Air Canada poised to unveil discount carrier plans; WestJet regional schedule

Air Canada says it is a couple of weeks away from announcing plans to launch a separately managed low cost carrier that will service transatlantic and leisure routes in the Caribbean and the United States.

Photo Credit: Larry MacDougal , Calgary Herald

MONTREAL – Canada's two largest airlines have their sights set on new growth plans, with Air Canada set to announce details of its separate low-cost carrier and WestJet establishing its new regional service.

Air Canada chief financial officer Michael Rousseau told a CIBC investment conference Wednesday that the airline is just a couple of weeks away from announcing details of a new discount carrier that will serve transatlantic and leisure routes in the Caribbean and the United States.

It will be wholly owned by Air Canada, but carry a different name.

"It is a very exciting initiative, not just for Air Canada, but our employees as well because it does provide growth opportunities for us," he said.

Meanwhile, WestJet plans to launch its new regional service in one half the country next summer and expand the service in other side of the country about nine months later.

However, the Calgary-based airline, which is starting the regional service with seven aircraft and ramping up to 20 by 2016, has been coy about just which half of the country it was planning to start with.

WestJet marketing vice-president Bob Cummings said the airline hosted a meeting in June of representatives from 32 communities that could be added to the regional service.

"These communities very much want WestJet to come into their community and stimulate traffic and become a part of their community," he said.

The schedule for the regional service will be announced early next year.

Meanwhile, Air Canada said about half of incremental profits from its low-cost carrier will be derived from cramming more seats into a fleet of 20 Boeing 767s and 30 Airbus A319s. The rest comes from lower employee wages and more flexible work rules.

The wide-body planes, for example, will be fitted with 20 per cent more seats, raising the number of passengers to 275 per aircraft.

The airline will serve new routes in Europe that currently aren't cost competitive for Air Canada and allow it to be more competitive on Caribbean and some U.S. destinations.

"The majority of the transatlantic routes will be, in fact, growth routes for us that we think we can make adequate, if not very strong returns," Rousseau said.

Its approach to the leisure market is more defensive, he added, with some routes switching to the low-cost carrier to improve margins.

Rousseau said Air Canada studied several different models around the world – including Qantas's Jetstar in Asia – and opted to create a wholly-owned airline with a separate management to ensure it maintains the low-cost carrier "mentality."

However, Rousseau warned the new airline, which will be launched in 2013, won't have a material impact on Air Canada's results until it ramps up to the full fleet of 50 planes.

Meanwhile, he says Air Canada is working on several other initiatives to build its profits after completing gruelling labour negotiations that lasted longer than it had anticipated.

Air Canada is also working to develop a "competitive response" to WestJet Airlines (TSX:WJA) plans to launch a regional service next year.

Bombardier Q400s planes will allow WestJet to add non-stop service to seven or eight communities and use the smaller planes on some existing routes to increase profits.

WestJet hopes the regional service will eventually add up to four million more customers to the 25.5 million who fly the mainline carrier for regular or vacation travel.

"We're not as concerned about (market) share as we are about growing profitably and successfully going forward," Cummings said.

"So we set ourselves up nicely to grow a lot of share if everything's going well or to scale back a bit and have more measured capacity growth and make sure that it is profitable."

Air Canada said it also is discussing with Ottawa about extending its moratorium on past service pension contributions for another 10 years once the current deal expires in 2013.

And Air Canada is preparing for the arrival in 2014 of its first Boeing 787 aircraft that will allow it to economically service markets such as India.

The planes, which will be purchased rather than leased, could be outfitted with three cabin classes – economy, premium economy and business.

While the International Air Transportation Association has warned about slowing premium travel, Rousseau said Air Canada hasn't experienced a softening and pricing remains strong.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Air Canada's shares closed up more than six per cent, gaining seven cents to $1.23 in Wednesday trading. WestJet shares lost 12 cents to $17.28.

© The Canadian Press, 2012

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.globalnews.ca/Canada/air+canada+poised+to+unveil+discount+carrier+plans+westjet+regional+schedule/6442718170/story.html
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NDP says Tory regs on carbon emissions could also be considered a tax

Exhaust billows from the stacks of Nova Scotia Power's Tuft's Cove generating plant in Dartmouth;N.S. on Jan. 16;2009. New research shows that delays in regulating greenhouse gas emissions mean Canada is locking in old-fashioned infrastructure that will fill the air with carbon for decades to come.

Photo Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS , Andrew Vaughan

OTTAWA – After days of attacks, the NDP is turning the tables on the Conservatives, saying fines enforced by Environment Canada for companies that exceed emissions regulations can also be considered a tax.

In recent days, the NDP has faced an onslaught from the Conservatives, who argue that the Opposition's plan for reducing carbon emissions would be a "tax on everything," because any company exceeding certain emission levels would have to purchase pollution credits, with the revenue going to the government.

But the carbon regulations the Conservatives have slowly been rolling out are backed by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) which, according to Environment Canada, can slap fines on companies that exceed limits.

The NDP's environment critic is hard-pressed to find a difference between revenue generated through fines and revenue collected through the NDP's proposed cap and trade system.

"In both situations, we do have money going back to the state. So there isn't a difference in that sense," Megan Leslie told Global News. "They're playing games with words... If they're saying cap and trade is a tax, then under that logic, fines would also be a carbon tax or some kind of environmental tax."

The Conservatives, however, say the difference is that the fines under the protection act are there to guarantee compliance, whereas the NDP's plan seeks to generate revenue for the federal government.

"Our government's objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, not derive revenue," a spokesman for Environment Minister Peter Kent said.

For days, the phrases "carbon tax" and "cap and trade" have been buzzing through the halls of Parliament.

After cutting through the semantics, the question centres around the impact and cost of regulating carbon emissions, both on businesses and consumers.

The Conservatives started the mudslinging when they began referring to the NDP's plan for reducing emissions as a "carbon tax." A carbon tax, government MPs and ministers say, is the equivalent to a job- and economy-killing "tax on everything."

The NDP's 2011 campaign platform, however, refers to its plan as a cap and trade system -- the same language used in the Conservatives' 2008 campaign platform.

The Opposition's cap-and-trade system would set a price on carbon and allow emitters to buy pollution credits from the federal government, then buy or sell credits depending on their actual emission levels.

Had Canadians elected an NDP government, the plan would have resulted in $21.5 billion in federal revenue between 2011-12 and 2014-15, according to the party's costing document released alongside its platform.

The Conservatives were also once planning to implement a cap and trade alongside the United States, according to their 2008 election platform. The party eventually abandoned the policy when the United States pulled out.

Today, the Tories have taken a sector-by-sector approach to cutting emissions, with separate regulations applied to different sectors.

Earlier this month, Environment Minister Peter Kent announced regulations for coal-fired power plants.

The minister had been considering regulations between 360 and 425 tonnes per gigawatt hour of electricity generated, and settled on 420 tonnes -- a level critics slammed, describing them as inadequate.

The limits were set on the high side of the scale to ensure Canada's power plants can continue to supply adequate amounts of electricity, Kent said at the time.
The Conservatives have also implemented regulations on emissions for heavy vehicles.

The oil and gas sector, as well as several other major sectors are still without specific regulations.

Provincially, Alberta and Quebec have already adopted cap and trade systems. Ontario and Manitoba have signalled they, too, will be moving in that direction.
Still, the Conservatives are certain the NDP's proposed policy would destabilize the economy.

"Inserting a price on carbon right now has cost implications for consumers across the board," said Michelle Rempel, the parliamentary secretary to Kent. "This means increasing gas prices, increases in groceries. That's why we've been pursuing a sector-by-sector regulatory approach.

The silver lining in all this, the NDP's Leslie said, is that the mudslinging has opened a door to talk about carbon emissions.

"I think cap and trade is great because it gets the polluter to pay," she said. "These are nuances about environmental regulation we can discuss."

Follow Amy on Twitter.

© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2012.

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.globalnews.ca/Canada/ndp+says+tory+regs+on+carbon+emissions+could+also+be+considered+a+tax/6442718530/story.html
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Air Canada posed to unveil discount carrier

An Air Canada Embraer ERJ-190 lands at Pearson Airport on April 2;2011

Photo Credit: Jeremy Cohn , Global News

MONTREAL - Canada's two largest airlines have their sights set on new growth plans, with Air Canada set to announce details of its separate low-cost carrier and WestJet establishing its new regional service.

Air Canada chief financial officer Michael Rousseau told a CIBC investment conference Wednesday that the airline is just a couple of weeks away from announcing details of a new discount carrier that will serve transatlantic and leisure routes in the Caribbean and the United States.

It will be wholly owned by Air Canada (TSX:AC.B), but carry a different name.

"It is a very exciting initiative, not just for Air Canada, but our employees as well because it does provide growth opportunities for us," he said.

Meanwhile, WestJet plans to launch its new regional service in one half the country next summer and expand the service in other side of the country about nine months later.

However, the Calgary-based airline, which is starting the regional service with seven aircraft and ramping up to 20 by 2016, has been coy about just which half of the country it was planning to start with.

WestJet marketing vice-president Bob Cummings said the airline hosted a meeting in June of representatives from 32 communities that could be added to the regional service.

"These communities very much want WestJet to come into their community and stimulate traffic and become a part of their community," he said.

The schedule for the regional service will be announced early next year.

Meanwhile, Air Canada said about half of incremental profits from its low-cost carrier will be derived from cramming more seats into a fleet of 20 Boeing 767s and 30 Airbus A319s. The rest comes from lower employee wages and more flexible work rules.

The wide-body planes, for example, will be fitted with 20 per cent more seats, raising the number of passengers to 275 per aircraft.

The airline will serve new routes in Europe that currently aren't cost competitive for Air Canada and allow it to be more competitive on Caribbean and some U.S. destinations.

"The majority of the transatlantic routes will be, in fact, growth routes for us that we think we can make adequate, if not very strong returns," Rousseau said.

Its approach to the leisure market is more defensive, he added, with some routes switching to the low-cost carrier to improve margins.

Rousseau said Air Canada studied several different models around the world - including Qantas's Jetstar in Asia - and opted to create a wholly-owned airline with a separate management to ensure it maintains the low-cost carrier "mentality."

However, Rousseau warned the new airline, which will be launched in 2013, won't have a material impact on Air Canada's results until it ramps up to the full fleet of 50 planes.

Meanwhile, he says Air Canada is working on several other initiatives to build its profits after completing gruelling labour negotiations that lasted longer than it had anticipated.

Air Canada is also working to develop a "competitive response" to WestJet Airlines (TSX:WJA) plans to launch a regional service next year.

Bombardier Q400s planes will allow WestJet to add non-stop service to seven or eight communities and use the smaller planes on some existing routes to increase profits.

WestJet hopes the regional service will eventually add up to four million more customers to the 25.5 million who fly the mainline carrier for regular or vacation travel.

"We're not as concerned about (market) share as we are about growing profitably and successfully going forward," Cummings said.

"So we set ourselves up nicely to grow a lot of share if everything's going well or to scale back a bit and have more measured capacity growth and make sure that it is profitable."

Air Canada said it also is discussing with Ottawa about extending its moratorium on past service pension contributions for another 10 years once the current deal expires in 2013.

And Air Canada is preparing for the arrival in 2014 of its first Boeing 787 aircraft that will allow it to economically service markets such as India.

The planes, which will be purchased rather than leased, could be outfitted with three cabin classes - economy, premium economy and business.

While the International Air Transportation Association has warned about slowing premium travel, Rousseau said Air Canada hasn't experienced a softening and pricing remains strong.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Air Canada's shares closed up more than six per cent, gaining seven cents to $1.23 in Wednesday trading. WestJet shares lost 12 cents to $17.28.

© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2012.

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.globalnews.ca/Canada/air+canada+posed+to+unveil+discount+carrier/6442718542/story.html
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Federal ministerial expenses need to be more open, critics say

OTTAWA -- With a growing number of elected officials across the country offering Canadians a view of their spending, some critics are looking for Ottawa to follow suit.

But anyone hoping to see exactly how cabinet ministers spend taxpayer dollars shouldn't hold their breath -- the government says the current system is fine.

In some municipal jurisdictions, voters get to see the nitty gritty of how elected officials spend their money.

In Toronto, for example, photocopies of Mayor Rob Ford's cell phone bills are posted online, as are those of other city councillors.

A similar system is in place in Vancouver, where a quick search shows Mayor Gregor Robertson expensed a $23 charge for excess baggage on a flight.

This summer, a spending scandal involving the CFO of Alberta Health Services pushed the province to adopt a system in which anything purchased on the taxpayers' dime requires an itemized receipt published online, where the public can see it.

The province's service minister Manmeet Bhullar described the plan, announced earlier this month, as "the boldest of transparency initiatives."

Whether it's a cup of coffee or a night at a hotel, every member of Premier Alison Redford's caucus, as well as political staff and senior bureaucrats who work for them, has to post expenses online every two months.

"This is a very powerful reminder to all of us who are in charge whose dollars these are. These are the dollars of the people of Alberta," Bhullar said. "This also goes very far to empower the citizens of Alberta. In every democracy you need to make sure that the people have access to actual information, factual information, at their fingertips."

In Ottawa, cabinet ministers' expenses are also posted online. But whatever the event, whether a photo-op or overseas summit, detailed breakdowns aren't provided -- only summaries of overall costs filed under "airfare," "accommodation," "meals" and "other expenses."

Now, there are calls for Ottawa to adopt a system similar to those in Vancouver, Toronto and Alberta.

"It's not only feasible, it's quite necessary, especially at high levels of government," said Stephen Taylor, director at the right-leaning National Citizen's Coalition. "Transactions that they undertake are transactions like any other. They can provide receipts and those receipts can be readily available."

Canadians can get their hands on details of ministers' spending through access to information laws. The process costs at least $5 and can sometimes be cumbersome.

Still Treasury Board President Tony Clement says the status quo is serving the country well.

"The proof is in the pudding," he said. "When you look at ministerial expenses, they have decreased. Travel expenses have decreased. Hospitality expenses have decreased. And expenses in the Prime Minister's Office have decreased in the last two years. So the system it working."

The critics still argue, however, the system isn't stringent enough because even though spending may be down, some questionable expenses still slip through.

Former international development minister Bev Oda expensed a $250 fine she incurred for smoking in a non-smoking hotel room in 2010. The tally posted online only showed the total amount she charged taxpayers for accommodation -- it didn't include any line items.

Two years later, while mired in controversy over her spending habits, Oda quietly paid back the $250 fine.

Follow Amy on Twitter.

© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2012.

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.globalnews.ca/Canada/federal+ministerial+expenses+need+to+be+more+open+critics+say/6442718550/story.html
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NHL cancels pre-season games due to lockout

TORONTO - The NHL lockout is only a few days old but its effects are already being felt around the league.

With a number of big-name players continuing to head for Europe, NHL employees were informed Wednesday that their salaries are scheduled to be cut 20 per cent across the board. That will come into effect on Oct. 1, when full-time staff are reduced to a four-day work week.

The news was delivered by commissioner Gary Bettman during a Wednesday morning staff meeting, according to league spokesman Gary Meagher.

The NHL also announced the cancellation of pre-season games through Sept. 30, as well as the postponement of the Kraft Hockeyville pre-season game scheduled for Oct. 3 in Belleville, Ont., to the 2013-14 season.

Unlike in September 2004, when more than 50 per cent of NHL employees were laid off just days into the lockout, the league is trying to avoid cutting staff. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Canadian Press over the weekend that there were no immediate plans for layoffs, although multiple sources who attended Wednesday's meeting said employees were warned that further cuts could be coming in the future.

A number of teams, including the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers, announced layoffs earlier this week. The Senators also placed their remaining staff on a reduced work schedule.

"Every full-time, every part-time employee is affected by a work stoppage," team president Cyril Leeder said Monday.

Bettman and Daly both decided to forgo their salary during the lockout, according to sources. Donald Fehr, the executive director of the NHL Players' Association, hasn't been paid since the beginning of July.

As the lockout moved into its fourth day, there were still no formal bargaining sessions scheduled between the league and NHLPA. The sides last sat down together on Sept. 12.

With it becoming clear NHL training camps won't open as scheduled on Friday, players continued to seek work overseas. On Wednesday, Jason Spezza signed a deal with Rapperswil-Jona in Switzerland, Anze Kopitar agreed to join brother Gasper with Mora in Sweden and Russian stars Alex Ovechkin (Moscow Dynamo) and Pavel Datsyuk (CSKA Moscow) each returned home to play in the KHL.

Rick Nash also arrived in Switzerland, where he'll again play alongside Joe Thornton with HC Davos, and said that he believes the lockout could last the entire season - just as it did in 2004-05.

"It doesn't look positive," Nash told newspaper Sudostschweiz. "It could be a season-long break."

Even though that remains a long way off, frustration is clearly mounting. Buffalo Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth became the latest player to take to Twitter and blame Bettman for another NHL work stoppage, the fourth in two decades.

"So sick of this lockout. Playing in the NHL (has) been a life long dream and now we can't bc GB (wants) more money from us? #imlosingtime," Enroth wrote Wednesday.

© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2012.

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.globalnews.ca/Canada/nhl+cancels+pre-season+games+due+to+lockout/6442718467/story.html
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Alberta's top court upholds judge ruling to take toddler off life support

Photo Credit: Amanda McRoberts ,

EDMONTON - Alberta's top court has upheld a judge's ruling that a two-year-old child allegedly abused by her parents should be taken off life support.

The Appeal Court ruled that each parent will be allowed a final 20-minute visit with the girl, if Edmonton police have the resources to accompany them. Another stipulation is that the parents can't make the visit at the same time.

The parents have been charged with aggravated assault, criminal negligence causing bodily harm and failing to provide the necessities of life - charges that could be upgraded if the child dies.

The court dismissed an application that its decision be stayed so as to allow an appeal to the Supreme Court.

A Court of Queen's Bench justice agreed with doctors last week that it is in the girl's best interest to be removed from machines keeping her alive and to be provided with palliative care.

Paramedics found the girl and her twin sister, both malnourished and suffering from injuries, in an Edmonton home May 25.

The girl at the centre of the ruling was in cardiac arrest and is now in a coma. Her sister is recovering. A brother was in home as well, but he was not suffering any injuries and is now in foster care.

The parents, who cannot be named, have been denied bail and are not allowed to have contact with each other.

The Court of Queen's Bench ruled Friday that the child – being called "M" because she cannot be identified – must be taken off life-support. Medical experts testified the girl had suffered "profound and irreversible brain injury." She can't move on her own and requires the support of a machine to breathe. She has no upper brain function and is not expected to ever recover.

Original Court Decision regarding "M"  

© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2012.

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.globalnews.ca/Canada/albertas+top+court+upholds+judge+ruling+to+take+toddler+off+life+support/6442718211/story.html
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Beef in E. coli scare sold across Canada; CFIA investigating contamination

Photo Credit: Daniel Lippitt , AFP/Getty Images

OTTAWA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has expanded its health hazard warning about ground beef products from XL Foods of Alberta to more stores and provinces because of concerns about possible dangerous E. coli contamination.

Hamburgers and other ground beef products produced by Edmonton-based XL Foods are now being recalled from grocery stores in Atlantic Canada. The original warning covered some store chains in Ontario, Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The agency hasn't said exactly how much meat is involved in the warnings or the recall.

"With the regard to the distribution and the area of coverage and the number of retailers who are providing us information on the product, it is fairly extensive," Garfield Balsom of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.

Consumers are being warned not to eat, sell or serve the meat products.

Sobeys stores in every province carried the beef, along with Foodland stores in Ontario and Atlantic Canada and Metro stores in Ontario and Quebec. The meat was also available at Giant Tiger locations in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

And the list of retailers carrying the beef includes several corporate and franchised stores of Loblaw Companies Ltd., but not Loblaws stores themselves, says the company. It says the stores include locations of Extra Foods, No Frills, Real Canadian Wholesale Club, Shop Easy, SuperValu, Real Canadian Superstore, Westfair and Your Independent Grocer from Manitoba to British Columbia. It also includes these stores in Ontario: No Frills, Kenora; Extra Foods in Marathon, Dryden and Geraldton; Real Canadian Superstore in Thunder Bay; and Real Canadian Wholesale Club in Kenora and Thunder Bay.

The CFIA initially said Sunday that the beef was sold under the Kirkland Signature brand, which is carried by Costco stores across Canada. It was also sold under the Safeway brand in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C.

The agency said there have been no reported illnesses associated with the ground beef.

Food contaminated with E. coli may cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses. Some people may have seizures, strokes or suffer kidney damage.

Balsom said an investigation is underway to determine how the beef may have been contaminated.

Michael Lupien, a spokesman for Sobeys stores from Dryden, Ont., to B.C.-Alberta boundary, said the meat was quickly pulled from the shelf.

"There's a small impact of course to the business and customers have been inconvenienced and not able to get beef that they're looking for. But we expect to be back up fairly quickly with a different supply," Lupien said from Edmonton.

Lupien said Sobeys is offering consumers refunds or replacement products.

He did not know how many customers have gone directly to stores with concerns, but said there were about a dozen calls to Sobeys' call centre in Edmonton on Tuesday.

"I wouldn't call it a stampede, but we did have some customers who've contacted us concerned about the product that they've purchased," he said.

Safeway pulled the meat from store shelves Sunday and is telling customers to check too.

"Certainly people have gone ahead and looked into what products they still have in their fridges and freezers, so we have seen a good number of customers coming back into the stores," Safeway spokeswoman Betty Kellsey said from Calgary.

Safeway was also giving refunds or replacing the meat.

Kellsey said the impact on customers looking to buy ground beef should be minimal.

"Because in many of our stores we do have delivery on a daily basis, we're able to replace this product with new product and fresh product fairly quickly."

© The Canadian Press, 2012

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.globalnews.ca/Canada/beef+in+e+coli+scare+sold+across+canada+cfia+investigating+contamination/6442718506/story.html
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