Ottawa is open to improving the Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in ways that benefit all three countries, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc wrote Monday in a letter to his American and Mexican counterparts that recommended the deal survive a mandatory review this summer. (The Logic)
The mediator working with the e-commerce giant and Unifor Local 114, which represents hundreds of workers at Amazon’s Delta, B.C., warehouse, sided with the union and recommended the parties move to binding arbitration-mediation to reach a first collective agreement. The British Columbia Labour Relations Board will make the final decision. (The Logic)
Documents presented in private consultations with local communities show three potential paths, one starting near Fort McMurray, Alta. and the other two starting near Fort Saskatchewan, just northeast of Edmonton. The documents identify six ports in northern B.C. to which a pipeline could extend. All of the six fall under the federal tanker ban. The Alberta government did not answer questions about whether the routes are currently under consideration. (CBC News, The Logic)
The federal government wants half of the country’s firms to be using the technology by 2030, which it will support with new tools to figure out where they can use it, and with subsidies for processing power, according to a draft version of the document obtained by CBC News. Ottawa is also planning to create AI-related placements for students, and programs to improve people’s general AI literacy. (CBC News)
The San Francisco-based AI company, valued at US$965 billion, said Monday that it’s filed confidentially for an initial public offering. Its Canadian backers, including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, CPP Investments, Brookfield and Rogue Insight Capital, could collect big returns on their investments following its stock-market listing. (The Logic)
The Calgary-based venture capital firm is aiming to raise $30 million for the fund. BMO has agreed to co-anchor the fund, along with 17 women investors, including AGF Management chief executive officer Judy Goldring, former Bank of Nova Scotia executive Gillian Riley and Seafair Capital CEO Anne Whelan. (The Logic)
The Omaha conglomerate agreed to pay US$8.5 billion, including debt, for the Arizona-based homebuilder. Canadian CEO Greg Abel, who took over as Berkshire Hathaway CEO in January, said the deal is part of a plan to eventually unify its homebuilding businesses and encourage homeownership in the U.S. (The Logic)
Instead of creating specific regulations for the technology, policymakers should update existing privacy, competition and other rules where necessary, and recognize voluntary standards developed by industry, the commerce company said in a post Monday. Shopify also wants governments to “reject duplicative or jurisdiction-specific” statutes and requirements in favour of rules that are compatible around the world, and to avoid making firms audit and get pre-approval to launch their AI applications. (The Logic)
The Anglo-Australian miner said the project in Saguenay, Que., will use its AP60 smelting technology, which the company said could cut the amount of greenhouse gas emissions currently produced at its Arvida smelter in half, when combined with hydroelectric power. (The Logic)
U.S. trade negotiators want regional content to make up 82 per cent of North American-built vehicles to qualify for preferential tariff treatment through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),while demanding that at least half the value be produced in the U.S. (Reuters)