Latest news with #rejig
CTV News
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Ontario should rejig supports for small auto businesses in wake of tariffs, CFIB says
Employees work on the production line at the Martinrea auto parts manufacturing plant in Woodbridge, Ontario on Feb. 3, 2025. The site supplies auto parts to both the Canadian and U.S. auto plants. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young TORONTO — Ontario should rejig its programs meant to support auto businesses through the impact of tariffs and associated economic uncertainty, as the way they're currently structured is leaving small businesses in the lurch, an advocacy group says in a new report. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business released a report Wednesday based on a survey of 187 small-to-medium-sized businesses in the automotive sector, from parts suppliers to repair shops, and found that tariffs are already having an impact. Their revenue has declined by 13 per cent, on average, and half of them reported that they have paused or cancelled investments due to uncertainty caused by the Canada-U.S. trade war, which could lead to billions in lost revenue or missed investments, the report said. 'It's impossible for a business owner to really know what's going on these days,' Joseph Falzata, co-author of the report and policy analyst with CFIB Ontario, said of the whiplash trade policy news. 'I do this as my full-time job, and it's always difficult for myself. So you can only imagine a business owner who's working 50, 60 hours a week trying to keep track of things.' Their revenue is taking a hit in part because they are paying higher prices and there is confusion about which products are affected by tariffs, as well as due to costs associated with seeking out new supply chains, Falzata said. Ontario has programs meant to help shore up businesses in the automotive sector, but while appreciated, they're missing the mark when it comes to supporting smaller businesses, the CFIB report says. In its spring budget the provincial government said it was putting $85 million into two programs: the Ontario Automobile Modernization Program to help parts suppliers upgrade equipment and the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network for research and development. 'Though these programs have been created with good intentions, few small businesses plan to use them, and over a third of them are ineligible,' the CFIB report says. 'The programs focus on R&D innovation and large-scale manufacturing, while disregarding the reality that most automotive (small and medium businesses) either cannot afford or are not involved in these processes.' A new $50-million Ontario Together Trade Fund meant to help businesses develop new markets and find domestic supply chains, requires businesses to show a revenue loss of at least 30 per cent and requires them to put up $200,000 of their own capital, which the report calls 'a luxury most (small and medium businesses) cannot afford.' The government said its programs have already helped hundreds of businesses, with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network supporting more than 600 small and medium businesses since its inception in 2019 and the Ontario Automotive Modernization Program has supported 215 projects since 2021. 'In the face of unprecedented global economic uncertainty, our government is protecting and building on the progress we have made to champion small businesses in the auto sector and across the economy,' Jennifer Cunliffe, a spokesperson for Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli, wrote in a statement. The best way to help small businesses would be to lower the small business tax rate from 3.2 per cent to two per cent, the CFIB said. The government lowered the rate from 3.5 per cent in 2020. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2025. Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
The Age
03-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Age
Can two career-driven parents both make it work? This could be the solution
This story is part of the May 4 edition of Sunday Life. See all 13 stories. Growing up, I assumed there was only one way of doing things in a family with kids. One partner would have the Big Job, likely evidenced by their expensive suits, a full briefcase, and a colour-coded Outlook calendar. The other parent, meanwhile, would work part-time and have a more flexible career in a job that allowed them to take care of, well, everything else. This 'other' parent would make sure the fridge was stocked and the kids got their immunisations on time. They'd be the one to remember when the car rego was due, take care of the laundry, pack school lunches, and make the Book Week costumes. Their paid work might be fulfilling and meaningful, but the unspoken rule was that it also came second. Nobody told the kids of the '90s and 2000s that this was the way it should be done. They didn't have to. This family arrangement dominated our upbringing, and was reinforced by our communities and what we saw on TV. It rewarded high-flying fathers, and looked unfavourably on mothers with professional ambitions. By the time I reached university, I'd decided this model wasn't for me. But rather than aspiring to disrupt a flawed system, I instead chased the Big Job for myself. Ten years later, I was married, at home with a newborn and beside myself with frustration. I'd watch the clock until my husband would return home from work, sometimes meeting him at the tram stop because I couldn't wait any longer. The realities of birth, breastfeeding and biology had entirely upended my ambitious plans. It didn't take long before my husband and I scrapped the dictated blueprint and began drawing ourselves a new one. What if, instead of having one person go big and the other go small, we took turns? What if we cobbled together a new division of paid and unpaid work, coupled with an agreement to rejig as required? As much as I love work, there are things I don't want to miss. For me, nothing compares to my kid glancing up during the sprint to finish cross-country. JAMILA RIZVI And so we stumbled into the same approach taken by many modern families. Not perfectly. Not even elegantly. And not without a bunch of arguments about whose meeting was more important when childcare called at midday with news of a gastro outbreak. We've each had seasons of stepping up professionally and seasons of stepping back. We've both struggled and grown, and, in my case at least, quietly kept score (and then apologised for keeping score). We've made choices based on what was required at the time, based on our son's changing needs. Disruption is our norm. Still, as much as I love work, there are things I don't want to miss. For me, nothing compares to my kid glancing up during the sprint to finish cross-country, and the grin on his face when he sees me there. Or throwing that same kid an elaborate birthday party, or spending an afternoon together crafting or cooking.
Sydney Morning Herald
03-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Sydney Morning Herald
Can two career-driven parents both make it work? This could be the solution
This story is part of the May 4 edition of Sunday Life. See all 13 stories. Growing up, I assumed there was only one way of doing things in a family with kids. One partner would have the Big Job, likely evidenced by their expensive suits, a full briefcase, and a colour-coded Outlook calendar. The other parent, meanwhile, would work part-time and have a more flexible career in a job that allowed them to take care of, well, everything else. This 'other' parent would make sure the fridge was stocked and the kids got their immunisations on time. They'd be the one to remember when the car rego was due, take care of the laundry, pack school lunches, and make the Book Week costumes. Their paid work might be fulfilling and meaningful, but the unspoken rule was that it also came second. Nobody told the kids of the '90s and 2000s that this was the way it should be done. They didn't have to. This family arrangement dominated our upbringing, and was reinforced by our communities and what we saw on TV. It rewarded high-flying fathers, and looked unfavourably on mothers with professional ambitions. By the time I reached university, I'd decided this model wasn't for me. But rather than aspiring to disrupt a flawed system, I instead chased the Big Job for myself. Ten years later, I was married, at home with a newborn and beside myself with frustration. I'd watch the clock until my husband would return home from work, sometimes meeting him at the tram stop because I couldn't wait any longer. The realities of birth, breastfeeding and biology had entirely upended my ambitious plans. It didn't take long before my husband and I scrapped the dictated blueprint and began drawing ourselves a new one. What if, instead of having one person go big and the other go small, we took turns? What if we cobbled together a new division of paid and unpaid work, coupled with an agreement to rejig as required? As much as I love work, there are things I don't want to miss. For me, nothing compares to my kid glancing up during the sprint to finish cross-country. JAMILA RIZVI And so we stumbled into the same approach taken by many modern families. Not perfectly. Not even elegantly. And not without a bunch of arguments about whose meeting was more important when childcare called at midday with news of a gastro outbreak. We've each had seasons of stepping up professionally and seasons of stepping back. We've both struggled and grown, and, in my case at least, quietly kept score (and then apologised for keeping score). We've made choices based on what was required at the time, based on our son's changing needs. Disruption is our norm. Still, as much as I love work, there are things I don't want to miss. For me, nothing compares to my kid glancing up during the sprint to finish cross-country, and the grin on his face when he sees me there. Or throwing that same kid an elaborate birthday party, or spending an afternoon together crafting or cooking.
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Business Standard
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Telangana transfers IAS officer who reshared Hyderabad land row AI image
In a major rejig of the state's bureaucracy, the Telangana government has transferred several at least 20 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers. Among the transferred officers is Smita Sabharwal, who recently stoked a controversy by sharing an AI-generated image connected to the Kancha Gachibowli land dispute. The bureaucrat had shared a Studio Ghibli-style image related to the disputed land a few weeks ago, which resulted in the Gachibowli police issuing summons to her. The image, which she had posted on her X account, depicted the ongoing land controversy near Hyderabad Central University. After recording her statement with the police, Sabharwal posted on X, 'The post was reshared by 2,000 individuals on this platform. I sought clarification on whether the same action is initiated for all! If not, this raises concern about selective targeting, that in turn compromises the principles of natural justice and equality before the law.' Sabharwal's transfer has drawn particular attention, considering her prominence during the previous K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi government. Sabharwal was serving as the special chief secretary for youth advancement, tourism and culture (YAT&C), which is looking after the arrangements for the Miss World Beauty pageant 2025. Sabharwal has been transferred with the contest set to begin in two weeks. She has been reassigned as the member secretary of the Telangana Finance Commission, a position she previously held before her stint in YAT&C. Also Read Earlier, Sabharwal had questioned the provision of reservations for differently-abled persons in the civil services, which led to a major controversy. "With all due respect to the Differently Abled. Does an Airline hire a pilot with a disability? Or would you trust a surgeon with a disability? The nature of the #AIS (IAS/IPS/IFoS) is field work, long taxing hours, and listening first-hand to people's grievances-which requires physical fitness. Why does this premier service need this Quota in the first place," Sabharwal said in a post on X. Her statements came after the controversy over the selection of Puja Khedkar, an ex-trainee IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, who allegedly availed concessions for physical disability and OBC candidacy fraudulently.
