Nicholas Nicholas Reichenbach Founder & CEO of Flow Water, water packaged in tetra pacs, is photographed in Toronto, Ontario Friday October 23/2015. (Photo by Kevin Van Paassen for The Globe and Mail)Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
Cannabis companies poaching key talent from the food and beverage sectors
Nicholas Reichenbach, CEO and founder of Flow Water Inc., has run into some difficulties while trying to boost the number of staff at his three-year-old spring water company. The Toronto-based company has doubled its work force to 50 in the past year, but as with many companies in the food and beverage industry, he’s found himself in a fierce battle for talent with the nascent legal cannabis sector. Full story
Deep Trekker’s robot subs help uncover the mysteries of the sea
It was a decade ago in the middle of Lake Huron that Sam Macdonald first got the idea. Ms. Macdonald and her late-night boating companions had accidentally dropped a flashlight in the water. “We started talking: ‘Why is there no robot with an arm on it to go and get the flashlight?’” she recalls. Full story
CMHC aims to make it easier for self-employed to get a mortgage
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is making changes intended to make it easier for the self-employed to qualify for a mortgage. The national housing agency says it’s giving lenders more guidance and flexibility to help self-employed borrowers. Full story
Canada’s new export minister Mary Ng to push beyond U.S. market, boost small-business trade
Canada has created a new Cabinet position to help exporters look beyond the United States and there will be resources for small businesses that want to take advantage of new trade deals, the new minister for export promotion said on Tuesday. Full story
Benefits startup League Inc. raises $62-million in Telus, Weston-led financing deal
Toronto serial tech entrepreneur Mike Serbinis has tapped a couple of Canadian corporate heavyweights to boost his latest startup. League Inc., which is looking to disrupt the health benefits market, has raised $62-million in its latest venture financing deal, led by Telus Corp.’s venture capital arm and also backed by Canada’s billionaire Weston family – the controlling shareholders of George Weston Ltd. and Loblaw Cos. Ltd. – through their private holding company Wittington Investments. Full story
Venture capital firms have a gender problem. Here’s how to fix it
The reports continue to pile up and the verdict remains the same: Venture capital firms have a gender problem. Specifically, investors in early-stage companies have too few women on their teams and that has become a huge hurdle for female entrepreneurs to leap over. Full story
Big auto makers’ trade secrets exposed in data leak traced to small Canadian company
Auto makers like Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen go to great lengths to keep their technical information confidential. Details about assembly line machinery and proprietary robotics are among the industry’s most closely guarded trade secrets. Full story
B.C. labour organization pushes for paid sick leave, following Ontario’s new model
British Columbia’s biggest labour organization is pushing to make paid sick days mandatory for workers in the province and has launched a new campaign calling on the government to update the Employment Standards Act. Irene Lanzinger, the president of the B.C. Federation of Labour, said many British Columbians currently have to decide between either going to work feeling unwell or facing lost wages. Full story
Former Canada Post CEO joins Drone Delivery Canada
The former Canada Post CEO who shepherded the crown corporation through a fruitful period of digital transformation has joined Canada’s most well-known drone startup. On Monday, Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) announced that Deepak Chopra, who stepped down from his position as Canada Post CEO at the end of March after running the organization for seven years, had joined DDC as its strategic advisor of commercialization. Full story
How killing a tax rebate could breathe new life into the Beach
It may be hard to believe in a neighbourhood with so many empty storefronts, but Andrea Orazi says when she was looking for a space to set up her vegan ice cream shop in the Beach, she had trouble finding a landlord who would rent to her. Full story
BDC launches program for SMEs impacted by tariffs
Small and medium enterprises impacted by U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs are heading for turbulent times, said the president and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada. Michael Denham was in Sault Ste. Marie Tuesday sending SMEs a message: money is available to qualifying SMEs to help diversify their business, modernize plants or develop new markets and strategies to overcome the impact of tariffs. Full story