Latest news with #licences
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Nurses group hopes premiers' new sense of unity will lead to labour mobility
OTTAWA — The Canadian Nurses Association says it hopes the new "united Team Canada" approach at the Council of the Federation will lead to harmonization of nurses' licences across the country. The association was among a number of health-care advocacy groups at the recent annual meeting of Canada's premiers. While health care tends to take centre stage when the premiers meet, this year's gathering with Prime Minister Mark Carney was dominated by discussion of U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war. The nurses association and the Canadian Medical Association have long urged the provinces and territories to ensure licences for doctors and nurses are recognized across the country. In a statement at the end of their meeting on Wednesday, the premiers said they will work on improving labour mobility where appropriate. But Katherine Fierlbeck, a Dalhousie University political scientist who focuses on health policy, says the provinces have been happy to poach one another's health workers, and that might make them reluctant to make it easier for people to move. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025. Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press
Khaleej Times
17-07-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Ras Al Khaimah sees 17.6% rise in new business licences in first half of 2025
Ras Al Khaimah has recorded a significant increase in new business activity this year. According to a recent report from the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Ras Al Khaimah, the emirate witnessed a 17.6 per cent growth in the number of new business licences issued during the first half of 2025. In total, 1,219 new licences were issued between January and June, compared to 1,037 licences during the same period in 2024. Industrial licences lead the growth The report highlighted that industrial licences saw the highest growth, jumping by approximately 111 per cent. This was followed by professional licences, which increased by 20 per cent, and commercial licences, which rose by 12.6 per cent. Wholesale and retail dominate In terms of sectors, the wholesale and retail trade sector accounted for the largest share of new licences, making up 44.4 per cent of the total. The construction sector came second with 18 per cent, followed by the accommodation and food services sector at 13.2 per cent, and the manufacturing sector at 11.1 per cent. Other service activities accounted for 8.6 per cent of the new licences. Capital investment sees steady growth The total registered capital of new businesses in the emirate also rose by 7.5 per cent in the first half of the year. The capital invested in industrial licences saw a major increase, growing by 7.6 times compared to the same period in 2024. The professional licenses' capital rose by 24.7 per cent. Among Ras Al Khaimah's areas, Al Dhait recorded the highest share of new licences, accounting for 8.7 per cent of the total, followed by Al Nakheel at 8.4 per cent, and both Al Qusaidat and Julphar, each at 7.7 per cent. When measuring the number of new licences compared to existing active licences, Khalifa bin Zayed City ranked first, with 18.9 per cent new licences. Dahan followed with 13.4 per cent, and Al Ghail came in third at 9.1 per cent. In terms of attracting new investments, Al Jazirah Al Hamra led the way, capturing nearly one-third of the total registered capital of new licences. Al Dhait followed with 13 per cent, while Al Ghail attracted 8.5 per cent of the new capital. Commenting on the report, Amina Qahtan, Director of the Commercial Affairs Department at Ras Al Khaimah DED, said the figures reflect a dynamic and growing economy in the emirate. 'This growth is the result of strategic directives from our leadership, aimed at creating a flexible and investor-friendly environment,' she said. 'We have introduced a wide range of incentives and streamlined procedures to attract more businesses to Ras Al Khaimah.'
South China Morning Post
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
Ride-hailing operators, vehicles in Hong Kong to need renewable licences
Operators of ride-hailing platforms and vehicles in Hong Kong will need to apply for renewable rather than permanent licences under a proposed regulatory framework, to prevent speculative trading rampant in the city's taxi trade, the Post has learned. An insider on Thursday said the ride-hailing platforms would need to pay for the licences, which have an expiry date. The number of vehicles operating under each platform would also be capped, and the owner of each vehicle would need to pay for a time-limited licence and commercial insurance, the source said. 'Authorities prefer time-limited licences for both types to avoid repeating the speculative trading issues seen with taxi licences,' the insider added. The source said that drivers who signed with the platforms would be required to pass a written test that was similar to one for cabbies. But the insider stopped short of saying how much the licence fee would cost or the maximum number of vehicles allowed to join the scheme.
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Jersey firearms law to be updated to reduce risk to public safety
The government is planning changes to Jersey's firearms law, following recommendations from a review committee of constables and States of Jersey Richard Honeycombe, head of the review panel, said the changes were about "reducing risk" to public safety and ensuring all gun owners had "good reason" to hold changes are likely to be enacted using ministerial orders after the Justice and Home Affairs Minister Deputy Mary Le Hegarat previously postponed a complete review of the 25-year-old Hegarat told a scrutiny hearing the planned review was put on hold in 2024 to prioritise changes to legislation preventing violence against women and girls. What changes are planned? Applications for firearms and ammunition will become a separate processPreviously, 5,000 rounds of ammunition were automatically applied to a firearms licence. Honeycombe said there were people on the island who had not shot for years but had a considerable amount of ammunition stored at people will have to apply for both a firearms licence and an ammunition licence. These will be considered by the parish constable - who has the authority to grant firearms licences - and assessed on their own merits. Honeycombe said this should mean a "huge reduction" in the amount of ammunition on the island, but also help officials know much was actually being Hegarat said the change would "mitigate the risk of certificate holders having easy access to firearms and ammunition outside of a club environment".To contain ammunition to the club shooting environment, Le Hegarat said she planned to change the law so clubs could become registered firearms dealers, although only with the right to buy and sell ammunition, not import it. The cost of a firearms licence is to increase Honeycombe said it had been agreed with the minister the cost of a firearms licence would increase, as would the cost of varying an aspect of your firearms licence - such as adding or removing a gun. The number and type of guns an applicant can ask for will decreaseAt present, people applying for a firearms licence can have an authorised "wish list" where they request a variety of guns, of different types and approved, each applicant only has to notify the constable when they purchase a new firearm, instead of requiring Hegarat said there were currently examples of individuals who had the right to buy in excess of 25 different future, constables would be asked to make amendments to these types of licences to ensure each applicant genuinely had good reason to own each type of said the review committee was also considering making a request to have certain types of large calibre rifles, especially those that have been converted from a fully automatic, military grade firearm, added to the list of prohibited items. Honeycombe said he would like to see the changes introduced in added the review panel had more work to do and would be suggesting further legal amendments.
Malay Mail
25-06-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Who is behind the wheel of commercial vehicles? — YS Chan
JUNE 25 — All commercial vehicles in Malaysia are registered in the names of companies or organisations, and they could be sole proprietorship ('syarikat'), private limited ('sendirian berhad'), limited ('berhad'), partnerships ('dan rakan-rakan') or co-operatives. These businesses ought to employ or engage drivers who are licensed to operate commercial vehicles. In addition to the competent driving licence (CDL) for the class of vehicles, they must also possess a valid goods driving licence (GDL) or a public service vehicle (PSV) licence. Light goods vehicles with a laden weight of no more than 7,500kg are classified under 'de-centrolled' and they do not require a commercial vehicle permit. The aim is to facilitate smaller businesses to own and operate their own light trucks or vans to transport their own goods. These de-controlled vehicles could either be driven by the owners or drivers engaged by them, similar to individually-owned taxis (with meters) and hired cars (without meters). As for taxis owned by companies or co-operatives, these businesses have no control over their taxi drivers. Anyone making a down-payment to a taxi company or co-operative may take delivery of a taxi, and is free to do whatever he or she wants, as long as the monthly installments for the rental-purchase are settled on time. Like a bank loan, there is no employer-employee relationship. It was reported that some express and tour bus drivers claimed they receive basic salaries as low as RM700, with some saying they are not paid base salaries at all. In response, the Human Resource Ministry said it will tighten enforcement against parties violating the laws on wages. It reiterated that all companies must pay their employees a minimum of RM1,700 regardless of salary structure, according to the Minimum Wages Order 2024. Offenders may be fined up to RM10,000 for each employee, and up to RM20,000 or jailed five years for subsequent offence. The ministry also said it would carry out a review of 28 labour-related laws through a task force headed by deputy secretary-general (policy and international) Shaharin Umar to ensure that there are no exploitable legal loopholes. However, addressing the elephant in the room is not as straightforward as many people might think. Granted, all full-time employees must be paid at least the minimum salary as dictated by the law and also contribute to both EPF and Socso. But many drivers engaged to drive lorries and buses are not full-time employees. Companies may retain them as part-time workers to circumvent the law, or drivers may choose to work part-time as casual workers, and others may prefer to work freelance for several companies. The government ought to make a ruling that all part-time workers that have worked at least 21 days in a calendar month over a three-month period must be offered full-time employment with minimum monthly salary across all industries, and not limited to commercial vehicle drivers. Whether they are full-time, part-time, casual workers or freelancers, vehicle owners must ensure they are fully licensed for the class of vehicles they are driving, such as the CDL plus GDL or PSV, and they are well rested before embarking on long trips especially overnight runs. Alas, operating commercial vehicle businesses started to turn messy with the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1970 and the Road Transport Licensing Board (RTLB) tasked to ensure that almost all vehicle permits are to be granted to bumiputera-owned companies. This was continued after RTLB was renamed Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) in 1987 and the Tourism Ministry took over the issuance of Bas Persiaran permits later until it was taken over in 2011 by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) in peninsular Malaysia. As a result, many commercial vehicles are operated not by the actual owners who lease from those granted permits and also register the vehicles in the name of the lessors. These include individuals who lease Bas Persiaran permits from companies and drive their own tour buses. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
