Brookfield Seeks $380 Million Industrial Portfolio in Singapore
The Canadian asset manager is considering the assets owned by Mapletree Industrial Trust, which are valued at about S$500 million ($384 million), the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
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Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
B.C. canola growers brace for new Chinese tariffs as harvest approaches
B.C. canola farmers are staring down millions in losses after China slapped new anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola just weeks before harvest begins. The retaliatory 75.8 per cent tariff on canola seed is the latest volley in the ongoing trade fight between the two countries. While farmers brace for the hit, experts are asking whether Canada's own 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) are worth the cost, and if they should be scrapped in hopes China will reverse its canola tariff. Ernest Wiebe, who farms 800 acres of canola in Montney near Fort St. John, B.C., says producers are feeling discouraged by a recent drop in price for their crops. The price per bushel had been $15 to $16 earlier this year, but it's since dropped to about $12.50 to $13.20 a bushel, Wiebe said. And it's a long way off from the highs of $27 a bushel seen in 2022. "With all the uncertainty and stress of tariffs, and anti-dumping duties, we have seen a significant slide in our prices," he said. Doing the math A price drop by about $3 per bushel can wipe out between $120 and $180 an acre, depending on yield, according to Wiebe, who sits on the board of the Canadian Canola Growers Association. For the roughly 290 producers in the Peace Region, who seed up to 110,000 acres a year and grow 95 per cent of B.C.'s canola, that's a massive hit. Most of the crop is bound for China, where it's crushed and processed into cooking oil. Meanwhile, input costs keep climbing. Fertilizer alone is up $200 a metric ton this year, Wiebe said, on top of higher bills for land, fuel, equipment, and taxes. The growing price gap could mean tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, in losses for the average farmer, and millions for B.C.'s economy."Overall, farmers [are] incredibly discouraged, and looking at it and going, 'Well, how are we going to make this all work?'" said Wiebe. B.C. growers are hoping for an average or slightly above-average crop this year. But a very dry May followed by late June rains has delayed maturity, raising the risk that bad weather — possibly even snow — could interfere with harvest. Pressure on Ottawa Werner Antweiler, an associate professor at University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business, says he is worried about farmers suffering the consequences of "arbitrary" Canadian tariffs. The canola tariffs came after Canada's 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese EVs, and Antweiler says the EV tariffs weren't based on a proper investigation under World Trade Organization (WTO) principles. "We should definitely revisit this issue and, in that way, also maybe reduce the countervailing duties that we now see on canola exports." Stuart Smyth, a professor of agriculture and resource economics at the University of Saskatchewan, believes China's new tariffs are a strategic move to push down international canola prices before China buys large volumes at a discount. Similar tariffs in 2019 and 2020 cost the canola industry $2.3 billion, he said. "If this stays in for six or eight months, we could be looking at billions of dollars in costs," Smyth told CBC Radio West host Sarah Penton. China claims Canada is dumping canola below the cost of production, which the federal government denies. Smyth says Canada doesn't subsidize crops like other countries do, nor does it promote exports with subsidies. LISTEN | Professor says EV tariffs hurt B.C. farmers Canada and China are challenging each other at the WTO, and while Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government is working with industry to find solutions, Smyth doesn't expect much of a response. He believes Carney is prioritizing the steel, aluminum, and auto sectors to save jobs in southern Ontario, where there's a high density of voters. "The federal government has been very reserved on reaching out to China, having consultations, or even trying to set up discussions with them," Smyth said. Farmers running out of time Wiebe says the federal government needs to strike a deal with China soon, even if that means walking back its EV tariffs. "If that could be resolved, and the tariffs, or the anti-dumping duty in this case, lifted, I believe our canola price would probably jump $2 to $3 a bushel probably within the next week." Some may pivot from canola if profitability keeps sliding, Wiebe said, but planting other crops like wheat or oats has risks of its own. Flooding those markets could only end up driving down those prices too. "We're price takers," he said. "We can only sell at what the market offers."
39 minutes ago
Air Canada suspends restart plans after union defies return to work order
TORONTO -- TORONTO (AP) — Air Canada said it suspended plans to restart operations on Sunday after the union representing 10,000 flight attendants said it will defy a return to work order. The strike was already affecting about 130,000 travelers around the world per day during the peak summer travel season. The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back to work by 2 p.m. Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights Sunday evening. Canada's largest airline now says it will resume flights Monday evening. Air Canada said in a statement that the union 'illegally directed its flight attendant members to defy a direction from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.' 'Our members are not going back to work,' Canadian Union of Public Employees national president Mark Hancock said outside Toronto's Pearson International Airport. 'We are saying no.' Hancock ripped up a copy of the back-to-work order outside the airport's departures terminal where union members were picketing Sunday morning. He said they won't return Tuesday either. Flight attendants chanted 'Don't blame me, blame AC' outside Pearson. 'Like many Canadians, the Minister is monitoring this situation closely. The Canada Industrial Relations Board is an independent tribunal," Jennifer Kozelj, a spokeswoman for Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said in a emailed statement. Hancock said the 'whole process has been unfair' and said the union will challenge what it called an unconstitutional order. Less than 12 hours after workers walked off the job,)Hajdu ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work, saying now is not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada. Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline said the CIRB has extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator. The shutdown of Canada's largest airline early Saturday was impacting about 130,000 people a day. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. Tourist Mel Durston from southern England was trying to make the most of sightseeing in Canada. But she said she doesn't have a way to continue her journey. 'We wanted to go see the Rockies, but we might not get there because of this,' Durston said. 'We might have to head straight back." James Hart and Zahara Virani were visiting Toronto from Calgary, Alberta for what they thought would be a fun weekend. But they ended up paying $2,600 Canadian ($1,880) to fly with another airline on a later day after their Air Canada flight got canceled. 'It's a little frustrating and stressful, but at the same time, I don't blame the flight attendants at all,' Virani said. 'What they're asking for is not unreasonable whatsoever." Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. The bitter contract fight escalated Friday as the union turned down Air Canada's prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. Last year, the government forced the country's two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a union's leverage in negotiations. Hajdu maintained that her Liberal government is not anti-union, saying it is clear the two sides are at an impasse. Passengers whose flights are impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. Still, it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full 'due to the summer travel peak.' Air Canada and CUPE have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides have said they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren't in the air. The airline's latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years, that it said 'would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Air Canada grounded as striking union defies order to get back to work
By Allison Lampert, Promit Mukherjee and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss MONTREAL (Reuters) -Air Canada's fleet of hundreds of planes remained grounded on Monday morning after striking flight attendants refused a government-backed order to get back to work and called on the airline to return to the bargaining table. The carrier, which normally carries 130,000 people daily and is part of the global Star Alliance of airlines, had planned to start ramping up operations on Sunday evening, after a labor relations board ordered the union to return to work and start binding arbitration. The union said no, setting up an almost unprecedented standoff with the Canadian government, which had requested the back-to-work order. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 10,000 Air Canada cabin crew, had pushed for a negotiated solution, saying binding arbitration would take pressure off the airline. The attendants are striking for better wages and to be paid for work on the ground, such as boarding passengers. They currently are only paid when planes are moving, sparking some vocal support from Canadians on social media. CUPE invited Air Canada back to the table to "negotiate a fair deal," calling the order to end its strike unconstitutional. The airline said it would delay plans to restart operations from Sunday until Monday evening and described the union as illegally defying the labor board. The government's options to end the strike now include asking courts to enforce the order to return to work and seeking an expedited hearing. The minority government could also try to pass legislation that would need the support of political rivals and approval in both houses of parliament, which are on break until September 15. "The government will be very reticent to be too heavy-handed because in Canada the Supreme Court has ruled that governments have to be very careful when they take away the right to strike, even for public sector workers that may be deemed essential," said Dionne Pohler, professor of dispute resolution at Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School. Another option is to encourage bargaining, Pohler said. The government did not respond to requests for comment. On Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government moved to end the strike by asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order binding arbitration. The CIRB issued the order, which Air Canada had sought, and unionized flight attendants opposed. The previous government, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, intervened last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy, but it is highly unusual for a union to defy a CIRB order. The CUPE said its rejection was unprecedented when such an order was made according to rules, known as Section 107, that the government invoked in this case. Travelers at Toronto Pearson International Airport over the weekend said they were confused and frustrated about when they would be able to fly. Italian Francesca Tondini, 50, sitting at the Toronto airport, said she supported the union even though she had no idea when she would be able to return home. "They are right," she said with a smile, pointing at the striking attendants. The dispute between cabin crews and Air Canada hinges on the way airlines compensate flight attendants. Most, including Air Canada, have traditionally paid them only when planes are in motion. In their latest contract negotiations, flight attendants in both Canada and the United States have sought compensation for hours worked, including for tasks such as boarding passengers. New labor agreements at American Airlines and Alaska Airlines legally require carriers to start the clock for paying flight attendants when passengers are boarding. American's flight attendants are now also compensated for some hours between flights. United Airlines' cabin crews, who voted down a tentative contract deal last month, also want a similar provision.
