Prime Minister Carney speaks with President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Français
The leaders discussed the close economic and cultural ties between Canada and the Philippines, with nearly one million Canadians of Filipino descent. They reflected on the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy in Vancouver earlier this year and expressed their deep condolences to all those affected.
Prime Minister Carney emphasized opportunities to deepen Canada's relationship with the Philippines in investment and commerce, including by advancing free trade. The two leaders agreed on the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific, and of the efforts of both Canada and the Philippines to uphold the rules-based international order and security in the region.
Prime Minister Carney extended an invitation to President Marcos Jr. to visit Canada. The leaders will remain in close contact.
Canada-Philippines relations
This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca
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CTV News
32 minutes ago
- CTV News
Labour groups, lawyers hope fall of Hudson's Bay will spur change for workers
TORONTO — When Hudson's Bay employees rallied in front of two of the iconic retailer's properties in late May, days before the retailer closed its doors for good, they knew there was no hope of saving their jobs. Their goal instead was to encourage lawmakers to make the fall of the 355-year-old retailer — and all the failed companies that follow it — a little less painful for employees. They argued that could be done if the government adopted their wish list of ideas ranging from boosting federal support programs to prioritizing workers rather than lenders when companies in creditor protection are repaying what they owe. Such ideas were previously bandied around in labour circles when the Canadian divisions of Sears, Target and Nordstrom collapsed. This time, they're hoping the momentum lasts. 'When you're looking for these kinds of improvements, you will have ebbs and flows, but right now, we have an opportunity because the Bay situation is fresh in people's minds' said Lana Payne, president of Unifor. Her union orchestrated the rallies at one of the retailer's distribution centres in Toronto's Scarborough and another in front of a Windsor, Ont. store because Unifor represents about 595 of the 9,364 employees that worked at Canada's oldest company before it filed for creditor protection in March. The workers were told they will not get termination or severance pay and lost health, dental and life insurance benefits. A law firm representing them has warned that 'given HBC's significant amount of secured debt, it is not clear that employees will be able to recover any amounts owing to them directly from HBC.' The company has blamed its troubles on the COVID-19 pandemic, depressed store traffic and tariffs. After it failed to attract investors that would keep the company alive, it started to sell off its remaining assets in hopes of recouping as much as possible for the thousands of creditors. Back of the line When Canadian companies file for creditor protection, the various groups owed money are often left to jockey for what little cash remains, knowing there usually won't be enough to go around. Secured lenders are typically first in line because they have collateral backing the money they lent, often well before a company sought a reprieve from the courts. In the Bay's case there are 26 pages' worth of creditors, including secured senior lenders Restore Capital, Pathlight Capital and Bank of America. They alone are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars and have started to recoup some of their losses because the Bay has been paying them with cash from its liquidation sales. Employees are on the list of creditors, but they are not listed as secured and the amount owing is marked 'TBD.' 'I think it's pretty clear that workers are not the priority in these kinds of cases,' Payne said. 'The legislation doesn't make them the priority and workers right now are feeling the results of that.' In the future, Unifor would like to see legislation changed so workers' termination and severance claims are paid first, Payne said. Susan Ursel, a lawyer representing Bay employees, agrees with the idea because 'employees are affected in a personal way by their employer's insolvency — losing their income and throwing their futures into uncertainty. 'Unlike sophisticated lenders, they are not able to negotiate security for the contractual promises of their employers and therefore fall behind those secured lenders in recovering money owed to them,' she wrote in an email. 'A legislative priority for employees would provide more certain and effective protection for employees, which we would welcome.' But Sunira Chaudhri, founding lawyer at Workly Law in Toronto, worries that change would scare away lenders long before creditor protection is on the horizon and when companies still have a shot at recovery. 'If employees were to be first in line ... any employer that hired a lot of employees would be a bad bet for the banks,' she said. 'You'd want to lend money to them the least, because you'd never be able to recoup on a loan.' Jared Ong, an organizer with the Workers' Action Centre, has heard that argument before. He doesn't agree with it. 'Year on year, the major banks keep making billions more, but compare that to a worker who might be one or two paycheques away from losing a roof over their head,' he said. Existing supports Workers left without a job when their company goes under are typically able to lean on two federal government programs, but Ong said they need to be more generous. The first is employment insurance, which pays employees out of work a portion of their salary while they look for a new job. To qualify, applicants must have gone without work and pay for at least seven consecutive days in the last 52 weeks. The second is the Wage Earner Protection Program, which helps workers whose employees filed for creditor protection recoup owed wages, vacation, termination or severance pay. Bay employees have until Oct. 26 to apply for WEPP, after an extension to their deadline was granted by Service Canada. People who qualify under the program can earn up to $8,844.22 this year — a cap Unifor wants raised. Nadia Zaman, an employment lawyer at Rudner Law, thinks a higher ceiling makes sense, especially for workers who have been with a company for a long time. They generally wind up entitled to a lot more than WEPP's cap, so the program puts them 'essentially at a loss,' she said. While many people don't realize the program exists or understand some of the idiosyncrasies workers face when their company goes out of business, Zaman said the Bay is putting a spotlight on labour relations. 'A lot of people who haven't personally been through the situation, they are becoming more aware of it,' she said, 'And they are also looking for changes even if they haven't been personally affected.' The likelihood of turning that desire for change into actual change may seem 'grim,' acknowledged Ong at the Workers' Action Centre. Labour activists have seen momentum turn into disappointment before. For example, a 2014 Ontario bill pushing businesses to insure long-term disability benefits, so they'd be paid out even if an employer folded, passed, but was seemingly never enacted. Change, said Ong, is 'always a back-and-forth fight.' 'You win some things, you lose some things, government changes, but we need to keep pushing regardless of what happens.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2025. Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Thousands paid $50 to secure a season ticket for a Halifax CFL team. Some wonder where the money went
Social Sharing When the proposed Atlantic Schooners CFL franchise announced a season-ticket drive in late 2018, Rob MacCormick spent $100 on a deposit for two seats. The Windsor Junction, N.S., sports fan wanted to support the team. He also hoped that if the franchise came to fruition, more concerts would come to the city because of the stadium the team needed to construct as part of the venture. MacCormick wasn't alone in placing a deposit. The Canadian Press reported in December 2018 that 6,000 people had done the same. At $50 a ticket, that's at least $300,000. CBC News spoke to 10 people who said they paid the deposit. Eight — including MacCormick — said they did not receive refunds. "When you go a pair at a time, it certainly does add up, and maybe somebody should be accountable to this," said MacCormick. As the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, the CFL venture disappeared from the public conversation. Two affiliated companies behind the idea — Schooner Sports and Entertainment and Maritime Football Limited — have had their registrations revoked in the Registry of Joint Stock Companies. to build a 24,000-seat, $110-million stadium in Shannon Park. The space would have been used for community sports and major concerts as well. In December 2019, Halifax council voted to give the proponents $20 million, but only if a list of conditions were met. "We're thrilled. We thank council for their due diligence and very spirited debate. We're very excited to move forward," said Schooner Sports and Entertainment partner Anthony LeBlanc. By April 2020, LeBlanc had taken an executive role with the NHL's Ottawa Senators. However, he remained a director with Maritime Football Limited, the Registry of Joint Stock Companies information shows. MacCormick said he used to get the odd email from Schooner Sports and Entertainment about things like town hall events. He even received a holiday email encouraging him to buy tickets for loved ones. But the emails eventually dried up. "Over time, I felt that the deposit was gone and it was $100, not the end of the world, but you know, it just felt like things weren't going to happen," said MacCormick. The CFL maintains an Atlantic Schooners website. While updates on the state of the franchise are several years old, the site still pulls in fresh stories from the league's website. Jason Mullis, a diehard CFL fan who lives in Gatineau, Que., also put down a deposit for season tickets. He bought tickets because he wanted to see an East Coast franchise that would create a coast-to-coast league and establish a much-sought 10th team. Mullis, who has driven across the country to attend games at all CFL stadiums, has a Facebook page called the Cflhobo that he uses to share his passion for the league. He planned to purchase season tickets for a Halifax franchise, but would have donated most of them given geographic constraints. Mullis said he's not concerned about the refund money, but said he saw some online chatter from unhappy fans. "People were upset. 'Oh, I haven't heard nothing. Where's our money?'" he said."But, I don't worry about it. If you really want it back, you can complain enough, you'll get your money back." CBC contacted officials with Schooner Sports and Entertainment. LeBlanc agreed to an interview, but later sent along a statement instead. Proponents say they will launch a refund portal In it, he said the proponents are setting up a portal to honour new refund requests. He said information on the portal will be released shortly. LeBlanc said that when Schooner Sports and Entertainment shut down in 2023, the company had no assets or liabilities, and had been offering refunds to season ticket holders for five years. "These deposits were and continued to be refundable, with a significant number of deposit holders seeking refunds," he said in the email. "All of the requests that were submitted through proper channels have been honored." LeBlanc said the effort to bring a CFL franchise to Halifax involved "significant and material financial obligations, all of which were honored." He said Schooner Sports and Entertainment partnered with organizations that included architectural, public relations, government relations and marketing firms. Schooner Sports and Entertainment also partnered with the CFL on a 2019 game that was held in Moncton, N.B., that led to "significant and material financial losses," said LeBlanc. The organization decided to spike the CFL franchise, in part, because of a lack of appetite to help fund the project. "With the onset of the pandemic, all public sector entities made the very prudent decision to pause, and eventually withdrew agreements and suspended ongoing discussions regarding the project," said LeBlanc.
Ottawa Citizen
2 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Today's letters: NIMBYism is hurting Lowertown and vulnerable people
Article content This is a classic Canadian government own-goal. The estimated repair costs would buy 4,000 new rifles of established provenance at $2,500 each. Doing the repairs may again turn out to be an attempt to save face by throwing good money after bad. Article content I believe that Mark Carney DOES have a choice and that is to say no to Donald Trump's demands to drop supply management. The terms of this clause in the USMCA do not impact the US as exports to Canada have never reached the level where the tariff kicks in. If Canada blinks at this one, you can be sure Trump will follow up with a never-ending list of demands that will eventually destroy Canada. Article content Trump cannot be trusted to keep his word, ever. Besides power and money, winning at whatever challenge comes his way is the only thing he cares about. I greatly fear that his end game is to make us the 51st state by any means necessary. I've been afraid of what he might do since he started campaigning in 2016; he has destroyed and corrupted, stoked hated and fear and spread lies far more than my worst-case-scenario mind could ever have imagined. Article content Article content It is certainly noteworthy to ponder the prime minister's winking behaviour and to speculate on its meaning. But, hey who would know except himself, and furthermore, how does it affect his leadership performance? Article content It could be understood in the context of his demonstrated desire and effort to communicate with people and to connect with those of us who appreciate being considered important enough to feel part of a community worth reaching. There is a familiarity to the use of winks and that is achieved by this presentation. Article content It may be an issue that troubles some skeptics but it challenges our trust to accept it at, pardon the pun, face value. Article content Celia M. Carter, Brockville Article content Summer travel season is upon us. The Canadian government has issued a warning: 'Exercise a high degree of caution' when travelling to these countries: Mexico, Cuba, Thailand, Qatar (watch out for the $400-million jet that might hit you en route to Mar-a-Lago), Panama, Peru, India, Germany, Costa Rica. Article content Article content And then this. USA: 'Take normal safety precautions.' OK, don't go to L.A.; might run into some problems there. Don't have any anti-Orange Head crap on your phone at the border. Also beware the high rate of firearm violence and mass shootings (even if tourists are not typically targeted). I think a 'high degree of caution' is advised for the U.S. too. Article content Does the Canadian government issue a summer travel warning for Canadians travelling inside Canada? 'Take normal safety precautions': seatbelts, bike helmets, sun screen. Article content The other day, I locked my keys in my car in the Kanata Staples parking lot. I eventually spotted a booth set up for windshield repairs and approached the young person manning it to ask if he had a piece of wire with which I might reach the keys through the partially open window. He didn't, but immediately offered to help and accompanied me back to my car. He found a stick in the nearby bushes and, after many tries, managed to open the car door.
