Journal of Commerce

VANCOUVER — British Columbia Premier David Eby will speak to local politicians at their annual convention today just as he contemplates disrupting their upcoming municipal elections with his own provincial vote. The premier’s annual speech to delegates at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention comes days after he said he warned Elections BC and his caucus to be “election ready” amid disruptions posed by the U.S. trade war.

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government has invested $24.4 million into the purchase and renovation of a new transitional housing complex as part of Your Way Home: Manitoba’s Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. The seven-storey, 87,000-square-foot building will be transformed into transitional housing. Once fully operational, the building will provide housing for up to 118 people experiencing homelessness or living in encampments.

REGINA – The Saskatchewan construction community gathered in Regina recently with the goal of advancing the prevention of serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs). The event, which was hosted by the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association (SCSA), featured a workshop and keynote dinner with energy-based safety expert Dr. Steven Ayer, an educator in construction safety and management at the University of Colorado Boulder.

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says residents have changed their clocks for the last time, as the province will be sticking with daylight time year-round. The province says 58 per cent of 72,000 residents surveyed said they want to stick with central daylight time. About 34 per cent wanted to move to standard time year-round. “We heard from Manitobans loud and clear – no more changing the clocks in Manitoba,” Kinew said Thursday in a statement.

VANCOUVER — British Columbia home sales fell again in August on a year-to-year basis, although the real estate industry says a “gradual recovery” is underway. The British Columbia Real Estate Association says there were 5,653 residential property sales last month on the Multiple Listing Service, a 4.7 per cent decrease from the same month last year. The average home price in the province also fell to just under $925,000 from the same period last year.

WINNIPEG – The City of Winnipeg has announced wastewater is now flowing through the newly-built headworks facilities, which is part of the multibillion-dollar North End Wastewater Treatment Plant (NEWPCC) Upgrade Projects.

VANCOUVER — The City of Vancouver has announced the B.C. Supreme Court has dismissed a legal challenge that called into question the city and Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation’s authority to proceed with the planned renewal of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre (VAC). The court’s decision allows the city and board to proceed with next steps in renewing the facility which has neared the end of its functional lifespan, states a release.

EDMONTON — A report commissioned by the Alberta government says if the province wants to separate from Canada, it will have to shell out up to $170 billion and hire 70,000 civil servants to do it. The report from the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy says the minimum cost would be $50 billion over the first five years of transition, topping out at $170 billion.

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s Opposition NDP is calling for a moratorium on construction of hyperscale artificial intelligence data centres in the province. Leader Carla Beck says there should be a pause until a process for assessing these projects and their effects is implemented and robust public consultation occurs. The call comes a day after Premier Scott Moe and Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Bell Canada intends to quadruple the size of its planned data centre outside Regina.

EDMONTON — Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories have all signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a framework for the three jurisdictions to advance collaboration and information-sharing related to nuclear generation technologies. This includes large-scale nuclear reactors, small modular reactors and microreactors and transmission infrastructure, explains a release.