Latest news with #Suthanthiran
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
To Leaders of Canadian First Nations and Federal/Provincial Governments—Fueling the Future with Kitsault Energy
WASHINGTON, February 25, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In 2013, Dr. Suthanthiran, President/Founder of TeamBest Global Companies, announced his dedicated energy pipeline corridor/export port/terminal to carry all of Canada's energy products to Kitsault, BC, Canada, a town owned by Suthanthiran, northwest of Prince Rupert, BC. Suthanthiran, a healthcare professional, has devoted over fifty years to cheering, helping, and saving lives daily. The dedicated pipeline corridor is now a reality, w/multiple pipelines approved and one built by LNG Canada. Three other pipelines were approved by the NEB of Canada several years ago: two for Spectra/Enbridge and one for TransCanada. These three pipelines go through, near and further south of Kitsault. Kitsault Energy (KE) proposes to use the two pipelines approved for Spectra to carry natural gas and to transport crude oil. These pipelines, approximately 700 km long, will traverse mostly provincial lands but also some First Nations territories. KE proposes to produce LNG, methanol, or butanol using natural gas and crude oil for export to Asia. From its dedicated energy export port and terminal at Observatory Inlet, all of Canada's energy products can be exported using floating terminals, which are quicker/less expensive to construct than land-based terminals. The construction of these pipelines may bring in revenues exceeding 15 billion CAD for Spectra/Enbridge. Kinder Morgan spent 10 years and several billion USD on the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline, only to conclude that it wouldn't be economically viable. However, PM Trudeau thought otherwise and is investing close to 40 billion dollars to complete the Canada Trans Mountain Pipeline. When sold to investors, taxpayers could lose up to 20 billion CAD. Among all proposed energy pipeline projects for the BC/Canada west coast, the Spectra/Enbridge pipeline from Alberta to Kitsault/Observatory Inlet is the obvious choice. It's the least expensive and environmentally friendly, causing the least harm and disruption to population centers. KE intends to use its own dedicated energy export port/terminal to export to Asia, creating tens of billions of dollars in tax revenues to Alberta, BC and the federal government of Canada, along with thousands of new jobs and additional revenues for Canadian energy companies. The pipeline toll will be less than Canada's Trans Mountain Pipeline, generating toll revenues and jobs for First Nations along the pipeline route. For further information, please visit: View source version on Contacts Krishnan Suthanthiran, 703-451-2378krish@
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Workers vote to end 'historic' nearly 10-month strike at Kanata nuclear facility
Workers have voted to end a nearly 10-month strike at a Kanata, Ont. nuclear facility after a marathon standoff between a disgruntled workforce and the company's multi-millionaire owner. Unifor Local 1541 workers at Best Theratronics, a facility west of Ottawa that manufactures radiation therapy devices, had been on strike since last May. The union, which represents most of the roughly 60 striking workers, reached a tentative agreement with the employer Saturday, and members voted unanimously Sunday to approve the new contract and bring the strike to an end, according to the union. The union said workers will receive wage increases in each year of the new contract, adding up to 11 per cent in increases. "Congratulations to the bargaining committee for making sure members were finally heard and respected," Unifor national president Lana Payne said in a Sunday afternoon news release. "This was a historic strike in Unifor's books, highlighting the need for tougher labour laws that protect collective bargaining." The workers had been without a contract since 2023. Workers at Best Theratronics had been without a contract since 2023 and went on strike last May, they are seen on a picket line in February. (Submitted by Unifor) After the company offered workers a package in January 2024 with a zero per cent pay increase for two years, Unifor members put down their tools on May 1, 2024. Their co-workers, represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, followed suit nine days later. This January, about a year after the original offer and about nine months after the strike began, the company's owner Krishnan Suthanthiran entered negotiations with the striking workers. Suthanthiran is an Indian-born multi-millionaire businessman who runs a group of global companies that manufacture medical devices. Now a resident of Virginia, he studied at Carleton University in the 1970s. In news releases, Suthanthiran claimed losses of tens of millions of dollars at Best Theratronics, blaming what he described as the low productivity of Canadian workers and threatening to close the company. Best Theratronics manufactures cyclotrons and medical equipment. It has a nuclear substance processing facility operating licence to handle radioactive material for manufacturing radiation therapy units and blood irradiators. Last November, a federal labour board heard an unfair labour practices complaint against the company after two orders issued by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Unifor accused Suthanthiran of not negotiating in good faith, while the owner accused striking workers of engaging in an "illegal blockade" of the facility. As recently as last Wednesday, Unifor said Suthanthiran had suddenly shifted the "goalposts" during negotiations. Unifor said some members will return to work as soon as Monday.
CBC
24-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Workers vote to end 'historic' nearly 10-month strike at Kanata nuclear facility
Social Sharing Workers have voted to end a nearly 10-month strike at a Kanata, Ont. nuclear facility after a marathon standoff between a disgruntled workforce and the company's multi-millionaire owner. Unifor Local 1541 workers at Best Theratronics, a facility west of Ottawa that manufactures radiation therapy devices, had been on strike since last May. The union, which represents most of the roughly 60 striking workers, reached a tentative agreement with the employer Saturday, and members voted unanimously Sunday to approve the new contract and bring the strike to an end, according to the union. The union said workers will receive wage increases in each year of the new contract, adding up to 11 per cent in increases. "Congratulations to the bargaining committee for making sure members were finally heard and respected," Unifor national president Lana Payne said in a Sunday afternoon news release. "This was a historic strike in Unifor's books, highlighting the need for tougher labour laws that protect collective bargaining." The workers had been without a contract since 2023. After the company offered workers a package in January 2024 with a zero per cent pay increase for two years, Unifor members put down their tools on May 1, 2024. Their co-workers, represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, followed suit nine days later. This January, about a year after the original offer and about nine months after the strike began, the company's owner Krishnan Suthanthiran entered negotiations with the striking workers. Suthanthiran is an Indian-born multi-millionaire businessman who runs a group of global companies that manufacture medical devices. Now a resident of Virginia, he studied at Carleton University in the 1970s. In news releases, Suthanthiran claimed losses of tens of millions of dollars at Best Theratronics, blaming what he described as the low productivity of Canadian workers and threatening to close the company. Best Theratronics manufactures cyclotrons and medical equipment. It has a nuclear substance processing facility operating licence to handle radioactive material for manufacturing radiation therapy units and blood irradiators. Last November, a federal labour board heard an unfair labour practices complaint against the company after two orders issued by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Unifor accused Suthanthiran of not negotiating in good faith, while the owner accused striking workers of engaging in an "illegal blockade" of the facility. As recently as last Wednesday, Unifor said Suthanthiran had suddenly shifted the "goalposts" during negotiations.
CBC
19-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Striking Kanata nuclear workers say owner moved deal's goalposts
After nine months on the picket line, one of the unions representing striking workers at a west Ottawa nuclear facility believed the owner was finally ready to reach a deal on salary increases last month. Representatives of Krishnan Suthanthiran — owner of Kanata medical manufacturer Best Theratronics — scheduled negotiations with unions in January, even indicating to one that a deal was within reach. "We were getting messages from the company that, 'OK, we just need to get signatures,'" said Jan Malek, the national representative for Unifor, which represents 40-odd Best Theratronics employees. Staff could be back at work within days, Malek said Suthanthiran's negotiators told Unifor. But then, Malek said, Suthanthiran introduced new demands. "You can't go in there and bargain to a deal and then say, 'Oh, the scenario changed. We need this new condition added to it. Oh, we need something else to keep moving the goalpost,'" Malek told CBC on Tuesday. Last-minute changes, cancellation Meanwhile, CBC has confirmed that Suthanthiran's representatives cancelled negotiations with a second union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), after the union had already joined a scheduled call. Citing the sensitivity of the situation, PSAC declined an on-record interview request. "The current negotiations process being undertaken by the employer is completely unprecedented," a PSAC spokesperson said. "As such, we are mindful that it may become more challenging to proceed in negotiations if we antagonize the employer in the media and are choosing to be cautious on this front." Suthanthiran has not responded to repeated recent requests for comment from CBC but has previously accused the unions of implementing an "illegal blockade" of his facility, something Unifor denies. "Our picket line has not been declared illegal and in our view it's reasonable under the circumstances," Malek said. Last-minute changes requested by Suthanthiran's representatives involved allowing non-union workers onto the site ahead of unionized workers, Malek said, leading Unifor to fear that Suthanthiran would attempt to remove equipment and liquidate the company's assets. "It is a real concern that the owner could be looking at closing," Malek said, "given the owner's past statements about closing the building and moving the business." Suthanthiran has previously told CBC that Best Theratronics has sustained loses of nearly $30 million "over the last several years" and has threatened to close the company. In 2012, a Belgian nuclear company owned by Suthanthiran was placed into administration, leaving Belgian authorities to decommission the site. The cleanup operation at Best Medical Belgium has taken over a decade, with one Belgian politician estimating the total cost to authorities at 128 million euros, or close to $200 million Canadian. Unifor and PSAC have both lodged unfair labour practice complaints against Suthanthiran, accusing him of flouting the law by failing to negotiate in good faith. The Canadian Industrial Labour Board heard the complaints last year and told CBC it aimed to issue a decision within 90 days. "It's been nearly three months without a decision from the labour board, which is absolutely shameful," Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi said in a statement Tuesday. "Had we received a decision in a timely manner, our members might not be on a picket line right now." Unifor has called on federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to intervene and force binding arbitration. "Negotiated agreements are the best way forward," Matthieu Perrotin, a spokesperson for MacKinnon, told CBC in a statement.
CBC
31-01-2025
- Business
- CBC
After 9 months, owner of Kanata nuclear facility starts negotiations with striking workers
The owner of a Kanata nuclear facility resumed negotiations with his striking workers this week, more than a year after he offered them a package with a zero per cent pay increase for two years. Unionized workers of Best Theratronics, which produces radiation therapy medical devices, went on strike last May, following owner Krishnan Suthanthiran's January offer. Last year the Public Service Alliance of Canada and Unifor lodged unfair labour practice complaints against Suthanthiran, accusing him of flouting the law by failing to negotiate. But this week the parties entered negotiations more than 270 days after the workers went on strike, PSAC and Unifor confirmed. With negotiations ongoing, the unions were unwilling to say more, and Suthanthiran did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBC. But outgoing Ottawa Centre NDP MPP Joel Harden said it remained to be seen whether Suthanthiran was serious about negotiating or if he was using it as a delaying tactic. "I hope it's serious," Harden said. "The last time he made a wage offer to these employees who are Red Seal certified skilled trades workers, he offered them zero and free hot dog lunches." Harden, who will be running for the federal seat in Ottawa Centre in the next election, visited the picket line earlier this month alongside federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. He called on federal labour minister Steven MacKinnon to enforce binding arbitration on the parties if negotiations did not proceed. "I think if this is a delay tactic and not serious, this matter needs to be dealt with promptly by the federal Minister of Labour," Harden said. A 'crown jewel' to be protected In press releases, Suthanthiran has claimed losses of tens of millions of dollars at Best Theratronics, blamed what he described as the low productivity of Canadian workers, and threatened to close the company. Those threats should be taken seriously, Harden said, given Suthanthiran's past business practices. In 2011, Suthanthiran acquired a struggling Belgian nuclear medical company, which he renamed Best Medical Belgium. Soon afterward, the company shifted millions in assets to Suthanthiran's companies in Canada, Belgian prosecutors have told CBC. Six months later, Best Medical Belgium declared insolvency. Suthanthiran walked away and left Belgian authorities with a clean up operation that lasted over a decade and was estimated to have cost 128 million euros (in 2017 euros), the Parliament of Wallonia heard in 2022. Though Suthanthiran has denied wrongdoing, Belgian prosecutors confirmed a criminal investigation is ongoing in Belgium. Harden fears a similar scenario could be playing out here. "What I know from this gentlemen's operations in Belgium in a very similar facility is that he dragged out negotiations with employees there, gradually took critical equipment from the facility and mothballed it and left it in the taxpayers of Belgium to pay the costs of remediation of radioactive materials in that facility," he said. Best Theratronics is a "crown jewel" of Canadian medical manufacturing, Harden said. "We have to protect it."
