Latest news with #Burnaby
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Trans Mountain could take on more pipeline projects if private sector can't: CEO
Crude oil tankers SFL Sabine, front left, and Tarbet Spirit are seen docked at the Trans Mountain Westridge Marine Terminal, where crude oil from the expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline is loaded onto tankers, near a residential area in Burnaby, B.C., Monday, June 10, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck) The CEO of Crown-owned pipeline operator Trans Mountain Corp. says it could take on other market-expanding pipeline projects if necessary, but that it would be preferable for the private sector to take the lead. Trade tumult in recent months with the United States — Canada's biggest customer for its crude oil — has intensified calls for Canada to build infrastructure that would allow its resources to flow to other global buyers. When the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline began shipping Alberta crude to the B.C. Lower Mainland just over a year ago, oilsands producers were finally able to meaningfully access lucrative Asian markets. Trans Mountain CEO Mark Maki said in an interview Friday there's an appetite for more pipeline egress to the Pacific coast and elsewhere. 'The U.S. is a great customer. It will always be a great customer, but diversification of markets for the country is important,' he said. He said Trans Mountain's owner — the Government of Canada — would prefer the private sector lead the way. 'If that can't happen, and it's in the national interest, Trans Mountain is here,' Maki said. His remarks came after Trans Mountain reported its operational and financial results for the first three months of 2025. Since oil started flowing through the expansion in May of last year, 266 crude vessels have been loaded, and third-party information suggests the destinations have been split between the U.S. West Coast and Asia. The expanded pipeline shipped an average of about 757,000 barrels per day during the quarter — below its capacity of 890,000 barrels per day. Maki said if the pipeline were running full, western Canadian heavy crude would see a steeper price discount against the easier-to-refine light crude sold on the global market. That would eat into the margins of Alberta producers. 'You really don't want us 100 per cent full … What's important really is to keep a little bit of slack in the system,' he said. As of now, the supply of crude hasn't caught up with takeaway capacity. 'But when that happens, the crude differential blows out. And so having a little bit of wiggle room is important.' Trans Mountain said there are economical ways to boost the pipeline's capacity if needed, such as adding chemical agents to reduce friction, which would enable more crude to flow through the line. Other options could include adding pumping horsepower or pipe segments. Those projects could together add up to 300,000 barrels per day of capacity. Trans Mountain said quarterly net income was $148 million, down from $158 million a year earlier. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — a measure it says reflects the performance of its underlying business — were $568 million, compared to the $36 million it brought in a year earlier, before the pipeline expansion had started up. During the quarter, $311 million was paid to its parent Canada TMP Finance Ltd., which is itself owned by the Canada Development Investment Corp. That consisted of $148 million in interest payments and $163 million in cash dividends. The original Trans Mountain pipeline has been operating since the 1950s. In 2013, U.S. energy company Kinder Morgan filed a proposal to expand it at a cost of $5.4 billion, touching off a contentious regulatory review process marked by protests and legal challenges. Kinder Morgan suspended work in 2018 and shortly thereafter sold the pipeline to the federal government for $4.5 billion. By the time the expansion project was completed, its cost had ballooned to $34 billion. Maki said there's no hurry to bring Trans Mountain back into private hands. He said the expanded pipeline should get a little more operating history under its belt so a potential buyer can ascribe the proper value to it. A dispute over the tolls customers pay to use the line, currently before the Canada Energy Regulator, also needs to be sorted out, he said. There is also interest in potential Indigenous equity ownership in the line — when the time is right. Trans Mountain is in a 'transitional' year where it is starting to pay dividends and is continuing some of the cleanup work from the pipeline construction. Next year will be a 'much more normal' one, Maki said. 'And so really probably at that point and out would make sense to start thinking about that.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025. Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Globe and Mail
CORRECTION FROM SOURCE: Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. Closes Final Tranche of LIFE Non-Brokered Private Placement
Burnaby, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 30, 2025) - Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. (CSE: ATHR) (" Aether" or the " Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has closed a final tranche of its previously-disclosed non-brokered private placement (the " Offering") of units of the Company (each, a " Unit"). The tranche consisted of 5,904,668 Units at a price of $0.075 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $442,850. Together with the first tranche of the Offering, the Company has issued an aggregate of 16,000,000 Units for gross proceeds of $1,200,000. Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a " Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a " Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one additional Share at an exercise price of $0.15 per Share for a period of 18 months from the applicable closing date. The tranche was completed pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions (the " LIFE Exemption") and, therefore, any securities issuable under the LIFE Exemption are not subject to a hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. An offering document related to the Offering is available under the Company's profile at and on the Company's website In connection with the Offering, the Company paid aggregate cash commissions of $33,020 to eligible arm's length finders (each, a " Finder"), equal to 8% of the gross proceeds raised from purchasers introduced by such Finders, and issued an aggregate of 550,340 non-transferable common share purchase warrants (each, a " Finder's Warrant") to the same Finders, equal to 10% of the number of Units sold to purchasers introduced by such Finders. Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Share at an exercise price of $0.075 per Share for a period of 18 months from the date of issuance. Both the Warrants and the Finder's Warrants are subject to acceleration such that if, during a period of 10 consecutive trading days prior to their respective expiry dates, the daily volume-weighted average trading price of the Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the " CSE") or such other stock exchange where the majority of the trading volume occurs, exceeds $0.30 for each of those 10 consecutive days, the Company may, within 30 days of such an occurrence, give written notice to the holders of the Warrants and the Finder's Warrants that the securities will expire at 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on the 30 th day following the giving of notice unless exercised by the holders prior to such date. Any Warrants or Finder's Warrants which remain unexercised at 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on the 30 th day following the giving of such notice will expire at that time. None of the securities referenced in this news release have been or will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the " U.S. Securities Act"), or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering to fund its ongoing research activities, its joint development agreement project, its evaluation program with the Asian Tier-1 manufacturer, capital markets awareness, and for general working capital purposes. The Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval of the CSE. ABOUT THE COMPANY: Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. is focused on providing an order of magnitude cost reduction in automotive catalytic converter catalyst, while meeting, or exceeding government emission standards. Aether is working to quickly advance its technology through rapid screening of new materials directed at enhancing end of life conversion levels after accelerated aging. While Aether's primary focus has been automotive applications, the company is also developing catalysts to address small motors emissions - a significant contributor to urban air pollution. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. Paul Woodward President Tel: 604 690-3797 The Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") or any other securities regulatory authority has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this management prepared news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
FINTRAC fines B.C. currency exchange nearly $350K for non-compliance with money laundering rules
Federal anti-money-laundering investigators have imposed a hefty fine on a currency exchange business based in Burnaby, B.C. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, better known as FINTRAC, announced the $348,067.50 administrative monetary penalty against Crystal Currency Exchange Inc. on Thursday. The penalty, which was imposed on March 5, stems from nine instances of non-compliance with Part 1 of the federal Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its associated regulations, according to FINTRAC. The currency exchange has launched an appeal of the penalties in Federal Court. According to FINTRAC, Crystal Currency Exchange's violations included: Failure to submit suspicious transaction reports where there were reasonable grounds to suspect that transactions were related to a money laundering or terrorist activity financing offence; Failure to report large cash transactions of $10,000 or more in cash in a single transaction; Failure to submit outgoing electronic funds transfer reports of $10,000 or more in the course of a single transaction, together with prescribed information; Failure to submit incoming electronic funds transfer reports of $10,000 or more in the course of a single transaction, together with prescribed information; Failure to appoint a compliance officer; Failure to develop and apply written compliance policies and procedures that are kept up to date; Failure to assess and document the risk of a money laundering or terrorist financing offence; Failure to develop and maintain a training program; and Failure to institute and document the prescribed review. A more detailed summary of the non-compliance is listed on the FINTRAC website. It indicates that investigators found three instances of unreported suspicious transactions, each involving a client about whom Crystal Currency Exchange had previously submitted a suspicious transaction report. The regulator's summary also notes that it had informed the business of 'deficiencies in its compliance program' during previous examinations in 2015 and 2017. Despite this, 'FINTRAC did not observe any improvement in Crystal Currency Exchange Inc.'s compliance program' when investigators returned in 2022. 'Canada's anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist-financing regime is in place to protect the safety of Canadians and the security of Canada's economy,' said Sarah Paquet, FINTRAC's director and CEO, in the news release announcing the penalties. 'FINTRAC works with businesses to help them understand and comply with their obligations under the act. We are also firm in ensuring that businesses continue to do their part and we will take appropriate actions when they are needed.'
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Tenant group pushes for climate protections in report highlighting extreme heat risks
A cat sleeps in an apartment window beside an air conditioner in Burnaby, B.C. on Saturday, August 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck A Canadian tenant advocacy group says nearly half the renters they surveyed don't have air conditioning, as they press for protections from climate-fuelled extreme heat. A report released by ACORN Canada says affordability was cited as the main barrier to access among the 44 per cent of surveyed tenants who don't have air conditioning. The group says it collected more than 700 responses to the online survey, which was sent to its database of members and tenant contacts. Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has cranked up temperatures across Canada and increased the likelihood of dangerous heat waves. The report says just over half of respondents, mostly low- and middle-income renters, identified excessive summer heat as a top maintenance issue for their unit. ACORN Canada has been pushing cities to bring in bylaws that would require landlords to keep their units below a maximum temperature threshold, similar to how they have to keep it heated when it's cold. 'As governments and other actors intensify their efforts to combat climate change, it is critical that tenants have a seat at the table so that tenants' needs and concerns are accounted for and housing strategies include tenant protections so as to not further worsen the housing situation,' said the report, released Wednesday. Toronto is among the cities exploring a maximum temperature bylaw. Council directed staff to report back with possible next steps later this year. The number of days exceeding 30 degrees in Toronto could more than triple by mid-century, from about 20 days to 66 days, according to a staff report prepared for council. Landlord groups have argued a maximum temperature bylaw would prompt building owners to pass on air conditioning costs to tenants through rent increases, which would create additional backlogs at provincial tribunals. Tenant groups argue any maximum temperature bylaws should also be paired with government supports to ensure tenants are not saddled with additional costs. Wednesday's report calls on the federal government to implement a national energy poverty program, modelled after the Ontario Energy Support Program. The monthly benefit program is intended to help low-income tenants cover utility costs and some advocates have suggested it could be topped up in the summer to help cover the costs of running an air conditioner. The ACORN report says federal efforts to decarbonize Canada's homes and buildings have often overlooked tenants who tend to live in older and energy inefficient buildings. About a third of surveyed tenants said they received a rent increase notice when their landlord carried out energy efficiency upgrades, the report said. The report said retrofit incentives backed by the federal government should only be provided if landlords sign anti-evictions agreements and demonstrate how they would benefit the tenant. The government has faced questions about whether public financing has been used by corporate landlords to justify rent hikes and extra utility costs. In response, the previous federal government said any building upgrades financed by the Canadian Infrastructure Bank would, going forward, not be used as a rationale to increase rent. It also said the bank's future loan agreements for multi-unit residential building retrofits would include provisions that limit a borrower's ability to hike rents or impose additional utility costs on existing tenants. The housing minister's office did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday about the report. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025. Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press
CTV News
7 days ago
- CTV News
Man critically injured, cat killed during fire at Burnaby, B.C., building
A truck from the Burnaby Fire Department is seen on May 26, 2025. A man was critically injured and a cat was killed during a two-alarm fire at a Burnaby, B.C., residential building Monday afternoon. The Burnaby Fire Department said the flames erupted at a multi-family complex near Norfolk Street and Esmond Avenue around 2:30 p.m. 'Crews were working in heavy, heavy fire conditions and they managed to rescue one male occupant,' said Deputy Fire Chief Ian Hetherington. 'They had to perform life-saving medical interventions with paramedics, and that patient was transported to Vancouver General Hospital in critical condition.' No other residents or firefighters were injured. Hetherington said the deceased cat was from the same unit, which sustained heavy fire damage. While crews were able to prevent the flames from spreading to any neighbouring homes, there is 'for sure' smoke and water damage to other parts of the building, the deputy chief said. So far, it's unclear how the fire started. Firefighters said they discovered the flames while responding to a smoke detector activation at the property.
