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investment

Wednesday February 10, 2021

February 17, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 10, 2021

Rogers, Bell and Telus collected more than $240 million from Canada’s wage-subsidy program — and Bell and Telus raised shareholder payouts

June 18, 2020

Canada’s big three telecom companies have collectively received more than $240 million from the federal government’s wage subsidy program while continuing to pay out billions of dollars in dividends to shareholders.

According to the most recent filings in provincial lobbyist registries, Bell has received $122.9 million, Rogers $82.3 million and Telus $38.6 million in support payments as part of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the three companies have continued to pay out regular dividends to shareholders; Bell and Telus have announced increases to their annual payouts. Both Bell and Rogers have also laid off workers at their hard-hit media divisions. 

Other large businesses have also paid out dividends while receiving CEWS support, including numerous companies in the oilpatch, auto-parts maker Linamar and furniture retailer Leon’s. (Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, is among the recipients of the federal wage subsidy.)

April 2, 2020

Economists say the relief payments to large, profitable companies with ample access to credit illustrate problems in the way CEWS is designed, in these cases leading to benefits for shareholders but not necessarily targeted support for workers whose jobs are at risk. One Liberal MP is calling on the government to claw back payments from companies that have paid dividends.

“CEWS is sold as a wage subsidy, but it’s really a business expense subsidy,” said Amin Mawani, associate professor of taxation at the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Mawani has argued that Canada should consider a model where the government pays subsidies only in respect of employees who miss hours of work because of the pandemic. Under the current rules of the Canadian program, businesses with any level of revenue decline are eligible for at least some level of subsidy with respect to all their Canadian employees. 

He said it is understandable that businesses would continue to pay dividends, which he described as a “cost of doing business” akin to paying interest to the bank on loans, but he questioned the need to hike payouts this year. “I don’t think shareholders were necessarily expecting an increase during the pandemic.” (Niagara Falls Review) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2021-05, Canada, CERB, CEWS, covid-19, investment, pandemic, share holder, subsidy, wage, wealth

Tuesday September 18, 2018

September 18, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 18, 2018

Trudeau’s to-do list just got bigger

If stalled pipelines and deadlocked trade talks have given Justin Trudeau a pounding head, he should brace himself — and Canada — for an absolute economic migraine.

March 24, 2016

Two sobering new reports warn that, unless Canadian governments take fast, aggressive action, this country’s economy will be hammered by a one-two combination of recently lowered American taxes and a sharp decline in business investment.

This is bad news for Canadians and comes at a sensitive time for our economy, as well as the prime minister.

Parliament resumes sitting this week and with the next federal election barely a year away the Liberals are working overtime to persuade everyone these are sunny days, economically speaking.

August 28, 2018

But the free-trade deal with the United States and Mexico, which has sustained millions of Canadian jobs and enriched the Canadian economy for decades, could collapse at any moment.

Meanwhile, Ottawa’s plan to expand the Trans Mountain Pipeline — which it bought for $4.5 billion in taxpayers’ money — is going nowhere.

Now more storm clouds darken our horizon. A new report commissioned by the Business Council of Canada concludes the latest tax cuts in the United States could devastate Canada’s economy.

How bad could it get? The report suggests the damage could exceed the economic harm that would be caused by the end of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

May 18, 2018

years, businesses in Canada benefited from a corporate-tax advantage. That suddenly ended last December when the U.S. Congress passed tax reforms that slashed the federal corporate tax rate to 21 per cent from 35 per cent.

The report warns America’s tax cuts could cost Canada up to 635,000 jobs and reduce its annual gross domestic product by $85 billion — the equivalent of nearly five per cent of our economy. As governments could lose up to $20 billion a year in tax revenues, almost everyone in Canada would suffer.

The challenge to our economy from these tax cuts becomes even more serious when placed in the context of a growing reluctance to invest in Canada. A report released last week by the C.D. Howe Institute called weak capital spending a “threat to Canada’s future prosperity.”

October 19, 2017

Echoing the think-tank’s fears, the chief executive officer of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Victor Dodig, last week cited falling levels of foreign investment in Canada as he called on the country to set clearer rules to boost investor confidence.

Evidence from Statistics Canada gives credence to these concerns. In 2017, foreign direct investment in Canada declined for the third year in a row, dropping by a whopping 26 per cent.

It would be a mistake to consider any of these economic challenges in isolation. The failure to build a pipeline to carry Alberta’s oil to an ocean port where it can be sold for a higher price is surely convincing foreign investors to avoid Canada the way they would a patch of poison ivy.

September 21, 2016

Likewise, lowered American tax rates make that country a more desirable place to invest — once again to Canada’s disadvantage.

So far, Trudeau’s Liberals have dithered in their response to the U.S. tax cuts and investor flight. That vacillation must end.

In his economic update this fall, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau should offer concrete ways to improve this country’s ability to compete and make it more attractive for investment.

That may or may not bring corporate tax cuts and changes to regulations. It must translate into meaningful action. (Source: Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: Canada, clouds, foreign, investment, Justin Trudeau, NAFTA, Ottawa, Parliament, pipeline, rain, storm

Wednesday August 24, 2016

August 23, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday August 24, 2016 Locals outraged at OttawaÕs Òdeafening silenceÓ on steel industry Union leaders, Opposition MPs and even the Chamber of Commerce are pressing the federal government to help Canada's struggling steel industry. Two Hamilton Members of Parliament, three chambers of commerce and union leaders at the local and provincial levels separately have called for help for the industry and especially for retirees and workers in Hamilton. NDP MPs Scott Duvall (Hamilton Mountain)Êand Dave Christopherson (Hamilton Centre) have written to Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, saying the federal government has stayed on the sidelines too long. "To date, your government has not been tangibly involved in any way to help protect the jobs, benefits and pensions of current and former employees of USSC/Stelco despite commitments previously made by colleagues and the Prime Minister" they wrote. "Workers, pensioners, the business community and the City of Hamilton have all appealed for your help. So far, you and your government have been missing in action.Ó As a start, they want the government to release the "secret deal" that ended a lawsuit against U.S. Steel for breaking the production and employment promises it made to get government approval for the acquisition. They also back a call by the United Steelworkers union for a public inquiryÊinto Canadian bankruptcy law they say favours creditors at the expense of workers and retirees, and the 2007 takeover of Stelco by U.S. Steel. Duvall has raised the issue in ParliamentÊseveral times. U.S. Steel Canada, the former Stelco, has been under creditor protection since Sept. 16, 2014. It is seeking a buyer for the mills in Hamilton and Nanticoke. On the business front, chambers of commerce in Hamilton, Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie are taking a joint resolution to the Canadian chamber's national convention calling for a policy to protect the industry from unfair fo

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 24, 2016

Locals outraged at Ottawa’s “deafening silence” on steel industry

Union leaders, Opposition MPs and even the Chamber of Commerce are pressing the federal government to help Canada’s struggling steel industry.

Two Hamilton Members of Parliament, three chambers of commerce and union leaders at the local and provincial levels separately have called for help for the industry and especially for retirees and workers in Hamilton.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday September 26, 2015 Dispute over U.S. Steel Canada restructuring sent to mediation The dispute between United States Steel Corp. and its stakeholders over the future of U.S. Steel Canada Inc., has been sent to mediation by the Ontario Superior Court judge overseeing the Canadian unitÕs restructuring. The issues in dispute between the United Steelworkers union, the Ontario government, salaried active and retired employees, and a former president of its predecessor company Stelco Inc. on one side and U.S. Steel on the other, will be examined by former Ontario Superior Court associate chief justice Douglas Cunningham in a three-day session scheduled to begin next week. ÒThe mediation shall address the feasibility of a comprehensive agreement among the parties,Ó Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel said in an order. The mediation will also address a business plan for the Canadian unit, its potential sale, the shift of production of high value-added steel to the United States and U.S. SteelÕs claim of more than $2-billion against the Canadian unit. U.S. Steel Canada has been operating under the CompaniesÕ Creditors Arrangement Act since last September, but the announcement by its parent company that it plans to shift production of about 180,000 tons of high-quality steel annually out of its Canadian operations has sparked an imminent crisis in the restructuring. Shifting production would diminish the value of the Canadian assets in the eyes of potential buyers, steel industry sources said. U.S. Steel has started a sales process that has led to a bid by one competitor Ð Essar Steel Algoma Inc., which is based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., but has the backing of a deep-pocketed parent company in India. Potential buyers also need to wonder whether other steel-making contracts will be shifted out of Canada, leaving the Canadian operations to depend entirely on the spot steel market. Stakeholders have quest

Thursday September 26, 2015

NDP MPs Scott Duvall (Hamilton Mountain) and Dave Christopherson (Hamilton Centre) have written to Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, saying the federal government has stayed on the sidelines too long.

“To date, your government has not been tangibly involved in any way to help protect the jobs, benefits and pensions of current and former employees of USSC/Stelco despite commitments previously made by colleagues and the Prime Minister” they wrote. “Workers, pensioners, the business community and the City of Hamilton have all appealed for your help. So far, you and your government have been missing in action.”

As a start, they want the government to release the “secret deal” that ended a lawsuit against U.S. Steel for breaking the production and employment promises it made to get government approval for the acquisition.

They also back a call by the United Steelworkers union for a public inquiry into Canadian bankruptcy law they say favours creditors at the expense of workers and retirees, and the 2007 takeover of Stelco by U.S. Steel. Duvall has raised the issue in Parliament several times.

Thursday September 18, 2014

September 18, 2014

U.S. Steel Canada, the former Stelco, has been under creditor protection since Sept. 16, 2014. It is seeking a buyer for the mills in Hamilton and Nanticoke.

On the business front, chambers of commerce in Hamilton, Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie are taking a joint resolution to the Canadian chamber’s national convention calling for a policy to protect the industry from unfair foreign competition.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday October 9, 2015 Decision on U.S. Steel Canada benefit, tax cuts Friday The judge presiding over U.S. Steel Canada restructuring hearings says he will render a decision Friday on a controversial plan to sever the subsidiary from its parent company and relieve it of tens of millions of dollars in pension benefit and municipal tax obligations. Justice Herman J. Wilton-Siegel said it is one of the toughest decisions he has had to make from the bench. He said he will give a short written summary of his decision tomorrow and then follow it up with a detailed explanation next week. Dozens of USSC retirees bused into Toronto again today and packed the courtroom where lawyers representing stakeholders gave their final submissions. A lawyer for the steelmaker reiterated the company's position that USSC was a victim of circumstances and changing market conditions that turned the business into a crisis requiring the difficult measures of the transition agreement. Pension benefit obligations were estimated to be $40 million before the end of this year and the company does not have the funds, he said. He refuted arguments from United Steelworkers lawyers that savings could be found elsewhere Ñ making the pension benefit hit unnecessary Ñ and that the company's grim fortunes were the result of steel orders being moved from the Canadian subsidiary to other U.S. Steel operations. United Steelworkers 1005 President Gary Howe said after the hearing that he expects the judge to go along with the company plan because it has the backing of the monitor overseeing the proceedings. In its most recent statement, the monitor said "a near-term cessation of operations will be necessary" if the company plan isn't accepted. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5951456-decision-on-u-s-steel-canada-benefit-tax-cuts-friday/ Hamilton, U.S. Steel, Trade, Foreign Investment, subsidies, bailout, St

Friday October 9, 2015

“The biggest issue for us is dumping from China,” said Hamilton Chamber of Commerce president Keanin Loomis. “Obviously there’s a real issue of fairness there.”

Products are dumped in foreign markets when they are sold for less than their costs of production or with subsidies from a government.

“What we want is a level playing field in the global production and procurement process,” added Rory Ring, executive director of the Sault chamber. “We’re competing against companies that are either government owned or that operate with less than reasonable environmental and labour laws.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

 

Posted in: Business, Canada, Hamilton, Ontario Tagged: benefits, Canada, China, foreign, globalization, Hamilton, industry, investment, Justin Trudeau, labour, Ontario, ostrich, steel, Stelco, Trade, U.S. Steel

Wednesday June 24, 2015

June 23, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday June 24, 2015 Invasive crab makes strange appearance in Cootes Paradise Scientists at the Royal Botanical Gardens are scratching their heads about the bizarre discovery Monday of a live Asian crab, a creature listed as one of the 100 worst invasive species on Earth. The adult crustacean Ñ with its centre section, carapace, measuring 8 centimetres across Ñ was identified as a Chinese Mitten Crab. It was inadvertently captured at the Cootes Paradise Fishway, a structure designed to keep carp out of Cootes Paradise from Hamilton Harbour, but allow other desirable species of fish to pass through. "I was absolutely amazed how big the crab was and the fact that it was living in fresh water," said Tys Theysmeyer, head of natural lands at the RBG. According to the World Conservation Union, an international environmental group based in Switzerland, the burrowing crab with furry, mittenlike claws "modifies habitats by causing erosion due to its intensive burrowing activity and costs fisheries and aquaculture several hundreds of thousands of dollars per year by consuming bait and trapped fish as well as by damaging gear." But while the Chinese Mitten Crab has caused major problems in Europe, it is not viewed as a threat to the Great Lakes, says Hugh MacIsaac, an invasive species expert from the University of Windsor. The creature, he says, would not be able to reproduce. The crab requires saltwater to bear offspring and that's not something a crab in Hamilton Harbour could reasonably find. The St. Lawrence Seaway does not become salty enough until Quebec City, nearly 900 kilometres away from Hamilton. In other parts of the world where fresh and salt water are closer together, such as the Thames River in England, it's a different story. The crustacean is multiplying rapidly there, destroying fragile riverbanks as it preys on native species. Six years ago, Londoners were told that the crab was sa

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 24, 2015

Invasive crab makes strange appearance in Cootes Paradise

Scientists at the Royal Botanical Gardens are scratching their heads about the bizarre discovery Monday of a live Asian crab, a creature listed as one of the 100 worst invasive species on Earth.

The adult crustacean — with its centre section, carapace, measuring 8 centimetres across — was identified as a Chinese Mitten Crab. It was inadvertently captured at the Cootes Paradise Fishway, a structure designed to keep carp out of Cootes Paradise from Hamilton Harbour, but allow other desirable species of fish to pass through.

“I was absolutely amazed how big the crab was and the fact that it was living in fresh water,” said Tys Theysmeyer, head of natural lands at the RBG.

According to the World Conservation Union, an international environmental group based in Switzerland, the burrowing crab with furry, mittenlike claws “modifies habitats by causing erosion due to its intensive burrowing activity and costs fisheries and aquaculture several hundreds of thousands of dollars per year by consuming bait and trapped fish as well as by damaging gear.”

But while the Chinese Mitten Crab has caused major problems in Europe, it is not viewed as a threat to the Great Lakes, says Hugh MacIsaac, an invasive species expert from the University of Windsor. The creature, he says, would not be able to reproduce.

The crab requires saltwater to bear offspring and that’s not something a crab in Hamilton Harbour could reasonably find. The St. Lawrence Seaway does not become salty enough until Quebec City, nearly 900 kilometres away from Hamilton.

In other parts of the world where fresh and salt water are closer together, such as the Thames River in England, it’s a different story. The crustacean is multiplying rapidly there, destroying fragile riverbanks as it preys on native species.

Six years ago, Londoners were told that the crab was safe to eat and to some it has become a food source. But high numbers continue.

There have been occasional discoveries of the crab in the Great Lakes over the years, but Monday’s was the first report in Hamilton Harbour. MacIsaac says the creature probably found its way to the harbour in the ballast water of a ship.

The crab was picked up by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and was being analyzed. A spokesperson was not available for comment. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Posted in: Hamilton Tagged: carp, crab, fish, Games, Hamilton, investment, Pan Am, Sports, west harbour, zebra mussel

Thursday December 18, 2014

December 17, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

Thursday December 18, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 18, 2014

Canada helps end half-century U.S. embargo against Cuba

The “Government of Canada” and a timely nudge from Pope Francis were crucial ingredients in ending America’s half century of isolation on Cuba, President Barack Obama said Wednesday.

In a 15-minute address from the White House, Obama singled out Canada’s role as a third-party broker, hosting secret talks that led to the historic rapprochement.

Obama said U.S. policy that “aimed to isolate the island” was rooted in events that transpired before most Americans were born. But the 1961 policy “had little effect.

“We will end this outdated approach … and begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas.”

The new chapter started with the release Wednesday morning of American contractor Alan Gross, 65, from a Cuban prison where he had been held for five years. The U.S. in exchange sent back three Cuban spies in U.S. prison since 2001.

Speaking simultaneously in Havana, Cuban President Raul Castro echoed Obama’s remarks, praising Canada and Pope Francis for their roles as key mediators in the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the U.S.

“We have profound differences on sovereignty, nationhood and democracy,” Castro cautioned in a nationally televised broadcast, the Star’s Oakland Ross reports.

“But we reaffirm our will to dialogue about all of these matters.”

In May 2014, Graeme and other Canadian editorial cartoonists travelled to Cuba

In May 2014, Graeme and other Canadian editorial cartoonists travelled to Cuba

Reading from a sheaf of notes and wearing his army uniform, Raul called on Washington to remove a range of obstacles to better relations, including restrictions on family visits and on direct mail between the two countries.

The Cuban leader acknowledged that his U.S. counterpart cannot unilaterally remove the economic embargo Washington has long imposed on its Cuban neighbour — this would require an act of the U.S. Congress — but he said Obama could adopt measures that would “modify” the embargo’s impact.

While exercising tight political control over Cuba’s 11 million people, Raul Castro has also instituted a wide range of liberal economic reforms since taking over as head of the Cuban government eight years ago.

These include a rapid expansion in private enterprise. By one estimate, the number of privately owned Cuban businesses — including restaurants, beauty parlours, and small taxi services — has soared from 150,000 in 2006, when Raul stepped in, to more than 460,000 today. (Source: Toronto Star)
SOCIAL MEDIA

Today’s great editorial cartoon by @mackaycartoons @TheSpec #Cuba pic.twitter.com/KkJoQkp4Tt

— As It Happens (@cbcasithappens) December 18, 2014


Letter to the editor

The truth behind the new Cuba relationship – letter, December 22, 2014

Normally I’m not much of a fan of political cartoonist Graeme MacKay and his musings, but his recent offering about the new relationship between the U.S. and Cuba is bang on.

However, he should have added a tiny and insignificant billboard in the background expressing human and political rights, because that would most likely be representative of its importance during these talks.

The political talking heads and their media hacks are dutifully parroting the narrative of the importance that Raul Castro moves forward on alleged human rights abuses in Cuba. But in reality, this current round of détente is all about investment and how much each side will receive.

Fidel Castro’s “crimes” have never been about repression, it has always been his committing the cardinal sin of nationalizing foreign assets during his revolution. In Washington’s view that is considered a Crime against Capitalism (the most heinous of them all and worthy of spilling blood and treasure) and they have spent the past 50 years punishing Cuba for it.

So over the coming days and weeks, we will be subjected to a massive propaganda campaign through media editorials regarding Castro’s lack of commitment to reform. This is how the story must be framed so we can sanctimoniously reaffirm our credentials as stalwart defenders of freedom and democracy, not opportunists who value making money over making people’s lives better.

Garry Shaw, Burlington

Posted in: Cuba, International, USA Tagged: Barack Obama, business, capitalism, Cuba, embargo, investment, logo, Raul Castro, Unted States, USA

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