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Feds Unveil More Details About Expanded Oceans Protection Plan

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Ottawa unveiled new details on Monday about its renewed and expanded Oceans Protection Plan.

Budget 2022 included a pledge of $2 billion over nine years, bringing the total investment to $3.5 billion.

It is described by the Liberals as the largest investment Canada has ever seen to protect our oceans.

Speaking in Saint John, N.B., on Monday, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said $447 million will be earmarked to further protect and restore coastal ecosystems.

“It will allow us to build on our existing work and invest in new areas,” Alghabra said while speaking at Port Saint John.

That includes restoring aquatic ecosystems, investing in measures to reduce marine shipping impacts on mammals, preventing the spread of invasive species, and banning the transport of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic.

Alghabra did not have details about specific projects, noting that many of them have yet to be finalized.

“We are announcing the envelope or the objective of these projects, so it’s going to include working with local communities, local organizations on learning more about how to restore and protect the ecosystems in our waterways,” he said.

Alghabra noted that more than 50 initiatives have been implemented under the Oceans Protection Plan since it was first launched in 2016.

Among those initiatives are opening six Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue stations in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador, protecting more than 200 endangered species, and funding more than 500 projects to and dispose of abandoned vessels across Canada.

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Kinder Chocolate Recall Expands

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Ferrero Canada has added more Kinder products to its recalled list.

The first recall announced on April 6th.

That list was updated on Monday to include Advent calendars and other mini eggs.

Products are being recalled because of concerns over salmonella.

If you find you have one of the recalled products, do not eat it.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is advising you throw it out or return it to the store where it was purchased.

A full list of the latest recalled products can be found HERE

(Photo: CFIA)

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McCain Foods Discontinues Plans For Russia Plant

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McCain Foods has put the kibosh on its potato processing facility under construction in central Russia.

It comes two weeks after the company stopped work on the facility on Feb. 24 — the same day Russia began invading Ukraine.

“We have now made the decision to discontinue the project entirely,” Charlie Angelakos, VP of Global External Affairs and Sustainability, said in a statement.

The New Brunswick-based company also announced that it has suspended all shipments of its products into the Russian market.

Angelakos said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been “deeply concerning to all of us at McCain Foods.”

The news comes less than a year after McCain announced plans to invest 150 million Euros ($210 million CDN) into the production facility in the Tula Oblast region.

Around 200 people were expected to be employed at the plant once it was up and running.

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KPMG Poll Finds Canadians Concerned About Supply Shortages

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This year’s holiday wish list could look a little different for Canadians, because many of the latest gadgets and toys might not be available.

Global manufacturing disruptions and supply shortages due to COVID-19 are keeping a lot of items off of store shelves this year.

A survey by KPMG this month found nearly three in five Canadians who have already started their Christmas shopping, couldn’t find what they wanted to buy.

Many of the individuals polled who hadn’t started shopping felt their gift giving was going to involved a lot of IOU’s.

Two thirds said if they didn’t get their shopping started by mid-November, parcels wouldn’t arrive in time for the holidays.

Seventy-three per cent also said they are buying products made in Canada this year instead of overseas.

Other key poll highlights included:

  • 51 per cent say they likely missed the last day they can place orders and expect container ships bringing them in from overseas to arrive in time for the holiday season
  • Well over half (56 per cent) say they’re “living in weekly hope” that the gifts they ordered will actually arrive in time for the holidays
  • 73 per cent say they “feel lucky” that they got the item they wanted while it was in stock
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House Of Commons To Add 4 Seats

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Elections Canada says four more seats will be added to the House of Commons over the coming years.

The number of seats is recalculated after each 10-year census to account for population changes.

Alberta will get three of the new seats, bringing its total number of seats to 37.

Ontario and British Columbia will each get one new seat. They will have 122 and 43 seats, respectively.

Quebec, meanwhile, will lose one seat, bringing its total down to 77,

Nova Scotia will continue to have 11 seats, New Brunswick will maintain its 10 seats, Newfoundland and Labrador will keep its seven seats, and Prince Edward Island will continue to have four seats.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan will keep each of their 14 seats, while there will continue to be one seat each in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

The new seat allocation serves as a basis for redrawing the federal electoral district boundaries within each province.

The process, which will be led by independent and non-partisan commissions established in each province, should begin in February.

Elections Canada says the new electoral map is expected to be done in late 2023, but the changes will not take effect until at least 2024.

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Have You Received Your Federal Election Guide Yet?

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Canadian households will find a Guide to the federal election in their mailbox this week.

The Guide contains a numbers of tips and reminders for Canadian voters.

Those include what to do if your voter information card contains the wrong information.

It also has details on how to vote at advance polls or by mail. Advance polls will be open September 10th through to the 13th.

Voters can also read about safety measures and voter identification requirements for September 20th.

Canadians can also turn to the guide for important Elections Canada phone numbers if more information is needed.

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Acadia Broadcasting Filing to Purchase Halifax Stations

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Acadia Broadcasting Limited, the parent company of CKDR, has entered into a letter of intent with HFX Broadcasting Inc. to purchase its two Halifax radio stations, CKHZ-FM and CKHY-FM, the companies announced Monday.

Chris Pearson, the president of Acadia Broadcasting Limited, welcomes the opportunity to acquire two stations in Halifax, increasing Acadia’s presence in Nova Scotia. Acadia currently owns CKBW and CJHK in Bridgewater, CJLS in Yarmouth and CIGO in Port Hawkesbury.

“We’re certainly looking forward to adding to the diversity of the Halifax market with our local brand of radio,” said Pearson in a release. “We appreciate the opportunity provided to us by Evanov Communications.”

Evanov Communications is the parent company of HFX Broadcasting. CKHZ-FM first went on air in August 2006 after Evanov won a competitive process for a new radio licence in the Halifax area from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). CKHY-FM started broadcasting in October 2010, becoming HFX Broadcasting’s second Halifax-based station.

Paul Evanov, the president and CEO of Evanov Communications says the company is pleased to sell the stations to a broadcaster with strong roots in the region.

“Our companies have been in discussions about this for some time. We are very pleased that Acadia, a strong, independent East Coast broadcaster, will benefit from the addition of these stations to their roster,” said Evanov in a release. “It is important to us that independent broadcasters, while adjusting to economic and market conditions, remain a vital component of the Canadian radio ownership landscape.”

Acadia owns seven stations in Ontario, CJRL in Kenora, CKDR in Dryden, CKDR-2 in Sioux Lookout, CKDR-5 in Red Lake, CFOB in Fort Frances, and CJUK and CKTG in Thunder Bay.

Acadia also owns four stations in New Brunswick serving St. John, Moncton and Saint Stephen.

The purchase of CKHZ-FM and CKHY-FM is subject to approval by the CRTC.

A version of this story originally appeared in Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner. Huddle Today Limited and Acadia Broadcasting Limited are each part of the Ocean Capital Group.