Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Finance Minister Bill Morneau struck a deal yesterday to give provinces and territories 75 per cent of cannabis excise tax revenue. That is, he struck a deal with 12 of his 13 counterparts. Manitoba Finance Minister Cameron Friesen balked at the agreement, noting in a tweet “this process has been rushed, and we need time to review.”

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, Friesen later noted he can’t “go line-by-line [through the costs], because we simply don’t have detail.” We’ll continue assessing provincial preparedness for legalization. And, further complicating the matter, some Conservative senators are making noise about stalling legislation beyond the July 1 target in-force date.   

MORE THAN 800,000 CANADIANS AFFECTED BY UBER HACK

Uber has disclosed 815,000 Canadians may have had their data exposed in the massive global hack that was announced last month. The ride-hailing service is under renewed scrutiny in this country after the privacy commissioner said yesterday it has opened a formal investigation into the hack. The timing is awkward, coming the same day Lyft is supposed to formally launch in Toronto – under a blanket of snow, no less.   

FIGHTER JET ANNOUNCEMENT

Looks like we’ll get the federal government’s fighter jet announcement today. Four ministers are scheduled to make an announcement in Ottawa at 1 p.m. ET, to be preceded by a lockup. Consider this the next chapter in the government’s cross-border dispute with Boeing after the plane maker cried foul over Bombardier’s CSeries. If, as expected, Ottawa walks away from Boeing Super Hornets in favour of used Australian F-18s it will be worth pausing to remind everyone Boeing is doing just fine, thank you very much. It’s the top-performer on the Dow this year with its 82 per cent return.

IN CONVERSATION WITH ONTARIO TEACHERS’ CEO

We’ve got an interview today with Ron Mock, the CEO of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. The $180.5-billion pension fund is a heavy hitter in domestic and global investing; today, we’ll get its CEO’s perspective on hot-button issues like bitcoin, Laurentian Bank’s recent mortgage mistakes, and whether he’d be interested in picking up the Toronto Blue Jays.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:

- We’ve got a big-time food deal in Canada. MTY Group, the country’s food court king, is buying Imvescor Restaurant Group for $248 million in cash and stock. 

- The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says there was a record number of unfilled jobs (361,700) in Canada in the third quarter. The labour shortage is being attributed to a "dearth" of skilled workers and the country's growing economy. Employers in B.C., Ontario and Quebec are having the hardest time covering their staffing needs.

- TSX record high watch: 16,131.79 is the all-time high set on November 7.

- Canadian Natural Resources has promoted its COO, Tim McKay, to the role of president. Current president Steve Laut becomes executive vice-chairman.

- Bombardier has been awarded a 545-million GBP ($932M) rail contract in the United Kingdom.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

- 8:30 a.m. ET: Enbridge investor conference in Toronto

- 9:30 a.m. ET: Transport Minister Marc Garneau testifies before Senate Transport and Communications committee re. transportation modernization act

- 10 a.m. ET: Lyft holds launch event in Toronto

- 1 p.m. ET: Announcement in Ottawa by Public Services and Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, Transport Minister Marc Garneau, Chief of the Defence Staff Chief Jonathan Vance

- U.S. Federal Reserve starts two-day meeting