'Content' of trade talks with U.S. matters more than dates, Moe says
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CTV News
6 minutes ago
- CTV News
Taste of the Danforth cancelled for second year in a row
For the second year in a row, there will be no food vendors, live music, entertainment or other attractions along Toronto's Greektown neighbourhood this weekend. The Taste of the Danforth, one of the most beloved festivals in the city, usually held during the second weekend of August, was quietly cancelled this year. Jim Tsafatinos, the owner of Kalyvia Restaurant, knew the festival wouldn't be held when they didn't get the permit back in April. 'Once you don't get the paperwork, you know something fishy is going on,' he told CTV News Toronto. 'The sad part is, everyone else had their festivals except us.' Last year, the east-end street festival was cancelled due to funding constraints. The GreekTown on the Danforth BIA said the festival needed a new title sponsor to push through, as the levy approved by its members would not be able to cover the cost. The BIA has not confirmed why there was no festival this year. Coun. Paula Fletcher, who represents the area, told CP24 the neighbourhood group felt it couldn't stage the popular event again this year. 'It's a huge festival, about a million people, and the organizer that had always done that festival wasn't available. So, this is, unfortunately, the only festival that hasn't made it out of COVID, but a lot of people miss it so much,' Fletcher said. BIA hopes to bring festival back next year She urged the BIA to explore how to bring it back and said the city is willing to help the group in whatever way possible. Speaking to CTV News Toronto, the chair of the Greektown BIA said the group is working to bring back the festival next year, although it may look different. He added that the planning is underway, as well as talks with the city. Fletcher said talks have not begun but her 'fingers are crossed.' '(They've) got to get it together, come up with a plan for 2026, and see what's possible. It is the only festival not to come out of COVID, and so everybody's rooting for the Taste of the Danforth. I'm sure you speak to many business owners and people along that stretch of the Danforth,' the councillor said. Tom Papadatos, who works at Christina's, said he wasn't aware of the event's cancellation this year, as there had been no communication. He believes the Taste of the Danforth, which was first held in 1993, should be brought back, as it is a staple in the neighbourhood. 'Find a solution,' Papadatos said. 'Deal with the problem. Bring all these people back, and boost the community and the economy. I think that would be reasonable.'
CTV News
36 minutes ago
- CTV News
Statistics show increase in U.S. travel from Ottawa airport
The vehicle drop-off area for U.S.-bound flights at the Ottawa International Airport on Aug. 9, 2025. Statistics show an increase in travellers going to the U.S. from the Ottawa airport in 2025. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa) More travellers chose to fly to and from the United States out of the Ottawa airport compared to this time last year, breaking a wider trend of falling trips across the southern border. Data provided by the Ottawa Airport Authority shows there were 406,786 transborder passengers departing and arriving from the U.S. between January and June of this year. That's up from a total of 379,984 passenger trips during the first six months of last year, a seven per cent increase. There were 741,449 passengers leaving and arriving from the U.S. in all of 2024. So far this year, there were 2,389,041 trips through Ottawa, including 1,702,152 domestic passengers and 280,103 international travellers. The increase stands in contrast with declining numbers of Canadians heading south since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January. Ottawa Airport Authority spokesperson Krista Kealey said it's unclear why the nation's capital has been bucking the trend as other Canadian airports report declines in transborder passenger volumes, but notes steadily strong numbers of travellers going to Florida and Washington D.C. 'Service to Florida – traditionally a strong market for the Ottawa-Gatineau region – has been scaled back, though it continues to perform well, possibly due to property owners continuing to travel. The sustained strength of the Washington routes may reflect ongoing trade and tariff-related activity,' Kealey said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa. Kealey says there appears to be a softening of leisure travel, pointing to Porter Airlines' decision to pause its service to Las Vegas for the summer. WestJet will also be halting its non-stop flights to Fort Myers, Florida this winter. 'As airlines begin loading their winter schedules, we're seeing some reductions in service to U.S. sun destinations,' Kealey said. 'However, we're encouraged by increased capacity to popular destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean, along with the introduction of new routes, including Costa Rica, Nassau, and Grand Cayman, that help meet our community's continued appetite for travel.' Travel consultant Elliot Finkelman says Porter Airlines' increasing footprint in the capital may be having an impact on U.S. travel numbers. 'Porter is doing a lot of direct in Ottawa now down to the states, so I think a lot of people are hopping on that. It's helping the Ottawa airport see increases in flights because they have a lot of direct flights down to Florida. They have a lot of direct flights to Newark,' he said. The latest figures from Statistics Canada released in June show that Canadian-resident return trips by air and automobile from the United States have fallen sharply since the start of the year, with five consecutive months of steep year over year declines. In June, Canadian residents returning from travel to the U.S. was down 22 per cent for trips by air and 33 per cent for trips by automobile from the same time in 2024.
CBC
37 minutes ago
- CBC
Amid job losses nationwide, Toronto pub owner says he's received 250 resumes but can't afford to hire
Social Sharing After recent data shows tens of thousands of jobs were lost in Canada last month, one restaurant owner in Toronto says he's received dozens of resumes but cannot afford to hire any more people amid economic uncertainty. The Canadian economy lost more than 40,000 jobs in July, according to data from Statistics Canada released on Friday. The unemployment rate remained steady but at a multi-year high level of 6.9 per cent, the agency said. The hardest hit sector was the information, culture and recreation industry, which includes restaurants. 29,000 jobs were lost in the sector last month. Cesar Mesen is the owner and operating partner of The Pint Public House, located in downtown Toronto near John Street and Front Street W. Cesar Mesan, who owns The Pint Public House in downtown Toronto, says the pub typically does a hiring blitz of around 40 to 50 people starting in April, when baseball season begins. But this summer, he said his business hired a fraction of that. "If we post for one position, we maybe get 90, 100 candidates," he said. Fewer customers are coming out and sales are shrinking, Mesen said. Currently, he said he has received around 200 to 250 resumes that he does not have jobs for. "I cannot just hire people because I feel bad for them … right now, we don't have a need to hire," he said. Job losses last month mainly among young people According to the latest Statistics Canada data, the decline last month was largely driven by job losses among young people, aged between 15 to 24. WATCH | The CNE received a record 50K applications this summer for 5,000 jobs: The CNE has 5,000 summer jobs to fill. It's received over 50K applications 10 days ago Mesen said most of the applications he's received are from young people. In the hospitality industry, where many people tend to get their first jobs or summer jobs, there are not a lot of vacant positions, he said. "It's really sad because those are very important, formative years where you come and work into a place and you learn people skills, social skills, you learn to work as a team," he said. He says the pub has been operating under uncertainty for the past several months amidst U.S. tariffs. A lot of the equipment he needs is from the U.S. and is not manufactured in Canada. "We truly don't know where this is going or what is going to happen," he said. Plans to grow The Pint through expansion or new programs and initiatives are currently on hold, he said. Tariffs latest in challenging few years for businesses: expert Simon Gaudreault is the chief economist and vice president of research for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. The federation has surveyed its members —- small and medium sized businesses in Canada — every month since 2009. The number of businesses who have said they want to add staff has been below seasonable norms since the start of 2025, compared to the same period last year or in pre-pandemic years, he said. Alongside this, he said the number of businesses that have indicated they want to reduce staff has been higher so far this year than in comparable time periods for previous years. As Canada continues dealing with U.S. tariffs, Gaudreault said businesses are dealing with great uncertainty. "Business owners will be careful [and] will try to make sure they keep a certain room to maneuver for the next few months," he said. "Unfortunately that can translate into a hiring freeze." He called the trade war the latest chapter in a series of very tough chapters for businesses. "Before that, it was the inflation and the supply chain issues, and before that it was the pandemic," he said. "Certainly for a lot of businesses right now, you're probably not in a situation where you have a lot of reserves built in." But measures to cut expenses and improve cash flow in the short-term can hurt growth for a business in the long run, said David Gens, founder and CEO of Merchant Growth, which provides credit to thousands of small businesses. He said fear and uncertainty around tariffs seem to be causing a defensive stance among business owners his company deals with. Looking at the medium-term, Gens said businesses may need to look at finding new customers in other locations and retooling their supply chain. "All of that takes investment and a lot of effort," he said.
