Business
Why Canada’s Christmas presents may not be delivered on time this year
It’s one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year, but for many Canadians, this year’s Black Friday deals may not arrive before Christmas – and that could be a death knell for already hard-hit small businesses.
Two weeks into a national postal service strike at Canada Post, and many businesses say they’ve suffered steep financial losses as customers have had to wait for their orders. Inventory sits in warehouses across the country and shipping costs have increased.
Lorne James, who owns Otter Valley Railway, a model train company in London, Ontario, estimates he’s lost C$120,000 ($85,600; £67,200) in sales since the strike began.
“It’s going to wipe out a good number of businesses,” he told the BBC. He estimated that about 80% of his orders are received online, and up until two weeks ago, 99% of his deliveries were done with Canada Post.
Negotiations between the company and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPOW) have broken down, amid massive financial losses, especially over the issue of allowing temporary workers to help expand the company’s delivery to seven-days-a-week.
Bruce Winder, a Canadian retail analyst, said that while the growth of online shopping has led to new courier companies entering the market, Canada Post is often the most affordable, and has the network to deliver in rural areas many other companies won’t.
The strike could not come at a worse time, Mr Winder said. For companies that sell things that can be gifted, Christmas sales can account for 30-40% of their annual revenue, he told the BBC.
He also predicts that this year, Canadians were already planning on spending less, because of the rise in the cost-of-living.
“It’s a double whammy, you know, because they’ve got the Canada Post strike and they’ve got sort of negative consumer sentiment,” he said.
Mr James said he’s doing better than most, because he negotiated contracts with other delivery services prior to the strike – but shipping overseas with a different carrier was too expensive, which has him losing out on some orders this holiday season.
In an open letter, Canadian company Shopify, which helps businesses set up online stores, urged the government to intervene to “prevent a devastating blow to Canadian small businesses at their most critical time of year”.
The letter came after the federally appointed mediator suspended talks on Wednesday.
“His assessment is that parties remain too far apart on critical issues for mediation to be successful at this time,” said Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon on X.
The union says it is bargaining for inflationary pay rises, better benefits, and for the company to agree to not hire outside-contractors. Meanwhile, Canada Post says it needs to have more flexible work hours – and hire more temporary workers – in order to move to seven-day delivery and be more competitive.
Winemaker Maxime Chapoutier would be arrested if he tried to sell two of his newest wines in his native France.
“There would likely be outrage about these wines in France, and that would be a good thing,” he says. “Sometimes you need to be provocative to drive change.”
The two bottles in question, one white and one red, would be illegal in France because they are made from a blend of French and Australian base wines.
Under both French and European Union law it is forbidden to make a wine that combines EU and non-EU fruit. In France in particular, authorities take such things very seriously.
The French wine industry has a celebrated word called “terroir”, which applies to all the environmental factors that affect vines growing in a vineyard, such the soil, the climate, and the elevation. As a result, wines from a specific place are held in the highest esteem.
Add a strict appellation or classification system for France’s wine regions, and the thought of blending French and Australian wine to create a global hybrid would horrify many French wine lovers.
Yet Maxime has done just this, and it is all thanks to one word – Brexit.
For while he cannot sell the two wines in the EU, he can do so in the UK now that London no longer has to follow food and drink rules set by Brussels.
Jimmy Donaldson – aka MrBeast – was jubilant as he told his tens of millions of TikTok followers about his bid to buy the platform.
“I might become you guys’ new CEO! I’m super excited!” Donaldson said from a private jet. He then proceeded to promise $10,000 to five random new followers.
The internet creator’s post has been viewed more than 73 million times since Monday. Donaldson said he could not share details about his bid, but promised: “Just know, it’s gonna be crazy.”
Donaldson is one of multiple suitors who have expressed interest in purchasing TikTok, the wildly popular social media platform that’s become the subject of a fast-moving political drama in the United States.
Last year, then-President Joe Biden signed a law that gave TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance until 19 January to sell the platform or face a ban in the United States.
UnitedHealthcare has named a new boss almost two months after its then-chief executive Brian Thompson was shot and killed in New York.
Company veteran Tim Noel will take charge of the largest health insurer in the US, which has more than 50 million customers, at a critical moment.
Mr Thompson’s killing on 4 December in central Manhattan ignited a wide debate about how the US healthcare system operates.
Many Americans, who pay more for healthcare than people in any other country, have expressed anger over what they see as unfair treatment by insurance firms.
Mr Noel “brings unparalleled experience to this role with a proven track record and strong commitment to improving how health care works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments and our other partners,” UnitedHealthcare’s parent company UnitedHealth Group said.
A manhunt ensued for days as police worked to identify who was responsible in the December killing, which happened outside a Manhattan hotel where the CEO was staying.
After five days, Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested in a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania after a worker called police.
Mr Mangione has pleaded not guilty to charges in the killing. He is facing 11 state criminal counts, including murder as an act of terrorism.
As well as the state-level charges, he is also accused of federal – national-level – stalking and murder offences that could lead to a death penalty sentence.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Mangione shot Mr Thompson before going on the run.
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