of its peers this year, the turnaround comes with a risk: Much of it is already priced in.
National Post
27 minutes ago
- National Post
Mia Hughes: Canadian Medical Association wants to force Alberta to ignore science on gender care
Article content The entire field is built upon research out of the Netherlands that has been shown to be methodologically flawed, and the diagnosis of gender dysphoria is shaped by political lobbying intended to reduce stigma and distress. Article content What's more, the Canadian Pediatric Society bases its recommendations on the field's standards of care which are set by the discredited World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). In a recently withdrawn legal challenge to Alabama's youth gender medicine ban, WPATH was forced to disclose over two million internal emails that revealed the organization blocked independent systematic reviews that showed low-quality evidence, consulted 'social justice lawyers' when drafting its medical guidelines, and, at the Biden administration's request, removed almost all lower age limits from its adolescent chapter to avoid undermining state-level legal battles. Article content Reimer also stated, without irony, that medical decisions should be based on 'the best science.' Yet the best science — specifically the systematic reviews from Sweden, Finland, England, and a team of researchers in Canada — has all concluded the evidence base for paediatric medical transition is of very low certainty. Alberta's Bill 26 reflects that consensus. The CMA's position contradicts it. Article content This isn't the first legal challenge to Alberta's legislation. Late last year, Egale Canada — originally a gay rights charity that expanded into trans advocacy in the early 2000s — teamed up with the Skipping Stone Foundation and five families to contest the law. That move is surprising given early research conducted by leading figures in gender medicine, Psychologist/Sexologist Kenneth Zucker and Psychiatrist Susan Bradley, found that most children with early-onset gender dysphoria would grow up to be gay or lesbian if left untreated, and same-sex attracted teens are overrepresented in the adolescent patients who began flooding gender clinics in the 2010s and among detransitioners. That a gay rights group would back medical interventions that have the potential to sterilize homosexual adolescents is a tragic reversal of purpose. Article content In an interview, Dr. Jake Donaldson, one of three Alberta doctors who filed the challenge alongside the CMA, inadvertently highlighted the questionable rationale for these extreme medical interventions. He believes that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones help gender-distressed youth blend in better as members of the opposite sex, which makes them 'safer and happier.' But even if that were true — and there is no high-quality evidence to suggest that it is — this approach only offers a superficial, short-term fix that ignores the deeper psychological struggles of these youth. And it can come at such immense long-term cost in the form of sterility, sexual dysfunction, and lifelong medical dependence. Article content 'Medicine is a calling,' explained the CMA president in her statement. 'Doctors pursue it because they are compelled to care for and promote the well-being of patients.' Article content Yet noble intentions are no safeguard against harm. History is littered with medical scandals. At the centre of each one, there were well-intentioned doctors who left a trail of devastation in their quest to help patients. The doctors who prescribed thalidomide didn't do so with the intention of causing major birth defects; the obstetricians who sent expectant mothers for prenatal X-rays didn't deliberately set out to cause childhood leukemia, and Walter Freeman famously believed his prefrontal lobotomies were a humane alternative to the deplorable conditions in insane asylums. Article content At this point, there is little doubt that paediatric gender medicine is destined to take its place in history alongside these medical catastrophes. Therefore, Alberta is not acting unreasonably; it is acting responsibly. By restricting unproven and irreversible treatments for minors, the province has commendably joined a global wave of governments re-asserting evidence and ethical principles in the face of medical groupthink. It is the CMA — not the Alberta government — that must reckon with its conscience. Article content Mia Hughes specializes in researching pediatric gender medicine, psychiatric epidemics, social contagion and the intersection of trans rights and women's rights. She is the author of ' The WPATH Files,' a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, and director of Genspect Canada. Article content
