Loudmouth Lutnick

Howard Lutnick is a billionaire who routinely mouths off about Canada in his Trump role as Commerce Secretary. He and Jamieson Greer, the trade representative are sold on tariffs and manufacturing in the U.S. and this approach has been for every country in the world. Some countries rushed to make deals only to find Trump changes the deals.

Both Lutnick and Greerson have pretty much said the deal Canada must accept is that their auto manufacturing must move to the U.S. and that we buy cars from America and no where else. This, and pretty much every other industry, are to move to the U.S. and we buy from them or risk punishment. There is absolute fury in the administration that Canada went to China and made a deal to end the ban canola and other ag products and quota for EV automobiles in Canada. Strangely enough, Trump is going to China soon. How will his deal be different than Canada's?

Lutnick might be trying to impress Trump now so he can get a pardon later for behavior kinked to Epstein. This isn't just an idle observation. He seems to only disclose when under oath and Congress is about to question him again. It often seems that most of the cabinet and political appointees perform for an audience of one. It is all about Trump.

Canada had not risen to the debate as it might once have done. The U.S, seems to want to scare Canada into a deal while stripping out our tech and manufacturing industry at the same. The U.S. negotiating team seems bewildered why we don't jump at such a bad deal. Or ask to become a state in the U.S.

The mid-term elections in the U.S. this November likely mean change is coming for both elected officials and administration. The loss of the House of Representatives, and possibly, the Senate. It is the Congress that makes trade deals. It seems very likely that Canada just has to wait till January 2027 for when the newly elected members are sworn in.

There is usually changes in cabinet and other appointees as well. We have seen Trump fire a few cabinet secretaries and more may be on the way. Some will quit before getting fired while others will quit to get media jobs, lobbyist jobs or to run for office themselves. The last two years of a presidency is called the lame duck part of the term. It is when even the President's party is not likely to pass the agenda if it means a possibility of them not winning or moving on to another office in the next election.

The possibility of the president running a third term is remote because of two term limits. Any attempt to bypass that is likely to be struck down at every level of the courts. The Supreme Court knows that if they strike down term limits for Trump, it could result in multiple terms for other presidents, including Democrats.

The term limits work to Canada's advantage because tariffs are not likely to be as much on the agenda of any future U.S. president. It could be why the U.S. negotiating team is putting a rush on talks. They want to lock in terms favourable to them. The U.S. is particularly focused on pharmaceutical and online companies. They may have dropped bringing up supply management in things like dairy. It is possible that they fear Canada might bring up U.S. subsidies in ag and manufacturing.

Pierre Poilievre has been needling Carney that he has done nothing to make a deal and insists it is achievable if he was the prime minister. Interestingly, he doesn't reveal what compromises he would make that would be a win-win for both countries. He simply won't be PM if he throws supply management or pharmaceuticals to the Americans. And that is just to start.

Some of the U.S. demands are just being revealed. They want Canada to accept tariffs but also any attempt to diversify our economy from the U.S. or any regulation of our own economy. The fact that free trade exists at a level that is near complete in North America is not acceptable. They want free trade for U.S. into Canada while Canada pay high tariffs.

Lutnick says Canada delaying sucks and won't work but the truth is that he will likely not have his job soon enough. He will either quit or be fired soon. His appearance in future Congressional Epstein hearings in next days. The rush to submit to the U.S. in the negotiations is just not in Canada's interest. And despite what Poilievre says, Canada is not delaying. We just won't pay upfront costs anymore when the U.S. never gives anything back. Not will we accept the insults and threats of annxation.

Lowering Gas Tax

The continuing war has led to the new majority government of Mark Carney to lower the excise tax on gas 10 cents. For diesel and aviation fuel the drop is 4 cents In the next days and week, summer fuel comes on the market and it costs an additional fivc cents a litre.  And there is no telling how long the war continues. Even if oil begins to flow, resumption of pre-war prices is forecast not to happen this year and maybe never.

There is a lot of cynicism. Some are saying that the money should be used for other things to make life affordable. It is about $2.5 billion that is out of government coffers. The suggestion is that the money could be used to pay for 10,000 nurse for an entire year. If only that would end the nurse shortages. As with most things, it is very complicated.

With gas 40 cents higher than a year ago, some people asked to comment on media were begging government to somehow get it lowered back to that. Covid, global recessions and market manipulations have dropped gas prices way low from time to time. But what have we learned? Not much. It is when people buy the biggest vehicles. However, they can run into sticker shock if gas goes high which happens fairly often. Unlike the housing market, there are no guardrails against gas shooting through the roof. 

The war in the Middle East is outside Canada's control. What Canada can control is access to some critical supplies like helium where 30% is supplied by Qatar. Even before this there has been a shortage of this element that is central in things like MRI machines. Perhaps the private sector will take up the cause and invest here. There is a role for government in this.

As for reserves that other countries have such as the U.S., Canada has never needed since we are a net exporter. The price though is set worldwide. It doesn't matter if we have enough supply for ourselves. And we are not Venezuela or Saudi Arabia that subsidize fuel prices for locals. And where countries have subsidized, it hasn't helped their economies.

Reducing tax as a inflation relief strategy has to be measured against how much government revenue is lost versus how much costs of living. And once you reduce tax, the very act of doing show can in itself cause inflation. It is a balancing act. Most industries will all beg for tax relief while as the same time say the roads are terrible. Well, government revenue is required for infrastructure. 

The war has been a shock to the system so a temporary measure to help is understandable. The excise tax of 10 cents has been frozen since 1995. Adjusted for inflation, it should be 17 cents now. An argument for tax reform can be made, especially transparency and fairness. But some people, often richer, think taxes are only for the poor. No one likes taxes but they are a dense collection of fees that are confusing even to accountants.

The ceasefires in the Middle East usually have the same result every time. Civilians rush back to the smashed homes and re-build as do belligerents for the next wave of attacks. The incentive to actually resolve the problems is never really there. It seems for some, the war is a chance to shore up political support every few months. In some places like Lebanon, the state seems paralyzed to do anything as a nation.

For many Canadians, they will take the relief for now. They will wait till Monday to fill their cars. Some provinces might follow suit. Canada does not control the war. It might be involved somehow in a peace agreement but we seem far off from that scenario yet. The now majority government of Mark Carney will have to move fast to juice the economy and bring affordability to the market. If the world will stop fighting.

Starfleet Academy Cancelled After One More Season

In the many decades after the original series, I heard numerous times that they were musing about a Star Fleet Academy based show. It was all for naught though. Until 2026, when they 12th series based of Gene Roddenberry's concept was launched. For quite some time the idea was this to be a movie where Kirk and Spock meet. The re-launch of the Kelvin timeline in 2009 had an origin story for Kirk that had him go to the Academy but it was all sped along to where he was acting Captain of the Enterprise. Quite a bit for one movie but it was exciting.

The truth is that there are so many producers, writers and actors proposing stuff in the Star Trek universe that it just dies in development. The best chance anyone ever gets to see a Star Trek TV series or movie is when someone has a development deal and they let them run with the ball. It can still end up being tanked by new executives at CBS Studios or Paramount. Even today that studio has more problems than the average bear.

As a rule, I watch all Star Trek series and movies. I don't love all the series. And I don't love every season of the series I do love. And I don't love every character of every series. I often find series that incorporate kids in a drama series do terrible jobs of it. For Next Generation, I think Wesley was a weak a character and annoying. This is a reflection of the writing as Will Wheaton and Levar Burton were the best knows in the case when the show came on the air. Likewise DS9 had two young actor and I felt their storylines were weak. 

Shows that run as long as Star Trek have different versions and timelines. The animated series is not considered canon. It was darn entertaining through. The reboot movie in 2009 led to a different timeline. It shared enough Trek lore as to win fans. The TV series changes often makes it difficult when creative choices are abandoned along the way. Ask Star Wars about that.

The problem with trying to to keep decades long running franchises going is that you have to satisfy old fan while building a base with new fans who have never seen the series before. The original series had a diverse cast with women in senior positions on the crew. However, the network pushed back and did not want a women as second in command. They also pushed back on Spock's ears which they called demonic. The battle on Spock's ears was won, senior officer as a woman lost.

Science Fiction was an allegory of real world issues in the 1960s. And while the FCC and network censors might not allow certain drama in a police or medical show, they let things slide in Star Trek. Hence, the Klingons were Russians, the Romulans were Chinese, issues on black and white American discourse were raised in an alien species in dispute because one side of their face was while and one side of their face was black. And let's not forget the first back and white kiss on TV with Kirk and Uhura.

Gene Roddenberry was trying to push a positive outlook on the future even if was one where war, slavery, political interference and violence happened fairly regularly. Beware if you have to wear a red shirt on Star Trek. You're toast! The criticism on some of the later Star Trek iterations is that they were too to negative. However, if all was well after, it struck many as overly optimistic. For example, Voyager was always back to a clean, well run ship after every awful encounter. Many called it "the re-set" because there were never any long lasting effects from the battle to get home. It was the introduction of Seven of Nine that helped define the series in later years.

Starfleet Academy had quite a backlash from MAGA conservatives for too many characters and storylines they thought were woke. Some of these conservatives professed to be fans of the old Star Trek. It seems some forget how the show has always been progressive. William Shatner, Captain Kirk, dismissed those criticisms even though he wasn't part of this iteration of the series. Just another example of him defending the show's long history. If anyone knows the fans of the series, it is him.

The corporate takeover of Paramount/CBS Studios by Skydance and subsequent purchase of Warner Brothers has meant and will probably mean lots of layoffs. Old deals with the studio are not necessarily being renewed. And television and cable are thought to be dead mediums. The focus is on streaming. And now just by Paramount. By all of them. Star Trek is just another asset purchased. However, for now, debt has to be paid and producer deals will change or end. By 2027, there will be no Star Trek anywhere in film or TV unless the studio orders something soon. Even hot producer Taylor Sheridan of Yellowstone fame didn't get a new deal.

As for what I thought of Starfleet Academy? I liked the idea of a ship and earth-based school. However, I thought the idea of it landing and taking off excessive and a logistical nightmare. Gene Roddenberry invented the transporters because the cost of landing and taking off a ship as a physical effect was a lot. I'm assuming the producers got a budget for various sets and wanted to make sure they had a ship that could function like this. This was a cost issue for the show. Visual effects seem to have a huge budget.

To be sure the series is as glossy as you are going to see. Bursting with colour and graced with designs that are as posh as you can imagine. Costuming and make-up are amazing. They still struggle to provide pockets for anything. This is something Babylon 5 managed to do. Garibaldi shrugging his shoulders with hands in his pockets was a thing. Star Trek has never been exactly practical on these things. Of course, I did notice pockets on the Artemins crew so maybe they still have a function in space?

I have no problems with the characters per se. However, there is a lot to go through and speeding along as they do, it is too superficial. Teleporting aboard a ship and it puts you in a uniform and cuts your hair seems over the top again. It is jarring. You would think writers and producers would think these things over. A teleport device that could undress you and cuts your hair without consent is not funny. It also raises questions of consistency in technology. Even the Star Trek movies have had to address some of their outrageous tech plot points. The 2009 movie has Scottie and Kirk teleport aboard the Enterprise halfway across the galaxy. The next movie explained that Section 31, took the tech away from Scottie. Still, why travel by starship at all if the teleporter could place you anywhere in the world?

Star Trek has at least tried to keep technical aspects consistent but it would appear that some of those people who are historians and tech writers on the show, are not present. Or perhaps the producers think we'll fall into the technobabble and not see that it can wreck the show just as any continuity error in film and TV does. Nothing more obvious that characters who go from wet to dry in by next scene. This would be the original Star Wars and the garbage chute scene. In terms of tech questions on Star Wars, the Han Solo Kessel Run measured in parsecs as if it was a speed drove some people nuts.

For some, this inside baseball knowledge is not important. What is more important is story and character. Old Star Trek has fewer characters and more episodes. It must seem shocking now but series in the 1960s could have as many as 30 or more episodes a season. And with fewer characters, you would get to see a lot of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. New Star Trek is lucky if they get 10 episodes and you have more that a dozen regulars in the cast. The budgets are insane for new TV which means Starfleet Academy, like previous recent Treks, is filmed in Canada. The tax credits and just better costs has made it necessary. And the skill level of the crews is amazing. This isn't early Degrassi level of TV crews.

The result is a that all the new Treks, Starfleet Academy included, look absolutely slick and have some of the best effects seen on TV. Picture, sound, editing, costuming are top notch. Casting attracting top flight performers like Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti drew everyone's attention. A suitably diverse young cast made up the cadets. There were also some familiar faces of Trek series such as The Doctor in the cast. But with ten episodes how does any actor get enough to work with? And add action, I had a hard time telling who was who in the show and why I should care.

Paramount+ put in so much money (estimated between $10 to $15 million) and looked to the series to be a reason to subscribe to the streamer. In Canada, Starflect is first broadcast on CTV Sci-Fi Network. With so much riding on the series, it not difficult to imagine the pressure. It is a soup where everyone is putting something in which is sometimes just too much. And without, the show was trying to attract teenagers and young people in general. A lot of series often get cut even when ratings are solid but corporate is not happy with the demographic. 

So, how did they do? It appears the ratings were around 2 million per episode. And the demographic was all wrong. Too many older audience members and not enough Gen Z and Alpha. Which raises the question? Can any TV show attract teenagers. The answer is yes and the show would surprise you. It is ABC's The Rookie. It is getting great TV ratings and streaming ratings for episodes after. Many kids watch Hulu when they want to watch a show. The ratings are younger and higher than they have ever been. The show is also far more affordable for ABC than Starfleet Academy.

How is this possible? It would appear that The Rookie has one of the most watched social media platforms out there bar none. Other shows have tried to copy a bit but have paled in comparison. If you haven't seen any of their stuff, do look. It isn't promotional stuff of The Rookie. It is mostly of them on set, in costume goofing around, dancing and enjoying themselves. And the teens are there for it. As a result, they are watching the show in big numbers. Recurring characters, guest stars from shows the kids love and a general mission to just put it out there is winning fans. I'm talking about your Rookie Zombie episode.

Now there was some social media from Starfleet Academy but you have a young cast, they should have been there every day letting people get to know them. The media push in general was flat. Meanwhile, you have Nathan Fillion, a middle aged guy with a podcast find a show that hits with the kids. Do better Paramount.

As for the cost of the show, both The Rookie and Starfleet Academy get production tax credits. The Rookie gets them from Los Angeles and California. Starfleet uses Canadian tax credits. The Canadian tax credits are more but how a show does it's budgets really matters. Special effects really can take up a lot of money. But it is possible to do sci-fi that is good and not break the bank? The Canadian movie Cube is an example. A small set with character development can go a long way. The original Star Trek kept getting their budgets trashed and still managed to stay entertaining

I personally enjoyed the show but I figured it needed far more than ten episodes to hit its stride. So I don't judge too harshly. It took ER at least ten episodes to become the show it eventually grew to be. Strange New Worlds needed some time before they could do a musical show and hit it out of the ballpark. That series was able to find their way and it shows.

Paramount has brought to an end both Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy. I will watch both as as I always do and hope that both have great final seasons. As for Paramount and producers for their shows, they will have to figure how to appeal to the demographic they want without being asses about it. The Rookie has figured it out. And they still do an entertaining show. I expect Strange New Worlds will leave people wanting more. The question is whether Starfleet Academy does that as well.

Lastly, beware of toxic fan bases. Or as a producer cater to fanbases overly so. Let some of the humour, tension and character development grow even if it is only a limited ten episodes. And for gosh sakes, leave a little bit of mystery there.

Artemis Moon Mission

Going to space changes how astronauts think about the earth. They advocate for the well being of the planet and the people on it. It is hard not to feel the awesomeness of seeing everyone and every thing from space. The picture above is from the Artemis mission.

The Artemis rocket is transporting three Americans and one Canadian to the farthest point behind the moon that any human has gone before. The figure eight trip around the Earth and the Moon is a test run. If all goes well, the same astronauts will be in line to be the first humans on the moon since 1972. The twelve Americans from the Apollo missions 1969 to 1972 are the only astronauts to walk on the moon surface. Since that time, all human activity in space has been confined to low earth orbit.

Canada and the U.S. have been long time friends and allies in space. Even the Apollo mission relied on landing gear and communications as well as numerous engineers for its success. Canada was the third country in the world to put satellites in orbit.

To get our seat on Artemis, Canada was to build Canadarm3 for the station that was to orbit the moon. The cost was about $1 billion. However, the Lunar Gateway Mission has now been cancelled so Canada gets the seats to the moon and no Canadarm3 will be built. The adaptation to moon use is already being contemplated and certainly the future Mars mission is expected to include a robotic arm. Trudeau was able to get the agreement back in Trump's first term and Carney has committed to the space program in Trump's second term.

As with all things on a spaceflight, you sometimes have a "Houston, we have a problem moment." In this case, it is the toilet. Hope they figure this one out. It wasn't built in Canada.

Some say the excitement of the mission is blunted by the U.S. fighting in Iran. The criticism is not wrong. Thankfully, the joy and enthusiasm of the astronauts is infectious. As they approach home, the excitement will grow but for those on board, it will be to get down safely and then to go over all the knowledge they've gotten on how to make trips to the moon a regular and safer activity.

We are getting closer to the completion of the moon trip. However, it has captured the imaginations of so many with the amazing pictures of earth and the moon that will be treasured. Saving landing, crew of Artemis!

Conrad Black Sings Trump's Praises

As the founder of the National Post, Conrad Black gets to prattle on about the man who gave the convicted felon a pardon for crimes committed in the United States. Black would probably laugh at the charges were it not for the prison time he did as a result. Surprising to some, Black was the son of a prominent Winnipeg family and had connections to some of the families associated with the city. The family moved to Montreal where Black was born. Most of his education was in Ontario and Quebec where, when he was not being ejected for things he had done, was either a failure or an exceptional academic. Money was always available to him thorough his family and he bought small newspapers as early as 1966 as investment vehicles. In 1976, everything changed when he and his brother inherited the family fortune upon the death of their father. By 1978, Black was stripping the wealth out of various shareholdings, pension funds and the like to create his media company. On occasion, there was pushback by the courts but companies like Dominion Stores were pillaged.

As the industrial assets were dismantled, Black invested more and more in newspapers in Canada and beyond and eventually his company Hollinger because the third largest in the world with assets such as The Telegraph, Jerusalem Post and the Chicago Sun-Times. It was the U.S. paper that caused him later trouble as it was listed on the stock exchange and that brought scrutiny that he rarely faced before. During this period of growth, Black started up the National Post as news counterpart to his purchase of the Financial Post in 1998.

There was a time that my family subscribed to Free Press, The Sun, the Globe and Mail and yes, the National Post. No Internet meant a lot more reading. And a lot more viewpoints. Back then the National Post was full of columnists and it wasn't the full on political paper it is now with light reporting on news. While the Post may have had lots of resources, it came at the expense of other papers owned by Black. Large cuts at the Calgary Herald left it reeling.

As mentioned, the purchase of the Chicago Sun-Times brought scrutiny from Securities Exchange Commission because outside investors didn't like the non-compete fees Black and his partners took on newspapers sales. This led to civil and criminal charges that eventually led to Hollinger and the entire newspaper empire being dismantled and Black serving time. While some of the charges were dropped, some remained. After serving time, he was to be deported to Canada but had to re-claim his citizenship from the Canadian government after denouncing it to take a Lordship in Britain from Queen Elizabeth for owning the Telegraph.

Black was particularly bitter about Chretien who denied his peerage in Britain as Canadian. He had to take British citizenship and renounce Canadian citizenship to become a lord. This was the path that Roy Thomson had to take when he became a Lord through his ownership of the Times and Sunday Times. His grandson David Thomson is one of the Winnipeg Jets owners and a Canadian citizenship but retains the lordship which is hereditary.

Chretien was not prepared to give Black a pass on being a Canadian Lord when Thomson was not allowed to in the past. Canada was trying to create and support and honours system itself with the Order of Canada. It wasn't a good look for Canada and Jean Chretien was despised by Black for it. None of his court challenges on the subject worked. 

Black has sought out a pardon ever since Trump was elected. He must have thought his time was passed when Biden was elected. However, when Trump got back in, he ingratiated himself, wrote a book about Trump and continues to write favourably. The pardon in 2023 finally allows Black to travel back to the U.S. again.

The regular columns in the National Post have pretty much been all about Trump. He has called Canadian reactions to the man as overwrought. He routinely downplays the incoherence of Trump on policy and ignores unintended consequences. The tariff harm on U.S. farmers is of particular note on both exports and imports. Farmers need Canada's potash and they need China's purchase of soybeans. If the policy is to gain something from Canada and China, it doesn't seem obvious.

In his most recent column on April 3, Black suggests Trump has Iran right when he wants them and this will also bring China and Russia to heel. To do this he has suggested that Trump will destroy Iran's power grid. 

"This can only mean that he will, if necessary use amphibious or airborne forces to take over the distribution of Iran’s oil, while destroying its power grid and closing its ports as tightly as its airspace."

Destroying civilian infrastructure is a war crime in case Black has forgotten. It isn't a weapons site. 

"A reduced number of tankers is still moving through the Strait of Hormuz, and there are clearly back-channel communications between the Americans..."

There have been ships moving that have been approved by Iran and supposedly paying a fee to travel inside an island close to the country. This is likely to bring quite a lot of cash to Iran. The communications that Black says must be going on are not self evident.

"Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran, are all being detached from their Russo-Chinese sponsors. The United States is about to take over as much as half of Chinese sources for oil and will be substantially replaced by Russia while Western Europe becomes predominantly dependent upon America and its clients for oil and gas and ceases to finance the Russian aggression in Ukraine with oil and gas purchases from Russia while beseeching America to do the heavy lifting in preventing the Russian takeover of Ukraine."

I'm not sure what information Black has to make this conclusion. If he tried to publish this comment in the Wall Street Journal or the Telegraph, the editors would tell him he was speculating to the point of wish fulfilment. 

"With the return of President Trump, the U.S. led discussions that produced a delicate ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages, and Israel eliminated approximately 80 per cent of the Hamas trigger pullers. It remains to disarm Hamas and to reconstruct Gaza."

Black seems to forget that Trump has supported removing all Palestinians from Gaza, presumably to Somaliland. Black also doesn't take into account how October 7 was a catastrophic failure of Netanyahu on military preparedness and an intelligence failure in protecting Israelis. Their policy of "mowing the grass" was one of just periodically attacking Gaza while expanding settlements in the West Bank. In Netanyahu's cabinet, expansionist cabinet ministers look to Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq for their next targets. Netanyahu has been talking nuclear weapons are two weeks away from completion in Iran since 1996.

"In one long lifetime, the remarkable American presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Nixon, Reagan, and Trump will have transformed the war-ravaged world of Hitler and Stalin into comparative peace and prosperity."

Black would have a hard time getting his opinion published in any American, British or Australian paper with this conclusion. The National Post, American owned, seems to be a cheerleader paper too much of the time, full of grievance and as delusional as some of the so-called leftist media they criticize.

The American public never wanted this war and their reactions reflect that. Congress has given Trump the rope to go forward but the time to conclude this so that the economic impact doesn't hit right when the mid-terms are in November is being overly hopeful. It could be that in January Trump himself might be in retreat and seeking a pardon.

Conrad Black has always been a observer of history but increasingly, he is becoming yesterday's man. It is unlikely young conservatives are looking to him for direction for the future.

Garwood Grill for Sale (Update...not for sale)

Update, talking to Anna. No sale, no agent and no offers per se. They are still around to serve the community.

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It came up in a Facebook post on real estate agent Brad Gross's page that the Garwood Grill on Pembina Highway was for sale. It was also posted on Reddit as well. It has been decades that it has been run by a Greek family but it looks like they've reached a time where there is no one left to run it in the future. And so it is with Greek family owned places. They have a first and often a second generation to run and operate things. There is often not a third. In many cases, the third generation is established in very different industries...at the encouragement of their parents. If there are children at all. In many cases, Greek families have gotten smaller and smaller to the point that no one left in the family is there to take over.

It is unknown what circumstances are there for Garwood Grill. Anna and her parents ran it successfully all these years. It was in the 1980s that my family first went to the restaurant. At first it was just occasional weekends or birthdays or general celebrations. My parents then went for breakfast every weekend and had a warm relationship with Anna and the serving staff. When I left for Japan, it was part of their routine to go to breakfast and write letters to me while there.

For working people for the city especially, Garwood was the place for a hearty breakfast or lunch. The variety of the menu items meant you could find something for everyone from pizza to steak and from breakfast to dinner. Prices and portions are what you might expect from a Greek family restaurant. They're great.

Winnipeg owes a lot to our Greek community. And Winnipeg Greeks gave a lot back to the world from Nia Vardalas with My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Family restaurants are absolutely needed to counterbalance franchises. Nothing wrong with franchises but many don't do all day menus or variety or have servers who have been doing the jobs for years.

Garwood Grill has been known to rent their facility too to groups that often get overlooked. This is not something you might get from a chain restaurant. I don't think any community lasts without gathering places. The more personal connection, the better.

Garwood Grill included all the kitchen and items for operations. However, it also included the property, an additional property as well as a four bedroom apartment above. It can be sure there will be a high level of interest in owning this. With luck, it will retain much of what made it a treasured Greek restaurant. On at least a few occasions new owners didn't get that aspect and the restaurant failed. 

As for Anna and your family, you have been the best.

Fargo Forum Fires Three Columnists

I have commented on the Fargo Forum which is the largest newspaper in North Dakota and paper of of record in Fargo-Moorhead. It is a Pulitzer Prize winning paper with a sister prize winner in the Grand Fork Herald. WDAY in Fargo is part of the same company. Together, they are part of the Marcil family's media group in the state. The private company is its fifth generation. How much money does the family have? Hard to say but it would be within the realm that they are among the richest in the state. It is a Conservative newspaper but back in 2016, they did not endorse Trump. Like a lot of newspapers across North America, they began a withdrawal from endorsing in general. The Winnipeg Free Press also stopped political endorsements a few decades ago.

The Marcil family are associated with old school Republicans. At the moment the MAGA movement is trying to strip other Republicans of party status. It is as ugly as it comes. There are national and state level reverberations. The Forum columnists didn't shrink from them. They called out the cowardice of the North Dakota representatives on issues like trade that deeply hurt agriculture in the state. Senators, cabinet and the lone House of Representative were called out on this. The response in March was to tell columnists to stay away from national issues and politics and only comment on state stuff, There was even a call to do more people related stories that had less politics.

The columnists largely continued as they have and this week was the response: Three of them were fired and the paper is limiting opinion page material to two days a week instead of every day of publication. They will also limit national editorials. The reason that is given is that it will help curate a better balance. The changes will affect the whole of the operation of print publication for the Forum news including the Grand Forks Herald. 

The reaction in Fargo has been one of surprise, mostly negative. Some Republicans are happy that a thorn in the side of the party is gone. However, as mentioned, there is a battle going on among MAGA and the party. The most recent convention was poorly attended because MAGA is trying to kick out non Trump loyalists. Even the Republican governor is incredulous. These battles are happening among Republicans in every state. However, the reaction in the editorial offices is to back into the bushes like Home Simpson. Has this been an owner dictate or something the editorial department has decided after countless letters and digital feedback fighting tooth and claw over left and right, but mostly left?

Now, don't get me wrong. I have credited Forum Communications with having amazing local news and sports coverage. Together, with their ABC affiliate WDAY in Fargo, they have fabulous coverage of local news, weather and top tier sports coverage. The WDAY station has six meteorologists! We don't have any based on TV or radio networks in Winnipeg. Both Fargo Forum and WDAY have healthy sized newsrooms. Their sports reporting on local school and university sports is better than the entire province of Manitoba. Hockey, football, basketball in both girls and boys sports is off the charts. In Winnipeg, we are an utter failure at it. I have noticed more school and junior sports coverage from Shaw/Rogers on their public access. It doesn't come close to North Dakota.

The Free Press in Winnipeg has been excellent in photo journalists working. The pro sports coverage for Jets and Bombers is well done. Business has dedicated writers. As far as arts coverage goes, the Free Press is superior and perhaps on CBC radio competes in that area. However, the Free Press is by far the most extensive for opinion coverage locally. The Sun, by contrast, has relied to heavily on Postmedia opinion although they have invested locally in recent years.

The Fargo Forum has had continuous and diverse opinion till now. They are limited it now to a few days a week. Their reasoning is not known. The result is though that Jim Shaw, Joan Bricker and Jack Zaleski all wrote their final opinion columns on Sunday. Some columnist remain but their platform has been shortened and their ability to write about national politicians even in their own state clipped. This shocking result has led to about 60 people of Fargo protesting outside the doors. I'd be surprised if that has ever happened in the paper's history.

The letters have been mostly negative with some saying that conservative columnists kept their jobs. Since there is only one newspaper in Fargo, the opinion pages tried, in the past, to have a variety of coverage. The amount of protests shows that not everyone will go gently into the night. The High Plains Reader is a monthly progressive publication but a publication that size can't possibly make up for the loss of weekly columns.

I hope we never see this happen in Winnipeg. Still, it is AI and search engines that is not paying for content that is the biggest issue that all content providers worry about more. Fargo is at a turning point for their new and opinion content. Winnipeg, by contrast, as two local owned news papers with s much opinin to chse from.

 

Kyle Frickin' Connor Ad

 

How to Survive the War

Parliament in Canada returns this week and the economic situation as a result of the war in Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Syria, UAE, Qatar and elsewhere doesn't look to end soon. And even if it things were to end immediately, there has been enough of a disruption that it will take some time to get prices down to pre-war levels and security overall doesn't seem to be seriously in the cards.

Even if the United States backed out, Israel and Iran might continue to trade fire. And Israel also has Lebanon its Hezbollah front they are engaged in. Trump is deploying Navy, Air Force, Marines and Army assets even as he talks about some kind of deal. He did this in the earlier assault as well when saying a deal was imminent. Given the stock manipulations, it is possible this is just a way for some to extract billions on the market. No one will be held accountable for this.

The most recent call-up is for 3,000 Airborne troops. The debate among MAGA is the most ferocious between those are are super pro-Israel and those are not. Even for this supporting Israel's right to exist are not comfortable with a potential war with Iran. At the moment, Republicans are staying away from that term but eventually the public will make them pay if there is no support writ large for action.

In Canada, higher oil prices will mean higher royalties in oil producing provinces. Alberta and Saskatchewan may see their deficits end. Industrial provinces like Ontario might suffer with higher energy prices. However, it may also drive a movement in the U.S. to sign a free trade agreement, especially if there is a recession south of the border as a result of chaos from the war. The stock market keeps thinking Trump will chicken out at some point on Iran but he may have stirred the pot too much for it to cool down right away.

Israel's Prime Minister does not want the war to end. Netanyahu wants to occupy southern Lebanon as they once did from 1982 to 2000. Most Israelis tired of the endless stream of deaths of Israeli Defence Forces there. However, there have always been elements of Israeli religion and politics that has pushed for a larger Israel. The religious Republican Mike Huckabee who is the U.S. Ambassador has plainly said he supports a greater Israel that includes large portions of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and further afield. Israeli cabinet ministers have suggested that even Turkey is a threat that needs to be dealt with. It is unhinged.

There has been a lot of talk about Israel directing U.S. policy in the region. Netanyahu has wanted America to crush Iran, even occupy it. And all the while this is going on, Netanyahu says a war is not right time to change the draft rules for Orthodox Jews. This must be frustrating to those Israeli forces who actually do the fighting. Some of citizens of both Israel and the U.S. believe the wars are distractions from other political issues that could put Trump and Netanyahu in legal troubles.

Canadian military forces in various areas of the Middle East that are facing aerial attacks have been moved back. The Strait of Hormuz supplies only a small part of energy needs of North America. However, oil prices are world prices so the supply lost in the choke point of the Persian Gulf means even Canada can't shelter from the price jolt. In Winnipeg, gas has risen to $172.9. The result is impacting energy process across the board as airlines jack rates up 20%. 

Sadly, the decline in inflation in February (much from gas prices dropping) have all but disappeared. The Bank of Canada will have some big decisions on interest rates. Raising them could result in a deep recession. Lowering them could raise inflation higher. Keeping them the same might do nothing. A world-wide recession and high oil prices hit everyone.

All the Carney moves on expanding trade are going to be needed as oil prices may be higher than the beginning of the year just because of damage already to oil infrastructure. And that is if the war ends this week. Going into two months and there will be real downturns everywhere as well as rationing and outright power outages. It is impossible to read anything from Trump's proclamations. Netanyahu is pretty much begging him to go to a ground war and occupation of Iran. He knows that if the U.S. shuts down aggression, he will not be able to continue attacks against Iran. And support for his push into Lebanon might be squelched.

So how do the rest of us survive all this? Well, there is no escape from high gas prices. The bigger your vehicle, the bigger your commute, the more you feel it. The stock market is also where people feel it as it is mostly down. For those who depend on the markets for pension income, it can be nerve wracking. If gas is high, diesel is worse which means trucking and rail is highly affected and price increases will be passed on to all consumers on everything shipped. Already air travel is seeing energy fees being applied. This spring break travel might be the last big travel period before we see people seriously consider not travelling by car or by air if it is too expensive. In Winnipeg, young people will be free on Transit as of July 1. It will be a huge cost savings.

Cost of living has been an issue even before this crisis but now we appear to seem to have to worry about stagflation, inflation and stagnant economy. The Carney government is headed into year two and has been trying to diversify the economy. They have managed to get agriculture goods moving again to China and energy to India. It has been tough because each negotiation comes with pros and cons. Some critics say we should not be trading with India and China because of human rights and foreign interference. Some critics don't even want us to have a trade relationship with Europe. It leads to some impossible standards to upkeep.  The point is the government needs to proceed with caution. Based on the world situation, we can't be overly reliant on any one country. And that is what we have been doing with the U.S.

On a personal level, people in Winnipeg really need to look for gas cheaper than the other guy. While some people complain about prices, they often shop at Shell and pay the highest price. Ditto for groceries. Looks for best prices to try and get some competition even with the supply issues. If there was ever a reason to to shop around, it is now. Canadians have already shown they will change their purchasing and travel decisions when it comes to the U.S. so they will have to do that at home to seek out best prices. It may be the best year to do a vegetable garden or insulate those house.

Large regional wars and conflicts in the past have resulted in rationing and some countries are already doing that with rotating blackouts and curfews. Canada has enough energy supply to not see that but that doesn't mean it won't get expensive with the world price. Some airlines are reporting they may go bankrupt. Some will shut down flights even for areas not affected by the conflict. It is hard to see how this will hit Canada.

If inflation does rise, this is where it will really hurt. Even an end to the war now will take some time to settle. Inflation could be around all year. The federal banks will have to raise interest rates to combat inflation. Housing prices might sink fast causing both positive and negative impacts. Housing prices need to come down but the suddenness of it might have people just leaving keys in the mailbox.

So the question is: How do we survive a war we didn't start, are largely not involved in but have world implications? Very carefully. If things get bad, expect that Canada begins a program to support the Canadian economy, avoid being part of the problem of aggression but possibly a solution for trying to deescalate. What that will be is hard to say. It just doesn't seem like this will end quickly.

Fairmont Hotel and Fort Garry Hotel Undergo Multimillion Dollar Upgrades

The Richardson Family repurchase the Fairmont Hotel in 2024 after selling it in 2010. Since then they have been upgrading mechanical, plumbing and heating and cooling systems. The 1970 built hotel was part of the overall Richardson work that included their headquarters, a hotel, parkade and another office building. In 1979 it also included the Richardson Concourse connected to the main Concourse and Winnipeg Square. 

The hotel was originally called the Winnipeg Inn and was the foremost luxury hotel in the city and has remained such for decades. Even now, it is the main hotel for Hollywood stars and NHL players because of the king-sized beds and two secure floors. It hasn't been without its critics. Some NHL players have been critical of Wi-Fi, the isolated location away from things and that isn't as posh as some of the hotels they stay at. The accelerated pace of the long delayed Sutton Place Hotel and the very low vacancy rate of hotels has hastened the Fairmont to upgrade now.

They are not the only downtown hotel to upgrade. The Delta has also upgraded so that it has captured some of the NHL, AHL and officials bookings. The Fort Garry Hotel has had $5 million dollars of work since 2020. Yuk Yuk's was one addition in the old Club Room. The Oval Room was completely upgraded. The Sunset Terrace outdoor patio was built as well as the Vida Cucina Italia formal dining room. The latest work is nearing completion for April and involves first floor rooms being turned into suites and luxury Regal rooms for about $1 million. These 15 rooms are possibly the poshest and largest in the downtown.

Mid-range hotels have also been upgraded and in some cases expanded in the downtown and beyond. The Best Western Plus was re-branded as Hampton Inn and had floors added. The Holiday Inn and Suites Downtown was also renovated. The Holiday Inn Airport West was re-branded to Birchwood Inn. The Hilton Garden Inn by Seasons is expanded a few floors and unknown amount of room. The Holiday Inn on Pembina Highway is getting a full renovation.

All 340 rooms at the Fairmont will be upgraded. Every restaurant and ballroom will get the same treatment. At $120 million, it could be one of the biggest investments in a hotel in Winnipeg ever. It is unclear what the price of the Sutton Place Hotel near the arena will be. The overall cost is listed for True North towers and the like was $400 million but there has not been a breakdown of what cost what.

Many downtown organizations and businesses are nervous about the Fairmont being closed for nearly a year. Some of the media comments make it clear that some small restaurants get a lot of customers referred by the hotel. The hotel also serves a lot of guests for concerts and entertainment in the area. I'm sure the Richardsons considered just doing floor by floor but it sounds like this will be far bigger in scope for piecemeal work like that. 

Between 2026 and 2027 so many big projects for hotels are planned that the city will look very different when they are complete. Another noteworthy project is a Hyatt Centric Hotel on Broadway. It is being built where the former CRA federal building was. It is surprising that it took this long for another hotel to join the Fort Garry Hotel on Broadway considering the government and business offices on the street.

As for the Fairmont, it will be ready for a real revival of Portage and Main when the Metis museum and apartments just down the street open in the next years.

Firefly TV Series to Return as Animated Series

Firefly was a TV series that was briefly on the FOX network in 2002 for a two hour pilot and 13 episodes before being cancelled. Low ratings got it cancelled before all 13 episodes were aired. This left three unaired episodes which had many begging for their release. Oddly enough, it would take the British Sci-Fi cable to air the entire series in syndication in 2003. In Canada, the whole series would eventually air in full on Space, the sci-fi channel, a few years later. For many people, the opportunity to rent of buy the series came a year after it was cancelled and the fandom grew accordingly. I tried watching on FOX but they kept changing the airdates and I just missed episodes. I eventually watched the whole series on Space and the movie that came out in 2005. Serenity was not a box office success the year it came out.

Creator of the show, Joss Whedon, was a FOX network fave with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and movie writing credits to his name. The reputation of FOX was to aim for younger audiences in the 1990s and and it was bolder than other networks in choosing material. However, it was also a time when NBC dominated and networks like CBS were coming up with things that would lead to their own dominant ratings. FOX was putting things in the window but unless it really built an audience like The Simpsons or X-Files, it was quickly pulled out of the window. A long list of show that were pulled left audiences in North America disappointed.

Pre-empting shows by networks for sports, holiday, presidential addresses and the like has a fundamental negative impact on those shows. In some cases, the networks can't help it but other times it is the programmers who cripple the show. Not to mention networks that want to put the series order out of whack as in the case of Firefly. Studio execs decided another episode should be first. The lack of consistency was too much to build an audience.

Nathan Fillion, who played Captain Mal, is presently lead and executive producer of The Rookie has been teasing some sort of revival of Firefly and has been showing clips of the cast agreeing that "it's time." The final piece was Alan Tudyk who played Wash in the series. Fillion and Tudyk are leading the charge but this is a full cast push. Creator of the series Joss Whedon has given his support but has not taken a role in whatever new project that might result from the gathering of the actors. This may be to give them a clean slate with the studios and networks who might not want to be accused of giving Whedon a free pass from work harassment that he was accused of going back to the 1980s.

The cast of Firefly actually seem to like each other and officially just announced, they have agreed to a second season of Firefly as an animated series. Showrunners have been announced and presumably script idea. What still hasn't been worked out is a network or streamer to carry the series. This won't be the only live action series to bring back the stars in an animated series. Star Trek did it with much of the old cast and Babylon 5 did it with as many as the living members left from the their series.

Sci-Fi fans and their conventions keeps shows alive in way that comedies and dramas of other series don't as often have. Star Trek owes any extension past its 1960s series to conventions and any product they could put out whether it was comics or animated series. The original actors and writers were able to work during the writers strike at the time. Animated writing was not in the Guild at the time.

Firefly already has had books and comics made  following the series. An animated series would support the building of a franchise. It is hard to see if it will lead to more live action series or movies but many studios are looking to bring back beloved programs. I don't think I'd ever live to see the day a show like Matlock back. None of this would be possible if the actors from the show were on board and promoting it so heavily. Let's hope a broadcaster picks it up!

The Re-Newed Expansion of 7-Eleven in Winnipeg

 

Southland Corporation in Dallas had been operating stores since 1927 but by 1946 had re-branded as 7-Eleven to reflect their general operating hours. It began to franchise in the 1960s to various countries such as Canada. The first store in Canada would be in Calgary with others that quickly followed. Unbeknownst to many, 7-Eleven has been Japanese owned since 1991.

The history of 7-Eleven in Winnipeg goes back to 1969. The first location in Charleswood was before the municipality even joined the city in 1972. The first 7-Eleven locations were built in Alberta and only a few months later Winnipeg's was built on Dale Avenue as part of the Westdale Shopping Mall. By 1979, there were over 40 stores across the city. Initially, they were operating from 7 am to 11 pm but a number of stores operated 24 hours a day except Christmas and a few other holidays over the years where they closed all day or were of reduced hours.

Robberies were awful at any store that operated 24 hours. This included Domo gas stations, Mac's and 7-Eleven. Some stores reduced hours because Winnipeg was near the worst in Canada for this. The police wanted the stores closed at night but conveniences stores pushed back. The company responded in 1976 with some of the security measures that everyone today is familiar with. The 6000 stores across North America now had limited amounts of cash at night. By 1980, the timed safes were in place. The first lottery tickets were sold in 1971 in stores, a first for Canada.

It may be hard for people to remember but Slurpees were behind the counter and poured by employees from 1969 to late 1980s. It was very limited in flavours in that Coke and Sprite were the only consistent drinks. Hoagies first appeared in the 1980s. And Slurpees in Canada were different than the U.S. in that they were more icy while in the U.S., they were more syrupy.

Sometimes it was 7-Eleven that led innovations and sometimes it was different regions and stores adapted to the areas. Microwaves introduced at stores in the very late 1970s and 1980s made it possible to have heat and eat items. Burgers, hotdogs and hoagies were popular in Canada. In Japan around the same time it was rice balls (o-nigiri) or simmered foods (o-den). In the U.S. it was hotdogs and burgers. I would think that chicken has really taken over at 7-Eleven over the last several years.

In 1991, the family that owned majority shares of 7-Eleven tried to take the company private and was overwhelmed with debt. Even selling some divisions was not enough to bail them out. In Canada, we probably didn't know they were even in trouble. The Japanese franchise was probably surprised how tenuous the parent company was in Dallas. Because of the strength of the Japanese yen, they were able to take majority ownership of the company and several years later made it a full subsidiary.

Most Canadians still don't know that the ownership change happened. Nor was there any sense of who directed how operations were to be run in Winnipeg or Canada, for that matter. There does seem to be a general manager in Winnipeg for the corporate stores although there is a distribution center on Bentall. This begs the question of who makes decisions for the stores on say, what newspapers should be carried or what local food needs to be on the shelves. One example, in 1979, after the Winnipeg Arena was expanded for the NHL's Winnipeg Jets, tickets were sold to games for a discount.  The Charleswood location became a prime spot to grab these tickets. In 2025/2026. 7-Eleven came on board as a Jets sponsor and a Slurpee machine now resides at the Canada Life Centre and store ads appear on the broadcasts. In the past, only the Dallas Stars got that ad support for a hockey team. Not surprising since that is where the company was founded and still operates the U.S. base.

In the most recent year, 7-Eleven Canada has tied to evolve a small restaurant style area that serve alcohol. In Winnipeg, it is only one location on Ness and that location isn't even open 24 hours. In Ontario, they have far more testing this out. And it is a test. It might not work. Sometimes 7/Eleven chases a trend as it did with renting videos back in the 1980s. It took some years but the convenience store retreated from sales when big players like Blockbuster, Jumbo and Rogers took over.

Convenience stores like 7-Eleven have always had coffee but even those use to be poured by store clerks at one time. Then small coffee stations were set up with coffees rotated by clerks. Now the machinery and choices for coffee are a lot more varied.  It is uncertain how many people get coffee at 7-Eleven in Winnipeg compared to competitors. To be sure Winnipeg is very much a Slurpee city unlike any other in the world. It isn't just corporate kiss-up when 7-Eleven says Winnipeg is the Slurpee capital of the world. It is a phenomenon unlike any other place on the planet. In some stores there are a dozen or more choices. In a Japanese 7-Eleven they are likely two machines and they aren't going to be Coke and Sprite.

Magazines are no longer in stores in Canada. They used to be positioned in their own row and newspapers were right beside the store. Some 7-Elevens in Winnipeg used to have Toronto Stars, USA Today and every national paper along side the local Free Press and Sun in abundance. Newspapers are now exiled to the corner.

Pay phones were once inside, then moved outside and now gone altogether. Banks vie for space for ATMs inside 7-Eleven. Lottery stations are now right beside the door. The formerly clerk supplied food is now self serve and deliveries have exploded in every 7-Eleven.

Canada's Circle K attempted to take over 7-Eleven worldwide last year and failed in part to the difficulty it is for international companies to take over Japanese ones. Some were saying Japan might be invoke national security reasons since convenience stores are so depended on in Japan. Oddly enough, 7-Eleven continues to acquire stores in the U.S. but that same courtesy does not extend the other way.

Regardless, it appears both companies are cutting marginal stores and ones subject to safety issues. Winnipeg has seen around 10 stores cut in recent years and management has said some of it is because of crime. In fact, they put a number on how much product was being removed from stores and it was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. That is unsustainable and while corporate critics might not have had any sympathy, this level of theft was also taking down mom and stores and leaving the area barren of any grocery or convenience stores. 

According to Mayor Gillingham in his State of the City address, 7-Eleven has spoke to him about an expansion of the company in Winnipeg. After the closure of the aforementioned locations, it is curious what the company has in mind. We can take our clues from some information released back in February as well as world reports on 7-Eleven. In terms of the former, 7-Eleven has indicated they are open to franchising opportunities. This is interesting because they are very much a corporate store company. In Australia, the company took over the entire Australian franchise as part of corporate takeover. In Canada, they appear to to looking at side by side operations.

So what does that mean? It means that we could more of a saturation of stores in certain parts of the city. For example, Portage Avenue has two stores along the entire run from Portage and Main to Headingley. In Tokyo, that would be unheard of. The company would try and place stores along major transit hubs and shopping areas. Suffice to say that places like Charleswood and St. James with only four stores seem a little light in terms of presence. 

There is no getting around the shoplifting issue in Winnipeg and around North America, for that matter. 7-Eleven is at the forefront if security for convenience stores in the world so expect even more efforts to reduce theft and identify those who are responsible. It will be positioning any new stores to have the best chance of success but also security. Given how many university students are off Pembina Highway, it is a missed opportunity that 7-Eleven has no stores aside from the one. This seems a perfect opportunity for franchises. And let's not even talk about how underserved the east side of the Red River is. 

An opportunity for franchisors to do really do well with a company that is iconic in Winnipeg is good. In some cases, some areas are crying out for any kind of convenience store. There are literally none and certainly not 24 hours. There could be opportunities as well for stores inside malls, airport and sports facilities. 

This doesn't have to be all bad for existing convenience stores. There have been several that have opened up and they are finding niches that 7-Eleven can't fill such as being on the ground floor of apartments, offices and the like where they would rely on foot traffic more than car traffic. These stores also cater to niche areas such as ethnic foods to sell or to serve. 7-Eleven may be a lot of things but not a seller of ethnic foods or big on foot traffic. Even St. James has seen at least three convenience stores that fit the ethnic label open in the last 12 months.

From the government side things, the province has to keep pushing on secret property agreements that protect companies such as Safeway/Sobeys having any competitors set up near them. This sounds like it might apply to just big stores but any agreements of exclusivity need to be known and hoarding properties is anti-competitive and should be dealt with federally by the Competition Bureau and by the provinces to make sure these secret agreements see the light and are handled by the municipal board. As far as the city goes, they need to ensure security for 24 hour stores and that may entail more police visits, safety audits and sharing of information. A lot of trouble is sometimes organized or the same people.

Some might not find an expansion of 7-Eleven exciting but if the attempt is to make the stores as essential as they are in Japan, that mean offering food and service at prices that are compelling. For example, the egg salad sandwich in Japan sells for 200-300 yen. That is about $2.50 Canadian. The egg sandwich in Winnipeg is $5.00. We need to keep competition up in Winnipeg because those type of prices for 7-Eleven are typical for a number of products in Japan.

They key to vitality in many cities is the diversity of options for those who live in it. Think of the bodegas of New York or the bakery shops on Paris. Price competition competition comes from a multitude of suppliers. If we ever want to have $2.50 egg sandwiches, a Japanese-style surge of stores will help.

U.S. Makes It's Position on Trade Clear

Figuring out the the Trump position on anything is a difficult one. He can contradict himself in the same day. But fair to say that his tariffs on Canada for steel, aluminum, lumber and cars is not just a negotiating position but the actual position he is taking so long as he is president. Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Traded Representative has made it very clear. He has stated that Canada's manufacturing sector has to move to the U.S. and Canada will have at least 10% tariff on all goods and possibly 15% tariff and Canada can't have any corresponding tariff or face punishment. He says the U.S. wants the liquor ban abandoned (even though it is in response to U.S. sectoral tariffs), they want access to Canada's dairy

The conservative viewpoint in Canada is that Trudeau and now Carney were just playing games on a deal. It is apparent that Poilievre in 2026 has seen popularity drop even steeper for not even mentioning Trump by name for few of alienating his base who, in some cases, support Trump and even advocate for the U.S. to annex Canada or for parts to separate. The steady migration of his MPs to the Liberals and low poll numbers could indicate that made in his own party see Trump as a drag on their support and chanced of government.

July 1st is the day that CUSMA, the free trade agreement is to be negotiated in earnest although discussion are going on non-stop since Trump came back into office. NAFTA and now CUSMA have been around since 1994 and aside from a few areas such as culture and supply management, it is almost entirely tariff-free. As such, Canada, Mexico and the U.S. have configured supply chains so that we are all supplying elements to an overall economy. The end of free trade means those supply chains disappear.

It would appear the U.S. thinks that all manufacturing will be in the U.S. and we will buy the products. However, the U.S. car companies of Ford, GM and Stellantis have already indicated now high priced the cars will be and that they are likely to go under as a result. For Canada, we are likely just to stop buying those products and get cheaper ones elsewhere. Chinese electric cars are far cheaper.

Many Republicans know how damaging tariffs are but the fear they have of Trump is so high, they will say nothing. The strategy of waiting or dragging out negotiations has been mentioned a few times. The Supreme Court has struck down some tariffs and others have time limitations on them. All the while, the mid-term elections are coming and some Republicans fear they will lose the House and possibly the Senate. By then it is game over and the House will take responsibility for tariff control again and Trump will see more Republicans distance from him.

Or at least that is what the Carney and the Canadian government is probably hoping for. Signing a bad deal is worse than no deal. As most countries are finding, Trump changes the deals he has in place every week.  With this in mind, Carney has been going to country after country to begin the process of restoring old trading relations and beginning new ones. In this past week, a deal with India on energy has been made despite misgivings about Indian involvement in the death of Canadians.

There is probably no trade deals out there that don't have some sort of naysayer. Sanctions for countries like Belarus and Russia because of Ukraine invasion. Tariffs, boycotts and tensions with the U.S. with Trump. Issues with China and India because of foreign intervention. And the list goes on. Any attempt to change those dynamics comes with challenges. And conservative media keeps says Carney is holding up real work on a U.S. trade agreement.

It starts to feel like gaslighting as we often see from Conrad Black contributions from the National Post. Or puff pieces from Postmedia about Poilievre. It is no wonder why Ford Progressive Conservatives get so annoyed. Ford knows that the deal the U.S. wants is to close down all car manufacturing in Canada and have a 15% tariff on top of that. Some federal Tories seem convinced Carney is holding up the deal but the provincial ones know that only a quick bad deal is in the offing.

Time is on Carney and Canada's side. Tariffs are unpopular among Americans. War fares even worse and the United States is doing both. The mid-term election in November possibly means the House of Representatives and Senate go Democrat. And while Democrats are not always trade friendly, they are not likely to pursue blanket tariffs on Canada and the world. Trump seems pretty set on his path and for the foreseeable future, Canada is likely to try to stay off his radar while leaving negotiating to the backrooms.

St. Vital Centre Purchased for $160 Million

St. Vital Centre was built in 1979 for about $40 million just when a flurry of other malls were going up in including Kildonan Place, Winnipeg Square, Eaton Centre and Unicity. That was a lot of malls all at once and some of them did not survive or have been drastically changed over the years. Most of the malls were owned by real estate companies in the beginning but many including Primaris and Cadillac Fairview are now owned all or in part by the Maple 8, Canadians top government pension funds. For the last numbers of years St. Vital Centre has been owned by the Ontario Pension Board.

In recent years some private players have been making inroads as owners. It is unclear who their shareholders might be. In many cases their financing still comes from pension funds as in the case of Brookfield Asset Management. The fact that a pension fund sells a property doesn't mean they are not part of shareholding or or financing the deal to enhance their balance sheets. 

In the case of the sale of St. Vital Centre to Leyad, a Quebec-based real estate company, it appears the sale was financed by six credit unions in a syndicate. Since Leyad is a private company, it doesn't have to disclose its financial structure except to the banks and paying taxes. 

This is not the first foray into real estate in Winnipeg by Leyad. They have purchased Garden City Square, Johnston Terminal, CDI College and the Canada Goose Distribution Centre over the years for a pretty significant footprint in the city. Next to Montreal, it might be the biggest holdings right in the company. 

For many years St. Vital Centre has been firmly entrenched as the second largest mall in the city. Due to the location, it is hard for it to expand much beyond what it is now unless they build up. However, they still have to fill the empty Bay store location. This is an issue for Polo Park as well. Since the other large story closures led to knew tenants, it is expect that by year end announcements will be made on new uses for the space. And Leyad seems well suited to investing in their properties but that remains to be seen. The Johnston Terminal took a while to get going again after Covid but seems better now.

There is no record of what the purchase price of the mall when it was taken over by the Ontario Pension Board. However, with the original price being $40 million and the sale price being $160.5 million that is a very healthy price for a mall still producing income. The powerful Canadian pensions probably can't quit malls completely. They are too big and growing to not buy real estate. The U.S. could be less attractive if their economy tanks but who knows? That could be the perfect time to invest. Just ask the people who bought dirt cheap after the last crash in Florida and Arizona.

As mentioned, there have been some malls across Canada that have closed. In Winnipeg, that would be Portage Place, Unicity and a few strip malls. However, Canada never really overbuilt the way the U.S. has and done. In Grand Forks, North Dakota, you could call Columbia Mall a failed mall. It is embarrassing to see.

The purchase by Leyad is probably an attempt by St. Vital Centre to remain the second largest mall in the province ahead of Outlet Collection Mall and the rest of the Seasons development. This may be a losing battle because the Seasons development had been going strong for 13 years. There has never been a stop in building on the site although it is possible this year might see the last few spots filled up in the surrounding mall spaces.

St. Vital's hosting of the Children's Hospital Book Sale at least two to three time a year also fills the place with people from all over the city and beyond. For those who don't remember, it used to be Polo Park that hosted this. The destination malls usually have things over seasonal times to attract shoppers. The more unique, the better. For many decades it was mini-concerts and fashion shows.

It seems Leyad's purchase of St. Vital Centre will be followed up with a multimillion investment in the former Bay location soonest. There are few if any big retailers out there that could take the full space over. Some are still hankering for a Simons department store but it might be wishful thinking as the company takes a long time to expand their private company. Others believe there might be a new grocery coming courtesy of rule changes that block competitor from opening in the same mall. Many places have agreements that are paid for to keep other grocery and pharmacy out. This has been ruled as anti-competitive. Those that continue to practice may face penalties and fines.

It used to be that malls had long lists of retailers wanting to move in but the need to expand the hours and reasons to go to the mall have had to increase. It can't be all fashion stores that don't last a season. Expect to see more moved development in the near future.

 

Kildonan Place Food Court

It seems Kildonan Place has been under construction for a decade. And to some extent it has. The loss of Sears and The Bay along with other stores meant the mall seemed to be perpetually replacing stores like Dominion, Sears, Bay, Zellers and Target. The addition of Save-on-Foods and a new and expanded movie theatre has helped bring stability to that end of the mall.

The goal of a mall is to extend how long each day people are there as well as try to get repeat business. A grocery store usually brings people to the mall at least once a week as do any pharmacies in the mall. A movie theatre can attract a younger crowd and help the restaurants and food court on a weekly basis and longer into the evening and weekends.

Polo Park and St. Vital Centre have also gone through substantial changes but Kildonan Place has been hit by the changes in retailing harder than most. It seems to have solved the issue of retailers as well as anchor entertainment but the long stalled upgrade to food court just didn't happen until now.

A good food court or all can add all sorts of life to a mall. The St. Vital food court expansion cemented it's spot as the most attractive of the courts with soaring ceilings, faux stone surroundings and fireplaces. Most food courts try to have a variety of ethnic choices albeit in fast food options. Polo Park's second floor food court is not nearly as attractive but it is large and has variety. It is possible that we see Polo Park do something different but I tend to believe if they had wanted to move, they would have used the space on the first floor of the Sears building. Still, I would not rule out a third floor being added to the mall in the next five years and the food court moving up. This would likely only happen if there is a new focus on hotel, housing and entertainment in the mall.

However, back to Kildonan, their food court has been in need of an upgrade for ten or more years. The food court they have sufficed with is cozy but the mall is bigger and the amount of people living nearby greater. The move and expansion of Dollarama as well as Cineplex Junxion set up opportunity for an upgrade. This was an 8000 square foot space to create a new food court.

The old movie theatre will be demolished and a newly re-designed entrance will go. Guest Services will move and re-open in April. As far as the food court goes, it will go from 8 vendors to 10 vendors and 325 seats to 550 seats. Although some things are expanding, the actual leasable space will be reduced by 30,000 square feet.

None of the work comes cheap and it will take till 2027 for work to be totally complete. By that time perhaps the next huge change happens to Kildonan. The ups and downs have hit this mall more than most but according to the landlord, it is still a profitable mall.

Some local retailers will displaced in this which is sad because clearly the mall depended on them when large national and international stores shut down. There is some evidence that some of these stores are finding other leasing space for themselves.