Industry Advocacy

The 23rd World Petroleum Organizing Committee is moving ahead with plans to host the event in Texas at the end of the year.

When COVID-19 started sweeping across Canada, Pete and Chris Neal swung into action, splitting the workers at their Richmond Hill, Ont.-based snack food production business into two teams to help stop the pandemic's spread.

Higher prices and less variety on store shelves is a possibility as the agriculture industry confronts a wide range of challenges created by COVID-19.

Small businesses are hoping for promised rent relief from both landlords and government as the COVID-19-related shutdown drags on and their bills pile up.The urgency comes as some landlords have already started issuing eviction notices for businesses that didn't pay April rent, while those who were able to pay are stressed about the months to come."We don't want to be closed, we're forced to be closed...but we're still every single day racking up costs,'' said Barb Bushe, who co-owns The Point of Light gift shop in Newmarket, Ont.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday his government is working on on a program to help businesses and commercial landlords cover their rents for at least three months.

A provincial cabinet minister is advising Newfoundlanders and Labradorians not to panic buy groceries after a major shipping company suggested shipments to Newfoundland could be reduced due to the pandemic.

Ontario's Ministry of Health is hitting pause on a series of new vaping regulations that were to come into effect on May 1.The implementation of the new regulations, which have far-reaching effects on the convenience sector, will now be delayed until July 1, giving all parties time to make adjustments while also dealing with the business impacts of COVID-19.“We commend the Ontario government for listening to our concerns regarding the May 1st deadline to remove vaping products from our stores which was not feasible or in the public interest,” says Anne Kothawala, president & CEO of the Convenience Industry Council of Canada.

C-stores and gas stations across the country remain open under ever-changing guidelines, according to the Convenience Industry Council of Canada's Coast to Coast Update.

After weeks of pressure from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the federal government announced new programs to support businesses during the COVID-19 public health crisis.The wage subsidy will increase from 10% to 75%. “We asked for this from the beginning and won the battle thanks to member support,” the CFIB said in a public statement.