Business

FILE - Amazon Echo and Echo Plus devices, behind, sit near illuminated Echo Button devices during an event by the company in Seattle on Sept. 27, 2017. Amazon’s Alexa might soon replicate the voice of family members - even if they’re dead. The capability, unveiled at Amazon’s Re:Mars conference in Las Vegas Wednesday, June 22, 2022, is in development and would allow the virtual assistant to mimic the voice of a specific person based on a less than a minute of provided recording. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

Amazon’s Alexa could soon mimic voice of dead relatives

Company says capability currently in development

An Atlantic salmon is seen during a Department of Fisheries and Oceans fish health audit at the Okisollo fish farm near Campbell River, B.C. Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. The executive director of British Columbia’s salmon farmers association says a formalized consultation process for the future of the industry is welcome after several years of “ad hoc” discussions stemming from the Liberal government’s pledge in 2019 to end open-net pen salmon aquaculture off B.C.’s coast. THE CANADIAN PRESS /Jonathan Hayward

B.C. salmon farming industry welcomes consultation after years of ‘ad hoc’ talks

Consultation to bring industry, First Nations and governments together to talk about transition

Susie Rieder, a spokeswoman for BC Hydro, who uses a heat pump to heat and cool her Burnaby, B.C. home, is shown in a handout photo.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Susie Rieder

Heat pump might help B.C. residents save utility costs, but do your research first

Unit can eliminate need for air conditioner, reduce your household’s environmental footprint

Canadian dollars (loonies) are pictured in Vancouver, Sept. 22, 2011. A new study says a basic income program would help alleviate poverty in Canada but could also put the fiscal sustainability and labour supply of some provinces at risk.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Basic income would ease poverty, put sustainability, labour supply at risk: study

Funding such a program would likely require increasing taxes or cutting government spending

Canadian dollars (loonies) are pictured in Vancouver, Sept. 22, 2011. A new study says a basic income program would help alleviate poverty in Canada but could also put the fiscal sustainability and labour supply of some provinces at risk.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Rogers Communications says Nanaimo is the first city in Canada to receive the company’s high-speed, high-capacity 3500 MHz 5G service. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)

B.C. city Canada’s first to connect to Rogers’ new high-capacity network

Company says 3500 MHz 5G debuting in Nanaimo will benefit wide range of clients

Rogers Communications says Nanaimo is the first city in Canada to receive the company’s high-speed, high-capacity 3500 MHz 5G service. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)
A WestJet flight from Calgary arrives at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield, N.S. on Monday, July 6, 2020. Industry watchers expect WestJet to remove routes from the Toronto-Montreal-Ottawa triangle as part of the Calgary-based airline’s new strategy to focus future growth on Western Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Air Canada too dominant in the East for WestJet to compete, experts say

WestJet will pivot resources to increase service in Western Canada

A WestJet flight from Calgary arrives at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield, N.S. on Monday, July 6, 2020. Industry watchers expect WestJet to remove routes from the Toronto-Montreal-Ottawa triangle as part of the Calgary-based airline’s new strategy to focus future growth on Western Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
A women walks past the new rebranding sign of Freedom Mobile in Toronto on Thursday, November 24, 2016. Globalive Capital says it has gone straight to Shaw Communications Inc. with its $3.75 billion offer for wireless carrier Freedom Mobile due to a lack of engagement from Rogers Communications Inc. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Rogers strikes $2.85-billion deal to sell Freedom Mobile to Quebecor

Rogers hopes deal will appease federal regulators opposed to its proposed takeover of Shaw

A women walks past the new rebranding sign of Freedom Mobile in Toronto on Thursday, November 24, 2016. Globalive Capital says it has gone straight to Shaw Communications Inc. with its $3.75 billion offer for wireless carrier Freedom Mobile due to a lack of engagement from Rogers Communications Inc. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Commercial vehicles travelling via the Queen of Alberni will be offered fare savings until Oct. 12, says BC Ferries. (News Bulletin file photo)

BC Ferries floats 33% savings to entice off-peak commercial traffic

Commercial saver fare available until Oct. 12 for select Island-Tsawwassen ferry sailings

Commercial vehicles travelling via the Queen of Alberni will be offered fare savings until Oct. 12, says BC Ferries. (News Bulletin file photo)
The sign on the front of the Telus head office is shown in Toronto on Thursday, February 11, 2021. Telus Corp. has signed a deal to buy LifeWorks Inc. valued at $2.9 billion including debt. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Telus signs deal to buy LifeWorks in deal valued at $2.9 billion including debt

LifeWorks is an HR firm that helps companies with employee and family assistance plans

The sign on the front of the Telus head office is shown in Toronto on Thursday, February 11, 2021. Telus Corp. has signed a deal to buy LifeWorks Inc. valued at $2.9 billion including debt. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson speaks during a press conference outside the GLOBE Forum at the Convention Centre in Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. Wilkinson said the world cannot allow Russia and China to have global dominance over critical minerals.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Canada says world cannot allow Russia, China to dominate critical minerals market

Demand for lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and copper exploding as energy transition continues

Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson speaks during a press conference outside the GLOBE Forum at the Convention Centre in Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. Wilkinson said the world cannot allow Russia and China to have global dominance over critical minerals.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
A woman uses her computer keyboard to type while surfing the internet in North Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. Businesses and other private-sector organizations would be required to report ransomware incidents and other cyberattacks to the government under a federal bill to be tabled today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Key enterprises could face penalties under federal bill to bolster cybersecurity

New legislation targets telecommunications, finance, energy and transportation sectors

A woman uses her computer keyboard to type while surfing the internet in North Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. Businesses and other private-sector organizations would be required to report ransomware incidents and other cyberattacks to the government under a federal bill to be tabled today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Prince Edward County resident Judith Burfoot is shown in a handout photo. Travel and hospitality experts say pandemic-battered businesses are increasingly recognizing a longstanding blindspot that if addressed could help them rebound this summer: the BIPOC traveller. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Judith Burfoot **MANDATORY CREDIT**

Tourism and travel industry pushed to embrace diversity and inclusion measures

More BIPOC travellers visiting homogenous communities unaccustomed to catering to diverse clientele

Prince Edward County resident Judith Burfoot is shown in a handout photo. Travel and hospitality experts say pandemic-battered businesses are increasingly recognizing a longstanding blindspot that if addressed could help them rebound this summer: the BIPOC traveller. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Judith Burfoot **MANDATORY CREDIT**
FILE - Cars line up for gas at a gas station in Martinez, Calif., on Sept. 21, 1973. An unhappy confluence of events has economists reaching back to the days of disco and the bleak high-inflation, high-unemployment economy of nearly a half century ago. No one thinks stagflation is in sight. But as a longer-term threat, it can no longer be dismissed.(AP Photo/File)

Worry about stagflation, a flashback to ’70s, begins to grow

Fears arise that high inflation, weak job market could combine in a toxic brew not seen in decades

FILE - Cars line up for gas at a gas station in Martinez, Calif., on Sept. 21, 1973. An unhappy confluence of events has economists reaching back to the days of disco and the bleak high-inflation, high-unemployment economy of nearly a half century ago. No one thinks stagflation is in sight. But as a longer-term threat, it can no longer be dismissed.(AP Photo/File)
The Bank of Canada building is seen on Wellington Street in Ottawa, on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. The Bank of Canada will outline what it sees as the key vulnerabilities and risks to Canada’s financial system later this morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Bank of Canada says household debt and home prices key risks for financial system

Households have seen net worth increase of about $230,000 over the first two years of the pandemic

The Bank of Canada building is seen on Wellington Street in Ottawa, on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. The Bank of Canada will outline what it sees as the key vulnerabilities and risks to Canada’s financial system later this morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Mechanic Frederic Mistre works on a combustion engine car at a garage in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. The European Parliament is voting Wednesday on deeper emission cuts by power plants, factories, planes and cars. The legislative package, which includes a proposed EU ban on combustion-engine cars in 2035, aims to slash Europe’s greenhouse gases by 55% in 2030 compared with 1990 levels and put the bloc on a path to climate-neutrality by mid-century. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

EU lawmakers endorse ban on combustion-engine cars in 2035

Voters also endorsed a 55% reduction in CO2 from automobiles in 2030

Mechanic Frederic Mistre works on a combustion engine car at a garage in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. The European Parliament is voting Wednesday on deeper emission cuts by power plants, factories, planes and cars. The legislative package, which includes a proposed EU ban on combustion-engine cars in 2035, aims to slash Europe’s greenhouse gases by 55% in 2030 compared with 1990 levels and put the bloc on a path to climate-neutrality by mid-century. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Tim Sangha, a member of the Nanaimo-based business partnership that has owned the Scarlet Ibis Pub and Restaurant since November 2020, presents a carving by woodcarver Rick Rotar of the Ibis business logo to Patricia Gwynne who owned and operated the Island’s most remote pub for more than 40 years. (Scarlet Ibis image)

New business partners breathe new life into Vancouver Island’s most remote pub

Scarlet Ibis Pub and Restaurant in Holberg is edge of civilization for wilderness adventurers

Tim Sangha, a member of the Nanaimo-based business partnership that has owned the Scarlet Ibis Pub and Restaurant since November 2020, presents a carving by woodcarver Rick Rotar of the Ibis business logo to Patricia Gwynne who owned and operated the Island’s most remote pub for more than 40 years. (Scarlet Ibis image)
Two boxes of Kleenex tissues are displayed in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Dee-Ann Durbin)

‘Shrinkflation’: No, you’re not imagining it, package sizes are shrinking

Issue not new, but proliferates in times of high inflation as companies grapple with rising costs

Two boxes of Kleenex tissues are displayed in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Dee-Ann Durbin)
A Tim Hortons cup is seen inside a Tim Hortons restaurant in Toronto, Friday, March 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Tim Hortons app collected vast amounts of sensitive data: privacy watchdogs

Users had movements tracked and recorded every few minutes, even when app was not open

A Tim Hortons cup is seen inside a Tim Hortons restaurant in Toronto, Friday, March 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
Sunny days are back again for businesses feeding off Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail and the other attractions of Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim. (John McKinley photo)

`Life is getting back to normal’ for tourism on Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim

Residents remain cautious with COVID as businesses struggle with staffing as visitors flood back

Sunny days are back again for businesses feeding off Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail and the other attractions of Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim. (John McKinley photo)
People sit on the outdoor patio at a restaurant in Little Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Statistics Canada says restaurant and bar sales in March 2022 surpassed pre-pandemic levels. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Restaurant sales bounced back over pre-pandemic levels in March: Statistics Canada

Increase in sales coincided with surging inflation and rising food costs across the country

People sit on the outdoor patio at a restaurant in Little Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Statistics Canada says restaurant and bar sales in March 2022 surpassed pre-pandemic levels. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette