Business Update – 10 August 2023

08/10/2023 | Bizink

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.

Business groups ask government for labour changes after end of B.C. port dispute

Business groups continued to call on the federal government to take action in the wake of the recently resolved British Columbia port workers dispute on Saturday, arguing Ottawa must ensure such a disruption never happens again.

Canada has no plans to decrease immigration amid housing criticism, new minister says

Canada’s new immigration minister said he is open to “having a conversation” on concerns raised by some economists and groups on rising immigration targets amid a housing shortage, but said he still has no plans to lower them in the near future.

Canadians face glaring gap in banking protections

As we modernize our banking system, we must also correct for the dangerous consumer protection gap that persists. A laser focus on the potential of these policy developments misses a glaring gap: the financial sector has inconsistent consumer protection across the provinces. In a world in which only licensed banks provided all financial or bank-like activity, regulation in this space would be more straightforward and we could simply amend the Bank Act. But because there are so many complementary players and new ones constantly emerging, we will have to do more.

Canadian tech start-up hopes to add fluency to language learning

While most language learning apps on the market today rely on gamification, Canadian tech start-up Fluent exists solely in the realm of Chrome extensions – which is a deliberate strategy.

Canada and Ontario Auto Pact: A stride towards sustainable EVs

In a landmark move, Canada and the province of Ontario have joined forces to establish an Auto Pact aimed at securing crucial deals with global automotive giants Stellantis, LG Energy Solution (LGES), and Volkswagen. The partnership represents a strategic commitment from the Canadian government and Government of Ontario to solidify their position in the fast-evolving EV automotive landscape and foster economic growth through sustainable EV initiatives.

Don’t blame corporate markups for inflation: Bank of Canada

Last year, when inflation hit highs not seen since the early 1980s, politicians in the U.S. and Canada pointed fingers at banks, grocery store chains and oil companies, characterizing their high profits as obscene profiteering. A new Bank of Canada report essentially exonerates private companies in Canada from fanning inflation.

Statistics Canada releases data on R&D

Statistics Canada data on industrial research and development has been released. Total in-house R&D expenditures by the Canadian business sector have shown a consistent upward trend over a five-year period with research and development growth in the business sector driven by large performers.

All news in Canada will be removed from Facebook, Instagram within weeks: Meta

Discovering news articles and videos on Facebook and Instagram will soon become a relic of the past, as Meta announced it is officially ending news availability in Canada.

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