Economy

“15 highrise projects that could reshape Ottawa’s skyline”

Leave a Comment / Canada News, Economy /

Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Best CCTV Camera in Brampton More than a dozen multi-tower skyscraper highrise projects are on the drawing board for Ottawa, and together they could change the city’s skyline from one end to the other. The plans could bring towers of 30 and even 40 storeys to Kanata and Orléans, and line O-Train routes with dense neighbourhoods packed with thousands of housing units. That’s if they go ahead in a tough financial environment. Just last year, Claridge cancelled a 30-storey tower project, citing higher interest rates. It had already scaled the project back from 39 storeys. There’s still no sign of construction on Richcraft’s the Sky project on the edge of Little Italy. That was approved eight years ago, with skyscrapers expected to reach 55 and 45 storeys. Trinity Centre, a LeBreton Flats development approved in 2018 with a towering 65-storey building, still hasn’t gotten off the ground. Neither developer responded to multiple requests for comment about whether those highrise projects are going ahead. But other companies are pitching new highrise projects now working their way through the city’s approvals process, and at least some proponents are confident that they’ll get built, sooner or later. “The market’s there in Ottawa, and if anything it’s just simply going to grow,” said Tim Smith of Urban Strategies Inc., an urban design consulting firm that has worked with the City of Ottawa and local developers. “Whatever the lull there is now is going to be a bit of a blip.” He said towers are at least part of the solution to affordability, as Canadian cities look to welcome record-high numbers of immigrants. As long as highrise projects make a real effort to enhance public space, the added density can energize communities. “There’s sort of a bit of an aversion to highrise developments coming into areas that historically have been mostly low-rise, but it really is the way that Canadian cities generally, and Ottawa in particular, needs to evolve,” Smith said. “You have to get beyond the height of buildings, and the towers, and recognize that the density that comes with those developments can have a real net benefit for an area. It supports the transit. It brings more life to local businesses.” 265 Centrum Toronto-based Bayview Group is looking to bring another highrise project to Orléans, the second ever after Brigil’s Petrie Landing development. But Bayview’s towers would be taller, rising 40, 35 and 30 storeys. Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton An architect’s drawing of the proposed 265 Centrum development. (Fotenn) Home CCTV Camera in Brampton The site just east of Place d’Orléans shopping centre is within walking distance of a planned O-Train station and right in the middle of a city-designated development hub. Two of the towers would be purely residential, while the third also has office and ground-floor retail. Together they would contain more than 1,000 housing units, including some townhouse-like homes. A design brief says the towers are inspired by “floating chunks of ice in the Ottawa River,” with “prismatic geometries” that evoke the winter landscape. Sam Gulamani, managing director and general counsel for the Bayview Group, said the project still needs site plan approval from the city. After that, the group will determine whether the units will be condos or rentals. He couldn’t give a specific timeline for when construction would begin after approval. He pointed to financial head winds that make such highrise projects difficult in the short run, from higher interest rates weighing on demand to inflationary pressures on building costs. “In the long run, we’re very confident in Orléans and in this project,” he said. “We think that it adds something to the skyline in Orléans that hasn’t been there. We also think that there is a shortage of housing, so we’re building something that is going to be in demand. “We don’t get the approval just to sit on it,” he added. “We get the approval with the intent to build it.” Kanata North Main and Main Developments is proposing a 5.5 hectare project at March Road and Terry Fox Drive that would transform an area of Kanata North now spotted with low-to-mid-rise tech complexes. Best CCTV Camera in Brampton An architect’s rendering of March and Main’s 2,100-unit Kanata North development. (SvN Architects) Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton A design from SvN Architects foresees five towers reaching up to 30 storeys, plus several mid-rise buildings, with 2,100 housing units in total. It also includes a public park, plazas, bike paths, retail at ground level and two office buildings. One of the few proposals located far from any planned O-Train station, the Kanata North project lies alongside a bus rapid transit corridor planned for March Road where the city is looking to direct mixed-use development to enliven the existing tech district. Main and Main didn’t respond to a request for comment about its plans. But Smith said highrise developments can make sense when strategically located, even in the most suburban of suburbs. “You have to pick your spots,” he said. “I’m not saying towers make sense everywhere in the suburbs. You don’t plop them into the middle of low-rise neighbourhoods that are healthy and sustainable and valued, but there are places on commercial corridors and commercial nodes where that kind of intensification generally is going to be appropriate.” Lansdowne 2.0 Three highrise towers are an integral part of the plan to finance a $332-million rebuild of the north-side stadium stands at Lansdowne Park, along with a new arena for the Ottawa 67’s. The city is looking to sell air rights over the stands that would permit towers of 40, 34 and 29 storeys. They’d sit above a podium loaded with commercial space. Home CCTV Camera in Brampton An artist’s rendering of the proposed Landowne 2.0 redevelopment. (Fotenn) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton The proposal has already received a stamp of approval from the last council that allowed staff to launch public consultations and seek a developer interested in buying the air rights. It will have to come back to council for final approval. 2000 City Park Ottawa-based Colonnade Bridgeport is applying for a zoning bylaw change that could allow it

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“Breaking News: Oilsands Companies Were Denied a Meeting with the Federal Environment Minister”

Leave a Comment / Canada News, Economy /

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault was in Calgary this week meeting with his provincial counterparts and business leaders. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Canada’s environment minister was in Alberta this week speaking to handfuls of stakeholders and politicians about decarbonization and clean energy.  But Minister Steven Guilbeault turned down a request for a meeting with major oil and gas company CEOs during the trip — amid industry anxiety about federal policies and timelines to reduce emissions.  The Pathways Alliance, a consortium of companies representing 95 per cent of oilsands production, asked for time with the minister during his visit to Calgary on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Two senior oil company executives told CBC News that Guilbeault’s office declined the request. “Minister Guilbeault was unable to accommodate a meeting with Pathways Alliance during this visit,” a statement from Pathways confirmed.  “We are always willing to discuss with the minister ways we can collaborate to significantly reduce emissions from oilsands operations by 2030.” Guilbeault’s office said the minister was only in Calgary for 36 hours. A department official was made available to meet with Pathways representatives.  “I had a pretty packed agenda,” Guilbeault said Thursday. “I felt it would be important to meet with people I have less of a chance to talk to.”  But one oil executive expressed disappointment at being left off the minister’s itinerary given the weighty decarbonization policies he’s currently stickhandling. “We are working well with the department, but it is frustrating when the minister is here he wants us to move faster but he doesn’t want to meet with us to discuss a plan,” they said. CBC News has agreed not to name them, as they were not authorized to discuss company matters publicly.  The trip comes as Ottawa is pushing toward ambitious emissions reduction targets by the end of the decade.  Canada has committed to reaching net-zero by 2050, a timeline the industry and provincial government also subscribe to. The interim goals are more contentious.  The federal government’s 2030 targets would require the oil and gas sector to cut emissions 42 per cent below 2019 levels — a reduction so large the industry and province have called it a de facto production cap, and warned it isn’t feasible without significant economic sacrifices. Last week, Guilbeault called for a global commitment to phase out “unabated” fossil fuels (oil and gas projects that don’t rely on technology to capture their emissions). He’s also leading the development of an impending emissions cap that could set limits at a total not seen since 1992. And the federal government is also about to release a plan to end billions in “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies.  Recent budgets have promised billions in tax credits and other incentives for green technology like carbon capture — spurred by the need to remain competitive with historic spending in the U.S. via the Inflation Reduction Act. The minister’s office noted “frequent communication” has happened between staff, officials and the oil and gas industry, including several meetings with Pathways in the past 18 months. Alberta and Ottawa have also agreed to a working group on energy matters. “This includes how to align our investments in hydrogen, CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage), SMRs (small modular reactors) and to continue engagement on the upcoming oil and gas emissions cap and the Clean Electricity Regulations,” Guilbeault’s office said. The minister met with stakeholders like the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council of Alberta, environmental groups, small energy producers, carbon conversion technology workers and his provincial counterparts, ministers Rebecca Schulz (environment) and Todd Loewen (forestry).  Their meetings focused on greening the electricity grid and emissions reduction. The federal government has set a timeline of 2035 for decarbonizing electricity production. While not directly tied to the oilsands, many producers have cogeneration plants that also produce electricity.  “I informed Minister Guilbeault that our government remains resolutely opposed to any federal cap on oil and gas emissions or electricity regulations that are not expressly consented to by Alberta,” Schulz said in a statement.  Alberta has requested the government share its data and risk analyses on the impacts of 2035 and 2050 targets with the province. In 2021, the oil and gas sector produced more than a quarter of Canada’s total emissions. By 2030, Ottawa wants to see an 81 megatonne reduction in annual oil and gas emissions. Pathways says 22 megatonnes is achievable.    Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault speaks at the GLOBE Forum 2022 in Vancouver on March 29, 2022. (REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier) Canada’s environment minister hopes the next international climate summit will commit to phasing out unabated fossil fuels — oil and gas projects that don’t rely on technology to capture their emissions.  Steven Guilbeault outlined his expectations for the next COP28 while meeting with fellow international ministers from Europe, Mexico, India, Japan, China and other countries. One of those expectations is the eventual elimination of fossil fuel projects that lack a mechanism to prevent carbon emissions from escaping into the atmosphere. Carbon capture, yet to be proven at scale, has been proposed as a way for the oil and gas industry to continue production without changing the planet’s climate.  “We can make COP28 the first COP to acknowledge the need to phase out unabated fossil fuels,” Guilbeault said in prepared remarks after his annual meeting with international counterparts on climate action in Brussels.  COP, or the Conference of Parties, are annual meetings on climate change hosted by the United Nations. The host of the 28th COP is the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.).  The conference’s president echoed Guilbeault’s hopes Thursday.  Calling the phasing down of fossil fuels “inevitable,” COP28 president-designate Sultan Al Jaber unveiled his country’s ambitions for the conference, which will be hosted in Dubai.  “We must be laser-focused on building the energy system of the future, a system free of unabated fossil fuels, including coal,” Jaber said in prepared remarks Thursday.  Jaber called for a tripling of renewable energy output, increasing energy efficiency and doubling hydrogen production to 163 million tonnes annually by 2030. Both Canada and the

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“The Black Sea Grain Deal: Who Will Pay the Price for Russia’s Decision?”

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What Russia’s withdrawal from Black Sea grain deal could mean for global food prices On Sunday, the Turkish ship TQ Samsun left the port of Odesa in Ukraine carrying 23,500 metric tons of corn and 15,300 metric tons of rapeseed to the Netherlands under the final hours of the Black Sea grain deal. Now, the world has entered yet another period of uncertainty and although Canada and the U.S. are not among the top receivers of grain shipments from the Black Sea, experts are calling for Canadians to keep a close watch on how markets react. On Monday, Russia withdrew from the grain deal, under which it allowed the passage of ships from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea carrying food grain shipments. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would suspend the Black Sea Grain Initiative until its demands to get its own food and fertilizer to the world are met. While Russia has complained that restrictions on shipping and insurance have hampered its agricultural exports, it has shipped record amounts of wheat. “When the part of the Black Sea deal related to Russia is implemented, Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the deal,” Peskov said. The deal last year was a crucial breakthrough, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, that allowed Ukraine to ship 32.8 million metric tons of grain. More than half of this export went to developing nations around the world and had been cut off during Russia’s invasion. “(Under the Black Sea agreement), the World Food Program has shipped more than 725,000 tons (of food grains) to support humanitarian operations, relieving hunger in some of the hardest hit corners of the world including Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Yemen,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday. The initiative is credited with helping lower the soaring prices of wheat, vegetable oil and other food commodities. Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products that developing nations rely on. A key demand by Moscow is the reconnection of the Russian agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT international payment network. It was cut off by the European Union in June 2022 over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Guterres said he sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, outlining a proposal. Among his offers was allowing the U.S.-based bank JPMorgan Chase to process Russian food grain payments. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that he had not heard of any such proposal. Guterres expressed his disappointment. “I am deeply disappointed that my proposals went unheeded. Today’s decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere, but it will not stop our efforts to facilitate the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation,” he said. What will the impact be? While the impact is expected to be felt in several developing countries in Africa and western Asia, United Nations Black Sea Initiative Joint Coordination Centre data shows that food shipments from the Black Sea were meant for destinations across the world. China (eight million metric tons), Spain (six million metric tons), Turkey (3.2 million tons) and Italy (2.1 million tons) have been the biggest recipients of cargo from Black Sea ports since the deal was struck. The implications will be felt all over the world, and an Oxfam Canada spokesperson told Global News they were concerned about the ripple effects the suspension of the deal could have on food prices, food donation drives and inequity in Canada. It could also offer an opportunity to create more breadbaskets around the world, the spokesperson said. “Now that this deal is off the table, it is even more urgent to rethink how to feed the world,” said Hanna Saarinen, an Oxfam international food expert. “Global hunger will not be solved by growing crops in only one of the world’s few breadbaskets. We must stop this unhealthy reliance by diversifying production and investing in small-scale farmers in poorer countries to increase food production where needed.” Saarinen noted that though the deal “has played a part in calming skyrocketing food prices, it is not the cure-all for world hunger.” Experts believe that the end of the Black Sea grain deal will make global hunger significantly worse. Last week, the UN released its annual State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, which said that approximately 725 million people faced chronic hunger in 2022. This figure is up from 613 million in 2019. The war in Ukraine has caused the UN to update its projections on world hunger. “Updated projections show that almost 600 million people will be chronically undernourished in 2030 … this is about 119 million more undernourished people than in a scenario in which neither the pandemic nor the war in Ukraine had occurred, and around 23 million more than in a scenario in which the war had not happened,” the report said. How will it affect Canadians? “This is a very concerning development for global food security. More broadly, at the international level, there’s concerns about the continued supply of grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine to developing countries in particular, which are their main export markets. And there’s also questions about kind of the impacts this can have on global food prices, and in particular, the reaction of commodity markets to this development,” said Matias Margulis associate professor at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia. Margulis said that while the U.S. and Canada are major food exporters, the end of the Black Sea deal could deal some shocks to the global supply systems. “If markets react very negatively to this development, that could lead to a rise in food prices across the board so we can contribute to food inflation here in North America and globally,” he told Global news. Ukraine’s imports will also mean aid may dry up for the

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“Mortgage Meltdown Alert: How Bank of Canada’s Record Tightening Campaign is Shaking Lenders’ Confidence”

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Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers leave after holding a press conference at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick The Bank of Canada’s interest rate hike on Wednesday and prospects of more increases heighten risks to mortgage lenders as homeowners are likely stay in debt longer, struggling to make higher payments or pay even the interest portion of their home loans, investors and analysts said. After urging lenders to tackle risks from a sharp rise in borrowing costs, Canada’s main banking regulator, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), on Tuesday proposed tougher capital rules for lenders to prevent consumers from defaulting or entering negative amortization. Negative amortization occurs when variable home loan customers’ monthly repayments are insufficient to cover the interest component of home loans. The excess amount gets added to the outstanding loan, lengthening the repayment period. “All of that is a realization that there is stress in the system,” said Greg Taylor, Chief Investment Officer of Purpose Investments. “There’s definitely more risk because anytime you hike you never know when it’s going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.” Unlike the U.S., where home buyers can snag a 30-year mortgage, Canadian borrowers must renew their mortgages every five years at the prevailing interest rates. On Wednesday, the central bank pushed back its expectations for getting inflation to its two per cent target by six months to mid-2025, a sign interest rates are likely to stay higher for longer. The cost of a floating rate mortgage has now increased by about 70 per cent from the loans since October 2021, when interest rates hit a record low and more than half of home buyers took out floating rate loans. Analysts estimate some C$331 billion in mortgages come up for renewal in 2024 and C$352 the following year, illustrating the enormity of refinancing challenge. Consumers are largely able to make their payments for now, thanks to strong employment. Also, consumers getting mortgages have been stress-tested for higher rates than their original mortgage. Latest data released during the quarterly earnings showed mortgage delinquencies for all banks were low. Of the big six banks in Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia and National Bank of Canada do not offer mortgage extensions, meaning the payment owed by the consumer goes up for each hike the BoC announces. The two banks will be key for any early signs of stress as borrowing costs rise further. Analysts also warned the two banks risk losing mortgage market share due as their products offer less flexibility. RBC and Scotiabank said it has been working with customers individually and reaching out to customers proactively in the current rising rate environment. National Bank did not offer a comment. Bank of Montreal, CIBC and TD Bank each allow for negative amortization as rates rise. More than three-quarters of people with variable-rate mortgages had already hit their trigger rate, according to Desjardins. Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s biggest bank, does not offer negative amortization but its variable rate mortgage customers have already seen an increase in payments by as much as 40% to cover higher interest rates, KBW analyst Mike Rizvanovic said. While the other three banks have fully insulated their borrowers until the mortgage is renewed. Canada’s banking regulator’s latest proposal to increase capital requirements puts “modest” challenges on CIBC depending on how much of the portfolio ultimately moves to a negative amortization, Rizvanovic said, adding that BMO and TD would face “a very manageable impact.” CIBC did not offer an immediate comment. Darcy Briggs, portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Canada, said one of the key factors for “keeping persistent demand is mortgage forbearance.” “If your monthly payment doesn’t change, consumer behaviour doesn’t change so spending habits and patterns don’t change. So it is working counter to what the Bank of Canada is trying to accomplish,” Briggs added. (Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Toronto; Editing by Josie Kao and David Gregorio) In recent times, the Bank of Canada’s record tightening campaign has sent shockwaves through the mortgage market, causing lenders to question their confidence in the face of increasing challenges. This article delves into the profound impact of the Bank of Canada’s actions, examining how the tightening measures are unsettling lenders and reverberating throughout the industry. With interest rates rising and stricter lending criteria being enforced, the mortgage landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, leaving lenders and borrowers grappling with uncertainty. The Bank of Canada’s aggressive tightening campaign has left lenders feeling uneasy as they navigate uncharted territory. Historically low interest rates had fueled a surge in lending and borrowing, with lenders taking on greater risks to accommodate the increased demand. However, as the central bank tightens monetary policy to curb inflation and stabilize the economy, lenders are being forced to reassess their lending practices and risk appetite. One of the main challenges faced by lenders is the reduction in affordability for borrowers. As interest rates rise, the cost of borrowing increases, making it more difficult for potential homeowners to qualify for mortgages and afford the monthly payments. This tightening of affordability has a direct impact on lenders’ ability to generate new business and maintain profitability. Lenders now face the dilemma of finding a balance between responsible lending and ensuring their own sustainability. Furthermore, the stricter lending criteria imposed by the Bank of Canada have led to a decline in mortgage approvals. Borrowers who would have previously qualified for a mortgage may now find themselves ineligible under the tightened regulations. This decline in mortgage approvals not only affects lenders’ revenue streams but also has broader implications for the real estate market and the economy as a whole. The ripple effect of the Bank of Canada’s tightening campaign is evident in the rising number of mortgage delinquencies. As borrowers face increased financial strain due to rising interest rates and reduced affordability, some are struggling to meet their mortgage obligations. This uptick in delinquencies puts additional pressure on lenders, who must now manage the risks associated with higher default rates and potential losses. In response to the shifting landscape, lenders are reevaluating their risk management strategies and recalibrating their lending

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