Latest news with #401
CTV News
7 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Two rollovers, including a transport truck, block eastbound 401 Expressway
Video Traffic is heavily delayed on the eastbound 401 after two rollovers involving a transport truck. Drivers are advised to expect significant delays.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sanford Heisler Sharp Mcknight Wins Final Approval of Record-Breaking $69 Million Settlement on Behalf of More Than 350,000 Retirement Plan Beneficiaries
MINNEAPOLIS, June 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, LLP, a national civil rights law firm, was granted final approval of a record-breaking $69 million settlement on behalf of more than 350,000 beneficiaries of the UnitedHealth Group 401(k) Savings Plan. The Honorable Judge John R. Tunheim of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota ruled from the bench during a Fairness Hearing held today, approving the settlement amount and granting counsel's requested attorneys' fees and a service award of $50,000 for sole class representative Kim Snyder. Judge Tunheim informed the parties that a more detailed order would follow his ruling. Plaintiff Kim Snyder first filed this case in April 2021, alleging that UnitedHealth Group had breached its fiduciary duties to participants in its 401(k) Savings Plan and mismanaged participants' retirement funds in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ('ERISA'). Specifically, the complaint alleged that UnitedHealth Group failed to remove from its employee retirement plan a family of target retirement date funds managed by Wells Fargo that have underperformed their investment benchmarks and other similar target date funds significantly for over a decade. Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight was appointed Class Counsel in February 2022. After more than four years of litigation, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight reached an impressive $69 million settlement on behalf of Plan participants – the largest-ever single-plan ERISA settlement alleging breach of fiduciary duty for failure to remove underperforming investment options. The record previously belonged to In re G.E. ERISA Litig., Case No. 1:17-CV-12123-IT (D. Mass. Mar. 8, 2024), another case brought by Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight that resulted in a $61 million settlement for the Plan. 'The firm is honored to have worked for the benefit of the Class for more than four years and to have recovered this settlement for Plan participants,' said David Sanford, chairman of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight and counsel for Plaintiff and the Class. 'We will continue to bring cases like this on behalf of individuals planning for retirement.' 'ERISA's fiduciary standards are strict and exacting,' added Charles Field, a partner and Co-Chair of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight's Financial Mismanagement and ERISA Litigation Practice Group and counsel for Plaintiff and the Class. 'Today's decision underscores the fact that fiduciaries should be held to the highest standards in managing Plan participants' assets.' 'I am grateful for the role I was able to play in obtaining this result today,' said Leigh Anne St. Charles, a partner and Co-Chair of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight's Financial Mismanagement and ERISA Litigation Practice Group and counsel for Plaintiff and the Class, who spoke in support of the settlement at today's Fairness Hearing. 'Even more so, I am grateful for Kim Snyder being brave enough to step forward and represent the Plan and the Class for the last four years. People like her make it possible to right these wrongs.' The case is Kim Snyder v. UnitedHealth Group, et al., Case No. 0:21-CV-01049 (JRT/DJF), United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Local Counsel is Susan M. Coler of Halunen Law. About Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, LLP Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, LLP is a national public interest class-action litigation law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Diego, and Nashville. Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight focuses on employment discrimination, Title IX, wage and hour, whistleblower, criminal/sexual violence, and financial services matters. The firm has recovered over $1 billion for its clients through many verdicts and settlements. The National Law Journal recognized Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight as 2021 Employment Rights Firm of the Year, 2021 Human Rights Firm of the Year, and 2022 Civil Rights Firm of the Year. For the latest news about Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, visit the firm's newsroom or follow the firm on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. If you have potential legal claims and are seeking counsel, please call 619-577-4253 or email Attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight would like to have the opportunity to help you. If you experienced sexual abuse and are seeking counsel, please call 202-221-3152 or email cdunn@ Attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight would like to have the opportunity to help you. For more information, contact Jamie Moss, newsPRos, at 201-788-0142 or Jamie@ in to access your portfolio
Hamilton Spectator
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Crazy idea': Ontario councillors push back as strong mayor powers reach small towns
TORONTO - A month after Ontario's government extended strong mayor powers to a swath of new municipalities, some leaders are promising never to use the measures — but a chorus of small-town councillors warn that local democracy is under threat. As of May 1, another 169 mayors in the province can now veto bylaws, pass new ones with just one-third of council in favour and hire or fire municipal department heads unilaterally. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack said last month that the province decided to more than triple the number of mayors who can access the powers in an effort to build housing faster and streamline local governance. The measures were first introduced in 2022 and initially only applied to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario's two most populous cities. Several municipalities are taking active steps to reject the powers now that they have been granted more widely. Mark Hunter, one of 10 city councillors in Stratford, recently got unanimous support for his motion to reject the new powers. Hunter said it was symbolic and designed to show that municipal democracy shouldn't be 'subject to provincial whim.' 'What it effectively does is get rid of majority rule in our council,' he said. 'It's the expectation of the residents in our community that their representatives are able to fully represent them and this change puts some level of diminishment on that.' Hunter said his fellow councillors can have strong disagreements at council, but lively discussions result in better decisions for the community. Anything that diminishes that discussion is worse for residents, he said. Councillors aren't concerned about Stratford's current mayor abusing his power, said Hunter, but they are worried about what could happen in the future. 'It's another example of concentrating power in fewer hands. Unfortunately in human history, that doesn't always work out so well,' he said. David O'Neil, a councillor in Quinte West, said he is also concerned about strong mayor powers, adding they represent 'a real misdirection' by the province. 'I think this decision is on par with the crazy idea of building a tunnel under the 401,' O'Neil said, referring to Premier Doug Ford's promise to add a tunnel under the major Ontario highway. He added he is skeptical that strong mayor powers would lead to new housing being built in his community, and thinks the province should waive development fees if it wants to see more housing built. Zack Card, another councillor for Quinte West, said he believes the expansion of the strong mayor powers will 'erode the democratic traditions of municipal councils in Ontario.' 'I believe effective councils work collaboratively and with an understanding that all voices carry equal weight. Tipping that balance could potentially hinder governance and make solving issues within our communities more difficult,' Card wrote in an email. Neither O'Neil nor Card would speak to the recent dismissal of the municipality's chief administration officer, which was described on the municipality's website as a 'mayoral decision' pursuant to the legislation, made on the first day the powers were available. Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison said in an email to The Canadian Press that 'the decision was made in close collaboration and consensus with council, utilizing strong mayor powers to move forward.' Less than a week after the decision, he told a council meeting that he wasn't planning to make use of the strong mayor powers. O'Neil suggested his concern is more future-oriented: it's unclear what could a different sort of mayor do with these powers five, 10 or 20 years down the road. David Arbuckle, executive director of the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario, said unilateral power threatens a local government's administrative authority and staffers' ability to give non-partisan, evidence-based advice. 'It's changed the dynamic where (a city staffer) now has to be mindful of the fact that they could be hired or fired by the mayor at any point in time,' Arbuckle said in a recent interview. 'The advice they're bringing forward may not be as neutral as possible because ultimately they are now responding to one individual.' Corey Engelsdorfer, a councillor from Prince Edward County, said he's worried the powers will exacerbate existing divisions on his council and, should they be used, could 'sideline' constituents even as the community experiences a boom in development. The traditional model of majority rule is already divisive, Engelsdorfer said — especially when it comes to housing decisions — so decisions being made with even less support could lead to even more public cynicism. 'The way we build homes is by working together as a council and not by one person or a third of council pushing through what they want to push through,' he said. 'I always hear Premier Ford say that these changes cut red tape, but democracy to me is not red tape. I don't think it's something that needs to be in place at all.' Mayor Steve Ferguson said in an interview that he was working to defer several of the strong mayor powers, including personnel decisions, back to council. The council also unanimously passed a resolution asking the province to rescind strong mayor legislation, Engelsdorfer said. Despite the concerns, Matti Siemiatycki, director of the University of Toronto's Infrastructure Institute and a professor of geography and planning, said the uptake of the powers has been 'fairly underwhelming.' Before last month, there were only 46 so-called strong mayors in Ontario. Only a few made use of their powers. High-profile examples include Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath advancing affordable housing development on two municipal parking lots in April 2024, and Mississauga's former mayor Bonnie Crombie passing bylaws to build fourplexes in October 2023. But Siemiatycki said he fears there's greater risk for strong mayor powers to go unchecked in smaller municipalities, where there is less oversight and, often, less journalistic scrutiny. 'We've seen an erosion and a decline of the local presses across Canada, and it's no more visible than in small communities,' he said. 'If you're concentrating powers, what's really needed is external oversight bodies. And the media is one of those, so smaller communities might struggle to have that accountability and people being aware of what's happening.' Siemiatycki said while he sympathizes with the province's desire to tackle a housing and infrastructure crisis, he agrees with the councillors who have raised concerns. 'It doesn't necessarily mean you'll go further just because you're aiming to go faster,' he said. 'The thing that's more sustainable over the long term is acceleration through processes that have very clear accountabilities and timelines to them.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Crazy idea': Ontario councillors push back as strong mayor powers reach small towns
TORONTO – A month after Ontario's government extended strong mayor powers to a swath of new municipalities, some leaders are promising never to use the measures — but a chorus of small-town councillors warn that local democracy is under threat. As of May 1, another 169 mayors in the province can now veto bylaws, pass new ones with just one-third of council in favour and hire or fire municipal department heads unilaterally. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack said last month that the province decided to more than triple the number of mayors who can access the powers in an effort to build housing faster and streamline local governance. The measures were first introduced in 2022 and initially only applied to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario's two most populous cities. Several municipalities are taking active steps to reject the powers now that they have been granted more widely. Mark Hunter, one of 10 city councillors in Stratford, recently got unanimous support for his motion to reject the new powers. Hunter said it was symbolic and designed to show that municipal democracy shouldn't be 'subject to provincial whim.' 'What it effectively does is get rid of majority rule in our council,' he said. 'It's the expectation of the residents in our community that their representatives are able to fully represent them and this change puts some level of diminishment on that.' Hunter said his fellow councillors can have strong disagreements at council, but lively discussions result in better decisions for the community. Anything that diminishes that discussion is worse for residents, he said. Councillors aren't concerned about Stratford's current mayor abusing his power, said Hunter, but they are worried about what could happen in the future. 'It's another example of concentrating power in fewer hands. Unfortunately in human history, that doesn't always work out so well,' he said. David O'Neil, a councillor in Quinte West, said he is also concerned about strong mayor powers, adding they represent 'a real misdirection' by the province. 'I think this decision is on par with the crazy idea of building a tunnel under the 401,' O'Neil said, referring to Premier Doug Ford's promise to add a tunnel under the major Ontario highway. He added he is skeptical that strong mayor powers would lead to new housing being built in his community, and thinks the province should waive development fees if it wants to see more housing built. Zack Card, another councillor for Quinte West, said he believes the expansion of the strong mayor powers will 'erode the democratic traditions of municipal councils in Ontario.' 'I believe effective councils work collaboratively and with an understanding that all voices carry equal weight. Tipping that balance could potentially hinder governance and make solving issues within our communities more difficult,' Card wrote in an email. Neither O'Neil nor Card would speak to the recent dismissal of the municipality's chief administration officer, which was described on the municipality's website as a 'mayoral decision' pursuant to the legislation, made on the first day the powers were available. Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison said in an email to The Canadian Press that 'the decision was made in close collaboration and consensus with council, utilizing strong mayor powers to move forward.' Less than a week after the decision, he told a council meeting that he wasn't planning to make use of the strong mayor powers. O'Neil suggested his concern is more future-oriented: it's unclear what could a different sort of mayor do with these powers five, 10 or 20 years down the road. David Arbuckle, executive director of the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario, said unilateral power threatens a local government's administrative authority and staffers' ability to give non-partisan, evidence-based advice. 'It's changed the dynamic where (a city staffer) now has to be mindful of the fact that they could be hired or fired by the mayor at any point in time,' Arbuckle said in a recent interview. 'The advice they're bringing forward may not be as neutral as possible because ultimately they are now responding to one individual.' Corey Engelsdorfer, a councillor from Prince Edward County, said he's worried the powers will exacerbate existing divisions on his council and, should they be used, could 'sideline' constituents even as the community experiences a boom in development. The traditional model of majority rule is already divisive, Engelsdorfer said — especially when it comes to housing decisions — so decisions being made with even less support could lead to even more public cynicism. 'The way we build homes is by working together as a council and not by one person or a third of council pushing through what they want to push through,' he said. 'I always hear Premier Ford say that these changes cut red tape, but democracy to me is not red tape. I don't think it's something that needs to be in place at all.' Mayor Steve Ferguson said in an interview that he was working to defer several of the strong mayor powers, including personnel decisions, back to council. The council also unanimously passed a resolution asking the province to rescind strong mayor legislation, Engelsdorfer said. Despite the concerns, Matti Siemiatycki, director of the University of Toronto's Infrastructure Institute and a professor of geography and planning, said the uptake of the powers has been 'fairly underwhelming.' Before last month, there were only 46 so-called strong mayors in Ontario. Only a few made use of their powers. High-profile examples include Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath advancing affordable housing development on two municipal parking lots in April 2024, and Mississauga's former mayor Bonnie Crombie passing bylaws to build fourplexes in October 2023. But Siemiatycki said he fears there's greater risk for strong mayor powers to go unchecked in smaller municipalities, where there is less oversight and, often, less journalistic scrutiny. 'We've seen an erosion and a decline of the local presses across Canada, and it's no more visible than in small communities,' he said. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'If you're concentrating powers, what's really needed is external oversight bodies. And the media is one of those, so smaller communities might struggle to have that accountability and people being aware of what's happening.' Siemiatycki said while he sympathizes with the province's desire to tackle a housing and infrastructure crisis, he agrees with the councillors who have raised concerns. 'It doesn't necessarily mean you'll go further just because you're aiming to go faster,' he said. 'The thing that's more sustainable over the long term is acceleration through processes that have very clear accountabilities and timelines to them.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MTY Food Group Inc. Announces Results from 2025 Annual General Meeting
MONTREAL, May 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MTY Food Group Inc. ('MTY' or the 'Company') (TSX: MTY), franchisor and operator of multiple concepts of restaurants, is pleased to report the results from the votes from its shareholders for the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on Friday May 2, 2025 (the ''Meeting''). Over 16,283,918 shares were voted representing 70.57% of the outstanding shares of the Company. Here are the results of the votes on the matters set out in the management information circular dated March 19, 2025: 1. Election of DirectorsEach of the nominees listed in the Information Circular was elected as a Director of the Corporation, Individual results are set out below: Nominee # Votes For % Votes For # Votes Against % Votes Against Murat Armutlu 15,894,817 97.61% 389,401 2.39% Eric Lefebvre 16,235,309 99.70% 48,910 0.30% Stanley Ma 16,201,575 99.49% 82,643 0.51% Victor Mandel 14,802,154 90.90% 1,482,065 9.10% Dickie Orr 16,169,245 99.29% 114,974 0.71% Claude St-Pierre 16,224,138 99.63% 60,081 0.37% Suzan Zalter 16,239,405 99.72% 44,814 0.28% 2. Appointment of AuditorPricewaterhousee Coopers, LLP., was reappointed as auditor of the Corporation and the directors were authorized to fix the remuneration of the auditor. Results are set below: # Votes For % Votes For # Votes Withheld % Votes Withheld 16,341,393 99.77% 37,763 0.23% 3. Advisory vote on executive compensationThe shareholders have approved the following resolution: That, on an advisory basis and not to diminish the role and responsibilities of the Directors, the shareholders accept the Board's approach to executive compensation disclosed in the Information Circular. Results are set below: # Votes For % Votes For # Votes Against % Votes against 15,191,239 93.29% 1,092,980 6.71% 4. Shareholder proposals #1The following resolution was rejected by the shareholders: That, the Board of Directors adopts a policy to require the Board Chair to be an independent director and amends the governing documents as necessary. Votes results are set out below: # Votes For % Votes For # Votes Against % Votes against 3,028,972 18.60% 13,254,946 81.40% 5. Shareholder proposals #2The following resolution was rejected by the shareholders: That, MTY publishes a food waste transparency report that identifies the types and quantities of food in the waste streams across its organization (including related disposal methods) and establishes measurable, timebound food waste reduction targets to regularly report progress toward. Votes results are set out below: # VotesFor % Votes For # Votes Against % Votes against 1,211,626 7.44% 15,072,292 92.56% 6. Shareholder proposals #3The following resolution was rejected by the shareholders: That, MTY adopts 'a roadmap with benchmarks' for switching to cage-free eggs. Votes results are set out below: # Votes For % Votes For # VotesAgainst % Votes against 499,054 3.06% 15,784,864 96.94% Each of the matters voted at the Meeting is discussed in detail in the Company's Management Information Circular dated March 19, 2025. These can be found on SEDAR+ at under the Company's profile for public filings. Final voting results on all matters voted at the Meeting will be filed on SEDAR+ at under the Company's profile for public filings. Certain information in this News Release may constitute "forward-looking" information that involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, future expectations and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. When used in this News Release, this information may include words such as "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "expect", "believe", "plan" and other terminology. This information reflects current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speaks only as of the date of this News Release. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances. Additional information is available in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis, which can be found on SEDAR+ at On Behalf of the Board of Directors ofMTY Food Group Inc. _____________________________________ Eric Lefebvre, Chief Executive Officer For more information please contact Eric Lefebvre, Chief Executive Officer at 1-514-336-8885 or by email at ir@ or visit our website: or SEDAR+'s website at under the Company's in to access your portfolio
