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Hamilton Spectator
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
The accidental entrepreneur who brought car-sharing to Canada — long before smartphones
Benoît Robert dreamed of car-sharing long before there was a sharing economy, an app economy — or even smartphones. In the early '90s the Montreal-native envisioned a future where cars were available for short-term use at an affordable price, offering a practical, sustainable and cost-efficient alternative to ownership. 'If you own a car, you are incentivized to use it as much as possible, because that will amortize the cost,' Robert explains. 'When you use a car-sharing service, the costs are more visible, it incentivizes people to make the most economic decision, which is often also the optimal decision for the environment. 'After spending six weeks visiting cities in Europe experimenting with car-sharing in the summer of 1993, Robert launched Communauto in Quebec City in 1994, and Montreal the year after. At the time, the service relied on lockboxes, timesheets and a call-in reservation system. Today, Communauto manages a fleet of about 7,500 vehicles — including 1,200 in Toronto — available by reservation or on-demand via its app in cities across Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta and France. Hopp's general manager David Riggs says the app has outpaced expectations and is already The company plans to add 1,000 green 'C' branded cars to its fleet in 2025, with 150 bound for Toronto. In Montreal, there is at least one Communauto member in 15 per cent of households, and about 40 per cent in some neighbourhoods. In Toronto's downtown core, roughly 8.5 per cent of homes have at least one member. Communauto runs on a technology platform that allows users to reserve roundtrip vehicles in designated locations up to a month in advance, or pinpoint the nearest available vehicle on a map and unlock it with a tap of their phone. 'We are still growing, which is aligned with our goal to remove as many people (from car ownership) as possible, and we have data to show we are having a measurable impact,' Robert says. 'People want to do the right thing, but they don't want to be lectured. With car-sharing, they are doing it naturally.' In 2023 Robert was appointed to the Order of Canada for that effort, and the 61 year-old recently announced he will eventually transfer control of the company to a social utility trust that ensures the ongoing pursuit of its mission. As more Canadians come to rely on Communauto, however, some have expressed frustration with rising prices, cleanliness and car quality issues. 'In many Canadians' minds we were actively trying to get you not to use your miles, and we've The Star recently spoke with Robert from Communauto's head office in Montreal about its 31-year journey from a research experiment to a vital civic service, how it manages a fleet of thousands, and how the accidental entrepreneur is safeguarding his company's future. I had no interest in becoming a businessman. Like Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard I became a CEO despite myself. I did my bachelor's degree in biology at the University of Quebec in Montreal, then spent a year studying in McGill's faculty of agricultural and environmental sciences, and then did a master's in land management and regional planning at Laval University in Quebec City. I liked the outdoors, and I would have liked to be able to rent a car on an hourly basis. It didn't exist anywhere in North America, but I assumed it must somewhere. I spent a lot of time at the library looking through microfilm, and found a few pilots in places like Amsterdam, San Francisco and Philadelphia that either failed or never launched. This topic interested me more than watershed protection, so I made it the subject of my master's thesis. During my summer internship someone put a car magazine from France on my desk and pointed me to an article titled 'How the Berliners Learned to Share Their Cars.' 'Sometimes people look at beauty as a little bit superficial,' says L'Oréal Canada CEO An In Berlin they had a service called Stattauto, which means 'instead of a car,' and in another German city they had a similar service called Stadtauto, which means 'a car for the city.' That's what inspired the name Communauto, which in French sounds like the translation for both 'like a car' and 'community car.' I wrote to those people and learned there were other initiatives like it in Germany and Switzerland. So, I got a small bursary — enough to go to Europe and stay in youth hostels — and met with people from different car-sharing organizations. It was supposed to be part of a study into the environmental and urban impact of car-sharing, but when I came back, I realized it had already been studied in Europe, but not in North America. That's how it started. In my master's program we had a statistics course, and for a group project I got a team to help me do a market analysis study. We got permission to use the Department of Transportation's offices and telephones to call people in Quebec City and ask them whether they would join such a service if it existed, and 20 per cent said yes. Then I went to different car rental companies to see if they would try it so that I could study it, but nobody was interested, so I launched it myself. I probably broke a record for longevity in my master's program. I started the two-year program in 1991, and finished in 2005, because once the company started, I had no time to study. Our members had restricted keys that opened lockboxes with car keys that corresponded to the vehicle they reserved, and a log to sign them out. Every month we would check the log and charge based on their use. At that stage people had to call us to make a reservation, and we tracked it all with paper and pencil until April of 2018. In the beginning people were telling me it would never work in North America because people in Germany respect the rules, and they wouldn't here. For the first 20 years we didn't have any technology controls, and it would have been very easy to abuse the system. If that happened, it would have failed. I believed there were honest people everywhere, and I was proven right. Now, you register online, and once you're accepted you simply use the app to access vehicles. We have cars that are available by reservation at a designated time and place, which can be booked up to one month in advance. Then we have our free-floating 'flex' vehicles, where you just click on a car on the map in our app and then you have 30 minutes to start your trip. If you need to, you can add another 30 minutes. You can then drop it off anywhere in the designated zone, where we are permitted to park for free on city streets. For Flex vehicles, we charge $0.45 per minute, up to a maximum of $15.50 per hour, and $0.30 per kilometre after your first 100 kilometres. For roundtrips vehicles we charge a maximum of $15.50 per hour. You can also get discounts if you sign up for a monthly plan, which ranges from $5 to $30 a month. Then it ranges from $3.60 to $7.50 per hour. Fees include gas and maintenance. Basic insurance is offered for $1.25 per trip plus $1 per hour, up to a maximum of $10 per day, but monthly insurance packages are also available with lower deductibles. We ask our members to fill up if there is one quarter or less in the tank using a prepaid card in the glove compartment, and we offer a 20-minute credit for refuelling of Flex rides under one hour. We have all the data about when cars need to go for maintenance or cleaning, and in Toronto we outsource it to an external company that picks them up and does it for us. In Montreal we now have two garages that do some of that internally. We're in our 31st year, and people started to complain about how much better the service used to be in year two. I think people always say that. We take better care of the fleet than we could in the past, but we can't control what happens between cleanings. It's like when you take the bus — sometimes the seat is dirty. No matter how much we clean it, it will always depend on the person who used it before you. Our average car is three years old, and in Quebec the average age is 10. We only keep them on the road for six or seven years, and we try not to let them go over 200,000 kilometres. We know people complain about our costs going up. Our responsibility is to find the right balance; for some people the service will not be good enough, for some people it will be too expensive, and we need to find the optimal balance where it remains affordable, reliable and available. I'm 61-years old and need to start thinking about retirement. My goal was to remove as many cars from the road as possible by offering a service that makes it more affordable and convenient not to own one. If we sell the company to a car manufacturer, or a car rental company, or a technology platform, they will shut us down so we can't compete with them. That's already happened to some of our competitors. This was our way of ensuring we continue pursuing our social, environmental and economic goals.
Cision Canada
5 days ago
- Science
- Cision Canada
The Canadian Space Agency remembers Marc Garneau
LONGUEUIL, QC, /CNW/ - Former Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Marc Garneau has passed away at the age of 76. Garneau was one of the original six Canadian astronauts selected in December 1983. He launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on October 5, 1984, as a payload specialist, making history as the first Canadian in space. He flew twice more, on Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1996 and 2000. Following his astronaut career, Garneau was appointed President of the Canadian Space Agency, and was later elected to Parliament, where he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Transport. His decades of unwavering service – as a naval engineer, astronaut and Parliamentarian – is an inspiration to all Canadians. He embodied the very essence of public service. Among the awards and honours he has received are the Order of Canada, 1984; The F.W. (Casey) Baldwin Award, Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, 1985; NASA Exceptional Service Medal, 1997; Chancellor, Carleton University, 2003; Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2002; and several honorary doctorates. Quote "We are deeply grateful to Marc Garneau for his extraordinary public service, visionary leadership, and enduring contributions to Canada and the world — from making history as the first Canadian in space to guiding the Canadian Space Agency as its President. Beyond his remarkable achievements, Marc was an exceptional human being: thoughtful, principled, and deeply committed to serving others. His integrity and generosity of spirit touched everyone who had the privilege to work with him. His legacy will continue to inspire us as we advance the role of space in improving life on Earth." Biography of Marc Garneau History of the Canadian astronaut corps Backgrounder – Forty years of Canadians in space Website: Follow us on social media! SOURCE Canadian Space Agency
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Hiroshima atomic bombing survivor in Hamilton for documentary screening
A survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima will be at the Westdale Theatre on July 5 for a documentary screening. 'The Vow from Hiroshima' will take viewers into the life of Setsuko Thurlow, a member of the Order of Canada, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and survivor of the atomic bombing in Japan. The screening is at 4 p.m., after a Yosakoi dance by Kizuna and Inner Truth Taiko Dojo at 3 p.m. Thurlow will then do a 30-minute question-and-answer period at 5:30 p.m. The event is hosted by the Japanese New Immigrants Committee and Human Rights Committee, the Hamilton Chapter of the National Association of Japanese Canadians and the Toronto Japanese Prefectural Association. The Westdale Theatre is located at 1014 King St. W. in Hamilton. The event can be attended online or in-person. Admission is free, but $10 donations are welcome. To register for the event, go to . Cheyenne Bholla is a reporter at The Hamilton Spectator. cbholla@
Vancouver Sun
29-05-2025
- General
- Vancouver Sun
Vancouver Island photographer works to save wildlife, one photo at a time
Cristina Mittermeier's photographs don't just give you pause. They stop you in your tracks. The Vancouver Island-based conservation photographer is part of a group of social media-savvy nature shooters who capture images of animals — via land, sea and air. Mittermeier's Instagram account @mitty , which has more than 1.6 million followers, provides a personal stream of photos and videos she's taken around the world. She pairs the arresting imagery with information such as animal behaviour and insight, and perils facing the species. The content is about much more than capturing a pretty picture for the awe and inspiration of others. And it's definitely not about the 'likes.' It's an effort to provide an access point to nature in the hopes it will prompt people to want to protect it. Discover the best of B.C.'s recipes, restaurants and wine. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of West Coast Table will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'It has to be a conversation that humans have every day,' Mittermeier says. A pioneer of the conservation photography movement along with her husband, fellow National Geographic photographer and Order of Canada recipient Paul Nicklen, Mittermeier's overarching goal is to help fill a void in understanding about humans' role in the world. 'Children these days have no clue how our planet works and how the systems around us are what keeps us alive,' Mittermeier says, pointing to 'eroded' education as a possible cause. 'We have, in Western education, a very individualistic, highly exceptional idea of humans as the top of the pyramid. 'And we forget that we are part of a much larger system with many, many other creatures out there that play equally important roles.' A post shared by UN Biodiversity (@unbiodiversity) Speaking from her home in Nanoose Bay — Mittermeier refers to Vancouver Island, where she's lived for about 15 years an 'absolute paradise.' She's also using her platform and imagery to combat misinformation and AI. 'There was a time when social media first came onstage, in 2012 there about when I joined Instagram, where it was so accessible. There was no algorithm throttling us or monitoring the words we used to communicate. And you truly could have a conversation with people from around the world. It was a glorious thing,' Mittermeier says. 'I felt so hopeful at that time that we could actually reach people in an honest communication.' But money and tech companies have strangled that freedom, she says. 'Having media, whether it's traditional media or social media, owned by corporations and especially by billionaires, is really dangerous, because it really skews the way we understand each other and the way we understand the world,' she says. Social media has become less a place of connection these days, Mittermeier says, and more like the 'yellow news' outlets she grew up seeing in her native Mexico. 'There was such bottom-of-the-barrel news to get people's attention. And that's how it feels like with social media, a lot of AI-generated stuff that, of course, is fake and not true. And a lot of scandalous stuff that is not true,' she explains. 'And you have to compete with that.' Credibility, she says, is key. Mittermeier and Nicklen are part of an initiative among nature conservation photographers to keep their work out of the AI training pool that big tech companies like Meta and Google use to inform and shape the understanding of AI bots. 'It's an avalanche of AI. It's an assault,' Mittermeier says. 'Somebody asked an AI generator to create an image of a salmon run, which, for all of us here in British Columbia, is something that's so clear in my mind. You know what the AI bot came up with? Sure enough, it's a stream, but it's a bunch of filets of salmon, you know, going up it.' A post shared by SeaLegacy (@sealegacy) Mittermeier urges people to scroll through social media with a critical gaze, checking facts and searching out sources before assuming something to be true. 'Whenever possible, follow the source all the way to its roots,' she says. 'It's very difficult when you're scrolling and seeing these things come up, and there's a lot of opinion from people who are not qualified. Ignore them.' The longtime nature conservationist suggests searching for sources of information from more than one place, including from the opposing side of the issue. 'I f you can stomach it, whether you are from the left or the right, look at what the other side is saying, just to contrast and understand — even though it's so hard,' Mittermeier says. As part of her goal to present accurate information and imagery of the natural world, Mittermeier and Nicklen created the non-profit SeaLegacy in 2014. 'We wanted to empower other organizations through our storytelling and our audience to have their stories seen by the world,' she explains. 'And that's what we've been doing for the last 10 to 11, years, trying to point our cameras to the heroes in the frontline, to the issues that they're trying to solve and to the solutions out there.' The platform has led Mittermeier to a few select partnerships, including with Rolex, for which she's an ambassador. Mittermeier works with the luxury Swiss watch brand on its Perpetual Planet Initiative that supports and champions explorers, scientists and entrepreneurs. 'They have empowered me and elevated me in such important ways without ever asking me to do anything in return, which is exactly what a brand should be doing when you care about a cause,' Mittermeier says. A post shared by ROLEX (@rolex) First drawn to the field of conservation while studying marine biology in her native Mexico, she became keenly aware of the many issues threatening our oceans. 'Back then, we were talking about climate change, acidification and industrial fishing as the biggest threat. So I wanted to find a way that I could contribute to raise awareness and protect the ocean, and I didn't know how to do it,' Mittermeier says. 'So I started out as a scientist, and my first job ever was for Conservation International. I became a conservationist, and I've been doing that ever since.' Her journey eventually brought her to Canada after she met Nicklen. Happily settled on Vancouver Island, Mittermeier says we're at a crucial time in the country's nature conservation story. 'As Alaska is looking at culling the populations of grizzly bears and wolves, we have an opportunity in British Columbia to protect ours and to make them even more special than they already are,' Mittermeier explains. 'Our neighbours to the south are threatening with logging because they have their own lumber. It gives us an opportunity to even cherish our forests so much more …' 'And I think Canada is going to emerge as a superpower because of our environmental leadership.' While we wait to see how shifting political climates face the environmental crises, Mittermeier says there are a few things people can do. 'The one thing that we all can do, and it has to be a personal choice that you make every day, is, No. 1, to stay hopeful and to know that the pendulum will swing and our time will come again,' Mittermeier says. 'And the second is to stay engaged. There's such a temptation to just turn the other way and not pay attention, and say things like, 'I'm not political. I don't care about that.' 'You have to care, because the power of the people is greater than the people in power. If we all participate, the power of advocacy is massive. If we all use our voice.' Aharris@
The Herald Scotland
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
King Charles shows Canada love amid Trump threats and tariffs
More: King Charles visits Canada in show of support for country eyed by Trump In a speech, Charles referred to the "the country that Canadians and I love so much" but made no direct reference to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has imposed tariffs on Canadian exports and muses about turning Canada into the 51st U.S. state. "The True North is indeed strong and free," Charles said, referring to the Canadian national anthem. More: Mark Carney tells President Trump that Canada is 'not for sale' The speech outlining the government's plans for the next session was largely written by officials working for Prime Minister Mark Carney. But Charles was responsible for the comments about his love for Canada. "Every time I come to Canada ... a little more of Canada seeps into my bloodstream - and from there straight to my heart," said the monarch, accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla. Charles, who joked and laughed with Carney before the speech, wore the Order of Canada around his neck. He and Camilla were driven to the Senate in a horse-drawn carriage, escorted by 28 riders from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and cheered on by flag-waving onlookers. Charles then inspected an honor guard, all clad in bright red uniforms. An Ipsos Reid poll released Tuesday for Global News found that 66% of respondents believed Canada's relationship with the monarchy was useful because it helped set the nation apart from the United States, up from 54% in April 2023. In the speech, the government reiterated its belief that Canada needs to agree a new relationship with the U.S. and look for more reliable trading partners. The warm welcome for the royal couple contrasted with a visit to Australia last October, when an Indigenous senator heckled Charles in Parliament House, accusing him of "genocide."
