Prices accelerate on energy costs
Statistics Canada's Consumer Price Index, published on Monday, showed overall prices up 3.1 per cent compared with a year earlier, a faster pace than the three per cent recorded in August. Energy accounted for most of the acceleration, running 19 per cent above its level a year before. The figures landed as Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem appeared hawkish while speaking with reporters at an International Monetary Fund gathering, prompting economists to ask whether policymakers will keep looking past inflation that sits above target.[S1][S2]
Ottawa threatens action over Stelco layoffs
Stelco Holdings Inc., based in Hamilton, is at the centre of a dispute shaking an already struggling Canadian steel sector. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., its U.S. parent, said on Sept. 28 that it would halt production at the Hamilton plant indefinitely and cut hundreds of positions. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has warned of legal consequences should Stelco fail to protect its Ontario workforce, pointing to undertakings made under the Investment Canada Act when Cleveland-Cliffs took over the company.[S1]
A record mining investment cycle predicted
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson told an audience at a Canada House event in London on Monday that the metals and mining sector stands at the threshold of the biggest investment supercycle it has ever seen. In his account, critical minerals have moved beyond ordinary industrial inputs and now determine which economies expand, which can stay competitive and which nations protect their economic futures.[S1]
Legal fights shadow a former market star
Emerita Resources Corp., which the TSX Venture Exchange named its top overall performer in a 2021 ranking, is now contending with court proceedings and conflicts involving a co-founder, a number of former senior executives, investors and regulators as well.[S1]
