Latest news with #Mathison
Hamilton Spectator
13-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
CPABC: Major project activity in Southwest B.C. rises in 2024
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — According to BC Check-Up: Invest , an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) on investment trends across the province, the value of major projects in Southwest B.C. was $136.8 billion in Q3 2024, up 20.6 per cent from one year earlier. 'Expanding infrastructure investment is crucial in order to support the region's growing population and enhance the region's economic stability,' said Lori Mathison, FCPA, FCGA, LLB, president and CEO of CPABC. 'It's encouraging to see more projects break ground and a stronger pipeline compared to last year.' Projects under construction accounted for just under half of the total inventory value, $64.4 billion, as construction started on 23 projects with a total capital cost of $4.3 billion between July and September 2024. 'The B.C. government has ramped up capital spending on health care and transportation in recent years, and a lot of that new activity has happened in the Lower Mainland,' continued Mathison. 'Coupled with the dramatic need for more housing, it is easy to see why major project activity in Southwest B.C. outperformed the rest of the province in 2024.' Construction began on 30,367 housing units in Southwest B.C., down 14.6 per cent compared to 2023. There were fewer starts in both the attached and detached markets, where new activity fell by 14.1 per cent and 18.0 per cent respectively. High-density projects such as apartments and row housing accounted for 88.4 per cent of the total. 'The fact of the matter remains that we need a lot more housing in Southwest B.C.,' concluded Mathison. 'The construction industry has grappled with higher interest rates the last couple years and now has a trade war to contend with. The resulting high costs are a significant challenge to our real need to dramatically increase the housing supply.' To learn more, see . About CPA British Columbia The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) is the training, governing, and regulatory body for over 40,000 CPA members and 6,000 CPA students. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards and contributing to the advancement of public policy. CPAs are recognized internationally for bringing superior financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, and leadership to organizations.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CPABC: Major project activity in Southwest B.C. rises in 2024
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to , an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) on investment trends across the province, the value of major projects in Southwest B.C. was $136.8 billion in Q3 2024, up 20.6 per cent from one year earlier. 'Expanding infrastructure investment is crucial in order to support the region's growing population and enhance the region's economic stability,' said Lori Mathison, FCPA, FCGA, LLB, president and CEO of CPABC. 'It's encouraging to see more projects break ground and a stronger pipeline compared to last year.' Projects under construction accounted for just under half of the total inventory value, $64.4 billion, as construction started on 23 projects with a total capital cost of $4.3 billion between July and September 2024. 'The B.C. government has ramped up capital spending on health care and transportation in recent years, and a lot of that new activity has happened in the Lower Mainland,' continued Mathison. 'Coupled with the dramatic need for more housing, it is easy to see why major project activity in Southwest B.C. outperformed the rest of the province in 2024.' Construction began on 30,367 housing units in Southwest B.C., down 14.6 per cent compared to 2023. There were fewer starts in both the attached and detached markets, where new activity fell by 14.1 per cent and 18.0 per cent respectively. High-density projects such as apartments and row housing accounted for 88.4 per cent of the total. 'The fact of the matter remains that we need a lot more housing in Southwest B.C.,' concluded Mathison. 'The construction industry has grappled with higher interest rates the last couple years and now has a trade war to contend with. The resulting high costs are a significant challenge to our real need to dramatically increase the housing supply.' To learn more, see About CPA British ColumbiaThe Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) is the training, governing, and regulatory body for over 40,000 CPA members and 6,000 CPA students. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards and contributing to the advancement of public policy. CPAs are recognized internationally for bringing superior financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, and leadership to organizations. CONTACT: For more information: Jack Blackwell, Economist 604.259.1143 news@
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former Mass. State Police Sergeant convicted of extortion in CDL scheme
BOSTON (WWLP) – A former Massachusetts State Police Sergeant was convicted by a federal grand jury on Friday for giving out false passing scores to numerous Commercial Driver's License (CDL) applicants in a years-long conspiracy. Gary Cederquist, 59, of Stoughton, was charged in a 74-count indictment in January 2024, in addition to three other state troopers and two civilians. Charging documents stated that between February 2019 and January 2023, Cederquist arranged for him and his co-conspirators to give at least three dozen CDL applicants passing scores regardless of whether or not they had passed. Agawam man charged with possession of child pornography At this time, Cederquist was in charge of MSP's CDL Unit, which included former troopers 64-year-old Calvin Butner of Halifax, 64-year-old Perry Mendes of Wareham, and 56-year-old Joel Rogers of Bridgewater. These troopers conspired to give passing scores to some applicants in exchange for bribes, using the code word 'golden handshake' or 'golden' to identify those they would give special treatment to regardless of actual performance on the test. The CDL applicants included six MSP troopers who did not perform actual Class A skills tests but were falsely reported with passing grades. Cederquist was able to accomplish this offense by conspiring with 44-year-old Scott Camara of Rehoboth, who worked for a truck-driving school in Boston. The charging documents further stated that Cederquist gave false passing scores to applicants affiliated with a water company by accepting bribes of free inventory from the company. This was arranged through 48-year-old Eric Mathison of Boston, who worked for the water company. Mathison would deliver Cederquist's bribes to an office trailer at the CDL test site in Stoughton. These bribes included cases of bottled Fiji, VOSS, and Essentia water, cases of Arizona Iced Tea, coffee and tea products, and boxes of Twizzlers and Swedish Fish. Cederquist also accepted much larger bribes from Mathison in exchange for his services with the water company, including a $750 granite post and mailbox, a new driveway costing over $10,000, and a snowblower costing nearly $2,000. Many of the applicants who were given false passing scores by Cederquist and his co-conspirators were described as poor drivers, using phrases such as 'brain dead,' 'no idea what he's doing,' and 'should have failed about 10 times already,' but were still granted CDLs in exchange for bribes. Cederquist was convicted of: 2 counts of Conspiracy to Commit Extortion 1 count of Extortion 6 counts of Honest Services Mail Fraud 3 counts of Conspiracy to Falsify Records 19 Counts of Falsification of Records 17 counts of False Statements Butner, Mendes, Camara, and Mathison have all pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing. Cederquist is scheduled to be sentenced on July 24. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hamilton Spectator
01-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
CPABC: Incentivizing growth in B.C. a top priority as trade war kicks off
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) released BC Check-Up: Invest , an annual report on investment trends across the province. The report highlights some of the challenges facing B.C.'s economy amidst an on-going trade war with the United States. ''The B.C. economy experienced slower growth in 2024,' said Lori Mathison, FCPA, FCGA, LLB, president and CEO of CPABC. 'We are entering this trade war without the advantage of a strong underlying economy.' According to the 2025 B.C. Budget, real GDP growth is expected to come in around 1.2 per cent for 2024, well below population growth during the year. Improving economic conditions were expected to lead to a bump in economic growth to 1.8 per cent for 2025, although a trade war with the United States could put that forecast in jeopardy. The B.C. Ministry of Finance estimated that a trade war could cause real economic growth to slow to 0.3 per cent in 2025, although specific trade policies could vary significantly from the assumed model. 'The announcement by the United States to impose or threaten tariffs on most of the world creates an extremely challenging environment for global trade and the global economy more generally,' continued Mathison. 'There is still a lot of uncertainty for B.C. as trading relationships get redefined and specific trade actions evolve.' B.C.'s inflation rate was 2.6 per cent in March 2025. Aside from the recent spike at 3.0 per cent in February 2025, price growth has fluctuated between 2.0 per cent and 2.6 per cent since August 2024. Shelter costs continue to rise faster than headline inflation, up 3.7 per cent year-over-year. Moderating inflation and weak economic growth have allowed the Bank of Canada to gradually cut the policy interest to 2.75 per cent, which was maintained at their latest rate decision on April 16th, 2025. 'The economy would certainly benefit from even lower interest rates,' continued Mathison. 'However, inflationary pressures are anticipated to resurface due to the ongoing trade dispute, which could be a barrier to further rate cuts.' In 2024, there were 45,828 housing starts across the province, marking a 9.2 per cent decrease from the all-time high recorded in 2023. Of these, 78.0 per cent were apartment or condo units, a significant increase from 52.0 per cent in 2015. In the non-residential sector, building investment reached $8.3 billion, up 4.3 per cent compared to 2023. Spending on industrial and commercial buildings remained below 2019 levels, while investment in institutional and government buildings was 56.7 per cent higher, driven by increased spending on healthcare infrastructure. Meanwhile, B.C.'s major project inventory was valued at $361.7 billion in Q3 2024, reflecting a 3.0 per cent decrease compared to Q3 2023. The LNG Canada Facility in Kitimat and BC Hydro's Site C Dam are the two largest projects currently under construction, with completion expected by the end of 2025. 'These major projects, in addition to Coastal GasLink and Trans Mountain completed last year, are set to benefit the province once fully operational. That said, this period of supercharged investment has come to an end,' concluded Mathison. 'Our economic relationship with the United States is undergoing a dramatic shift, and it has never been more critical to create an investment-friendly business climate to incentivize growth in British Columbia.' To learn more, see . For more information: Jack Blackwell, Economist 604.259.1143 news@ ________________________________________ About CPA British Columbia The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) is the training, governing, and regulatory body for over 40,000 CPA members and 6,000 CPA students. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards and contributing to the advancement of public policy. CPAs are recognized internationally for bringing superior financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, and leadership to organizations.
CBS News
31-03-2025
- General
- CBS News
New Hampshire volunteers experience danger while bringing relief to Ukraine
New Hampshire volunteers are in Ukraine this week with a relief group bringing supplies overseas and said in just the last few days, they've experienced both rewards and dangers. New Hampshire residents Lisa Mure and Susan Mathison are no strangers to the sounds of sirens in Ukraine. The two women are on their twelfth service trip to the war-torn country for a charitable group called the Common Man for Ukraine . Their mission is to provide food, supplies, and support to Ukrainians in the face of Russia's attacks. On Saturday, their trip took a dangerous turn. As the group was preparing to leave Kharkiv Square, sirens went off. They packed up and left their destination. Just 10 minutes later, they got word that the square had been bombed. "About 10 minutes later in the van, one of our Ukrainian translators said he heard through his friend that Kharkiv, the square where we had just been, had been hit with a drone attack," Mure recalled. "And for the next hour or two, we heard large sirens and large booms from downtown Kharkiv." Though they were not directly in the line of fire, the proximity of the explosions and ongoing sirens left the women shaken. "You know it's real, but you don't think it's going to happen to you," said Mure. "And then when it is happening, it's almost like, you don't know what to do, you're kind of frozen." The group's focus has increasingly shifted toward helping children in the region. Mathison said as a mother of boys, she identifies with the families she sees here. "I can recognize that fear in their eyes," said Mathison. "And I can see that they're trying to figure out, 'How do I protect my child, how do I comfort them when the air raid sirens are happening, how do I get the food that they need?' I want to be there for these moms as they struggle in the face of war to raise healthy, young children." The Common Man for Ukraine organizes several convoys to Ukraine each year, spending weeks in the country distributing aid. Since its founding, the organization has raised over $4 million and donated more than 20 tons of food. "You know what Mr. Rogers said, right? 'In a disaster, look for the helpers,'" said Mathison. "And we hope to be the helpers and telling Ukrainians that Americans care about them."
