CUPE to Give Update on Air Canada Negotiations
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Craig Saunders (EN/FR)
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CTV News
4 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
4 minutes ago
- CTV News
Air Canada passengers share frustrations after strike leaves them stranded in different parts of the world
Air Canada customer Kyla Kumar on the difficulties contacting Air Canada after her flight home from Lisbon, Portugal was cancelled. Frustrated Canadian travellers are stranded after Air Canada flight attendants went on strike over the weekend following the breakdown of talks between the airline and the union. More than 150 travellers reached out to CTV News with complaints that ranged from frustration over lack of communication, spending hours on hold in an attempt to get some answers, or spending thousands in dollars to book alternative flights to get to their destination. Ottawa ordered the more than 10,000 flight attendants back to work but the union representing them defied the federal government's order over the weekend and launched a legal challenge instead. On Monday morning, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) declared the strike unlawful and ordered union leaders to tell its members to return to work. Here are some of the accounts from travellers who wrote to us. We have not independently verified nor corroborated their accounts. Play Canadian stranded in Rome receiving 'absolutely no feedback' from Air Canada Air Canada customer Cosimo Di Lecce says the time he and his family have been left stranded Rome has cost him $2,500 so far. 'Extremely expensive' alternatives Oleg Navitski of Vaughan, Ont., said Air Canada cancelled his flight from Greece to Toronto on Monday because of the strike. He said the airline sent him a text message saying it was unable to rebook his family of three on another flight back to Toronto after searching for flights on more than 120 airlines. It then provided refund options. He said they were essentially on their own, with alternatives that are 'extremely expensive' and not available until four or five days later. 'My primary concern is who is going to pay for this,' he wrote in an email to on Monday. He said his insurance doesn't cover labour disputes or related expenses, including missing working days and additional nights at hotels. 'They are simply unreachable' Joel Kazmi of Oakville, Ont., said he and his wife tried calling Air Canada at least 25 times in total to try to rebook their cancelled flight home from Paris, but they didn't have luck reaching anyone. He said he, his wife and two children were scheduled to fly back to Canada from Paris on Sunday but the airline cancelled the flight at the last minute because of the strike. 'They are simply unreachable,' he wrote in an email to on Monday. The airline did respond through a private message in social media, he said, but 'blatantly refused' to book him on an alternative flight. Woman books flight home at double the cost Zahid Pervez said he and his wife Shabana are staying at their relatives' home in Frankfurt, Germany after their flight home to Toronto was cancelled at the last minute. The couple were in Germany for a week and a half for their nephew's wedding on Sunday and were supposed to fly back to Toronto on Monday. However, he said he learned of the flight cancellation at the airport Monday despite receiving confirmation a day before that his flight was proceeding. 'I don't know what happened and then I went to the airport and there are big lines, almost 350 people,' Pervez said in a video interview with on Monday from Germany. 'I don't know what can I do.' He said he decided not to wait in line to get the hotel voucher Air Canada offered him and other passengers with cancelled flights because of the strike. He said that his diabetes medicine is finished and he was supposed to work as a truck driver Tuesday. Pervez said Air Canada told him there were no alternative flights available and he would have to wait until a seat opens up, which could take days. But his daughter Sundus said she found them a flight herself through another airline that leaves Thursday, paying double the price at more than $4,600 for two tickets, which she said Air Canada should be paying them. 'Still madly in love and stuck in Rome' Lynne MacNeil said she and her husband Greg were on their 12-day honeymoon in Italy and expecting to fly back to Toronto on Sunday. She said they were able to check in online and receive boarding passes as the flight showed it was scheduled and online on the Air Canada app. 'Other than an email to say the flight has been cancelled, Air Canada has made no attempts to help us with our return flights,' she wrote in an email to on Sunday. MacNeil said they called the customer service line but only received a voice automated message that said they are unable to help 'due to extreme volumes of calls' and were directed to their website. She said their travel consultant was also unable to connect with Air Canada. She said she was disheartened about what she called Air Canada's 'blanket disregard' for their customers. She ended her email writing: 'Still madly in love and stuck in Rome.' Air Canada strike: Emily Pringle in Mexico Emily Pringle from Oshawa, Ont., says she and her three friends have to pay out-of-pocket to extend their stay at a resort in Mexico because of the Air Canada strike. (Emily Pringle) Out of medication and paying out of pocket Emily Pringle of Oshawa, Ont., said she and her three friends were vacationing in Mexico on a 'moms getaway' when they learned Saturday that their flight home was cancelled because of the strike. Pringle said they scrambled to find accommodations and plans to get home. While Air Canada said the earliest flight available is Friday, she said they are now stuck and paying out-of-pocket for additional nights at the resort and one of her friends is out of her diabetes and blood pressure medication. 'I'm sure to many an extended stay in Mexico sounds lovely, but we all have families and obligations at home we need to get back to, and some of us are running out of our much needed medication,' she wrote in an email Saturday. Airline passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs said Air Canada is obligated under regulations to provide a refund or book passengers on alternative flights no matter the cost if there is a strike.
CBC
26 minutes ago
- CBC
Alberta selling up to 17 properties it purchased in aftermath of 2013 Calgary flood
The province is preparing to sell up to 17 properties along the Elbow River in Calgary, where flood-damaged homes once stood, with the city getting the first chance to buy the land. After the 2013 flood that caused more than $5 billion in damages, Alberta's provincial government made dozens of offers to buy residents' homes that were damaged by the flood. Eventually, 17 households accepted the offer, as the province paid millions to purchase properties in the Roxboro, Rideau Park and Elbow Park neighbourhoods. The houses were demolished a few years later, and the province has maintained the empty lots where the homes once stood ever since. While the homes once stood at risk of future damages on the floodway, projects like the newly completed Springbank off-stream reservoir better protect these properties. Now, Alberta Infrastructure told CBC News last week the provincial government is beginning the process to prepare "some or all" of the vacant properties for sale. "Once this initial work and the necessary approvals are complete, the properties will first be offered to the City of Calgary at their appraised value. The city would need to have an approved municipal use for the properties in order to purchase them," the Ministry of Infrastructure said in a statement. If the city chooses not to purchase the properties, the province plans to list the lots for sale to the public. On Thursday, the City of Calgary said it can't comment on the possible purchase of properties that are not currently listed, but that it looks forward to receiving the complete listings from the province, once they're available. The province said sales are expected to begin early next year. 'Welfare for wealthy people' As Calgary's city councillor for Ward 9 since 2010, Gian-Carlo Carra sat on city council during the flood and its aftermath, and some of the properties now being sold by the province used to fall in his ward before the city's boundaries were shifted. Carra advised the city should review whether there's a good municipal use for the land that's up for sale. But he noted that while some residents are interested in the lots becoming public parks, he thinks the available land is unlikely to work well for that purpose. "If we're just talking about turning a private lot, wedged between private lots, into a park, I think that it would do much better service as housing," said Carra. While Carra said he knows some residents are concerned about the lots being used to create density through apartments, townhouses or condos, he believes it's a moot point due to market forces. "I think that very, very exclusive lots that have private access to one of the city's great amenities, like the Elbow River, are going to go for a much higher price than will afford townhouses," said Carra. Nevertheless, Carra said he believes the province should never have bought the properties. He maintains he was more supportive of the funding going toward upstream flood-mitigation efforts. He also noted that similar help wasn't offered to northeast Calgary residents whose homes were damaged in a major hailstorm. "This was just straight up welfare for wealthy people," said Carra, who added that returning the land to once again become residential housing is likely what needs to be done. Residents call for direct sale to private buyers Tony Morris was one Calgarian whose life was upended by the 2013 flood. As Morris puts it, he lives about as far from the water as you can get in Roxboro, but he still lost his entire basement to the flood. After clearing out the roughly 2,500 square feet of his home that went underwater, Morris found himself still plucking Lego pieces out of the ceiling of his basement. It took a year and a half to rebuild, but Morris said he felt lucky. He knew many others who lost their main floors as well, facing even greater damage to their homes. Recovering from the 2013 flood brought many river communities in Calgary together, Morris said, and led him to help co-found the Calgary River Communities Action Group, which advocates for measures to protect neighbourhoods that line Calgary's rivers from future flooding. Since its inception, Morris said his group has wanted to see their neighbourhoods along the river restored to what they were before the flood. "Those 17 lots now, in our mind, should go back into private hands for people who wish to re-establish themselves in the community as it was when the floodwaters found it in June of 2013," said Morris. After seeing the province spend significant funds on purchasing flood-damaged properties, Morris said he doesn't want the municipality to now pay for the same land. "It seems to me to be a double hit [to taxpayers]," said Morris. "We'd like these sales to go back to those people who would restore these communities to what they were prior to the flood." Through 12 years, and several provincial governments that have followed since the 2013 flood, Morris said his group has remained consistent and has advocated for the province to improve upstream flood mitigation, with projects like the Springbank Reservoir, or offer some kind of insurance to help people with flood-related losses. "We know for sure the city will flood again. There is no question of that," said Morris. "There's just a question of how prepared we are for it."
