The Canadian dollar retreated from a four-month high against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after comments from U.S. President Donald Trump boosted the greenback against most major currencies. During his first visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump stressed that he ultimately wanted to see a stronger U.S. dollar. The move comes on the back of comments made by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday, when he said a weaker buck was good for American exporters.Those comments had sent the U.S. dollar to a three-year low against a basket of currencies. On Thursday, the…
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Canada Trialing Use Of Ethereum Blockchain To Enhance Transparency In Govt Funding – National | Globalnews.ca
The Canadian government has launched a trial to explore the use of blockchain technology in making government research grant and funding information more transparent to the public. For the trial, the National Research Council (NRC) is using the Catena Blockchain Suite, a Canadian-made product built on the Ethereum blockchain, to publish funding and grant information in real time. When the NRC creates or amends a grant, the pertinent information is stored on the Ethereum blockchain, and posted on an online database that Canadians can peruse. “Blockchains provide the ultimate in transparency and…
Read MoreRise In Duty-Free Allowance Could Cost Hundreds Of Thousands Of Jobs: Study – Business – CBC News
Canada’s retail industry is warning that raising the duty-free allowance for cross-border shipments could lead to hundreds of thousands of job losses and cut billions of dollars from the Canadian economy. The numbers come from a Retail Council of Canada-commissioned PwC study out Friday that shows the potential fallout if Canada agreed to requests from U.S. lawmakers to increase the duty-free allowance from $20 to $800 as part of NAFTA talks. “It has very, very significant implications for not only our sales, but for employment in the industry, for Canadian…
Read MoreCanadian Oil Selling At A Deep Discount – And It Hurts – Business – CBC News
North American oil prices are marching toward $65 US a barrel this month, giving the industry a boost after the market collapsed three years ago. The oil sector hasn’t seen these prices since late 2014, but most companies in Alberta are receiving significantly less, just above $40 US a barrel. The Alberta oilpatch continues to increase oil production, but as pipelines fill up, companies are receiving less money for their oil compared to the rest of the continent. While there is always a gap between the North American benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI),…
Read MoreOttawa’s New Carbon Pricing Plan Will Reward Clean Companies – Politics – CBC News
The federal government added more meat to the bones of its core environmental policy Monday by releasing draft legislation on how pricing carbon pollution will work in Canada. The new legislation is the federal backstop and will apply to all provinces that haven’t created their own system and put it in place by September 2018. Here are three things to take away from the proposed legislation: The price on carbon pollution will start at $10 a tonne this year and increase to $50 a tonne by 2022. Environment Canada is launching…
Read MoreRogers Employees Say Managers Turn A Blind Eye So Call Centre Workers Can Lie And Cheat Customers – Business – CBC News
Call centre employees working for Rogers Communications say the telecom company is pressuring them to try to make a sale on every call — even to elderly people who don’t understand or need certain products or services. In emails and interviews with Go Public, dozens of Rogers workers say they’re under “extreme pressure” to hit sales targets or risk termination. Their claims come on the heels of Bell Canada workers revealing similar pressures to upsell customers, often at the expense of ethics. “You’re supposed to look at a customer’s account and…
Read MoreChinese Bitcoin Miners Eye Sites In Quebec, Manitoba | CBC News
China’s Bitmain Technologies is eyeing bitcoin mining sites in Quebec, a company spokesperson told Reuters, as expectations of a potential Chinese crackdown on cryptocurrency mining make the energy-rich province an attractive alternative. China has grown into one of the world’s biggest sources of cryptocurrency mining but there are signs Beijing is increasing scrutiny of the sector’s players and may ask local authorities to regulate their power use. Bitmain Technologies, operator of some of the largest mining farms in the country, is among several companies looking to expand overseas. Bitmain spokesperson Nishant Sharma…
Read MoreNavy Dropping ‘Draconian’ Policy On Warship Wi-Fi, Admiral Says | CBC News
For the navy’s most senior enlisted man it was a seminal moment. It was — in today’s terms — the most ordinary of scenes, but the fact it was taking place in a mess aboard the frigate HMCS Charlottetown was extraordinary. Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Michel Vigneault was amazed to see a sailor having a Facetime conversation with family back home on a smartphone. The moment neatly captured the conundrum he and the top brass have faced in making the navy, which has for a decade been perpetually short of…
Read MoreRenewable Energy Growing In Canada But Solar Installations Lagging Behind – CityNews Toronto
by Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press OTTAWA – Although the cost to build solar power has plummeted over the last decade, a new report suggests Canadians aren’t rushing use the sun to make electricity. The National Energy Board today released its annual look at the state of renewable energy in Canada and it says solar energy accounts for just 0.5 per cent of all Canada’s generated electricity. And almost all of that exists entirely in Ontario, the report notes. NEB chief economist Shelley Milutinovic said the trend in Canada is…
Read MoreBell Says CRTC Promise Of Free Phone Unlocking Doesn’t Apply To Everyone – Business – CBC News
Canadians were supposed to be freed from cellphone unlocking fees come Dec. 1, but some with a Bell-locked phone have found they’ve had to fight for their freedom. That’s because the telecom giant will only unlock phones free of charge for current and former customers. Its policy excludes anyone who never signed up with Bell but acquired a second-hand phone that happens to be locked to its network. Bell also turned down Laura Train-Fraser even though she says she was once a customer. Because the telecom couldn’t confirm this, it refused to…
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