The Globe and Mail - 08.04.2020

HOCKEY

CommissionerGaryBettman

saysNHLmaynotfinish

regularseason B

BASEBALL

MLBandplayers’unionhave

discussedplayingentireseason

inArizona B

AUTORACING

Montreal-basedCanadian

GrandPrixpostponedby

FormulaOne B

SPORTS

B13-B

OTTAWA/QUEBECEDITION ■ WEDNESDAY,APRIL8,2020 ■ GLOBEANDMAIL.COM

S&P/TSX

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DOW

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2,659.

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7,887.

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DOLLAR

71.50/1.

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GCAN10-YR

0.82%

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OIL(WTI)

US$23.

-2.

GOLD(oz.)

US$1,683.

-10.

COMPANIES

DECIBELCANNABIS ..............................................B1 1

INTERFOR..............................................................B

NIKE ......................................................................B

PASONSYSTEMS..................................................B 11

TMXGROUP............................................................B

Tim Hortons parent company

Restaurant Brands Internation-

al Inc.has decided it will not ap-

ply for the government’s 75-per-

cent wage subsidy for any of its

corporate staff, saying that big

businesses are not the best focus

for the funding.

The Toronto-based fast-food

company, which also owns Burg-

er King and Popeyes, lobbied the

federal government to expand

its subsidy from the 10 per cent

first announced earlier in March.

RBI argued that its franchisees,

which employ most front-line

restaurant staff, are small busi-

nesses in need of support. Its de-

cision applies only to corporate

employees, not franchisees.

Details of the new plan were

released last week, offering 75-

per-cent support on the first

$58,700 of each employee’s wag-

es, for businesses that have lost

at least 30 per cent of their reve-

nue as a result of the COVID-

pandemic.

“There are a lot of businesses

that are hurting right now in

Canada, and the government’s

generous support needs to be fo-

cused on them,” RBI chief corpo-

rate officer Duncan Fulton said.

“We don’t believe that this wage

subsidy ... needs to extend to

large corporations.”

The support was designed to

persuade companies suffering

from the fallout of the economic

slowdown to keep more people

on the payroll.

RBI, B

TimHortons

parentopts

outofwage

subsidyfor

corporatestaff

SUSANKRASHINSKYROBERTSON

RETAILINGREPORTER

The Ontariogovernment will al-

low legal professionals to witness

the signing of wills and powers of

attorney through online video

platforms under an emergency

order passed late Tuesday to re-

spond to the coronavirus pan-

demic.

While other provinces offer

more flexibility, Ontario law takes

a strict approach to the formali-

ties of witnessing both wills and

powers of attorney over financial

affairs or personal care: Two wit-

nesses, neither of whom can be a

beneficiary or spouse of a benefi-

ciary, must be present in person to

see the will-maker sign the docu-

ment.

A spokeswoman with the office

of Ontario Attorney-General

Doug Downey said Tuesday eve-

ning that the provincial Cabinet

passed an emergency order to al-

low virtual witnessing, noting

that it will be in effect for the dura-

tion of the state of emergency de-

clared by the province on March

17. The emergency measure
    comes as the COVID-19 crisis and
    rules around physical distancing
    have made it difficult to meet the
    formal witnessing requirements,
    and spurred a call for change
    among the estates-law communi-
    ty in the province, including an
    online petition that attracted
    more than 1,000 signatures.
    The Ontario Superior Court of
    Justice has also agreed to hear a
    case later this week filed by lawyer
    Kavina Nagrani.
    WILLS,B

Ontarioto

allowlawyers

toremotely

witness

willsignings

CHRISTINEDOBBY

CORPORATELAWREPORTER

AVIATION

Travellerscangetvouchersbut

norefundsforcancelledflights B

GLOBEINVESTOR

Marketsrallyfizzlesasoilprices

plungesuddenly B

DARRYLDYCK/THECANADIANPRESS

Food distributors that typically
serve the restaurant and hospi-
tality industries are pivoting
their resources to sell to grocery
retailers struggling to restock
amid the surging demand caused
by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The supply chain that distrib-
utes to away-from-home outlets
such as restaurants, ski hills,
health-care facilities, conference
centres and universities is dis-
tinct from the one that replen-
ishes the shelves at grocery
stores.
Each stream is made up of dif-
ferent companies with separate
warehouses, inventories, work
forces and fleets.
But as Canadians self-isolate
and the hospitality industry
slows to a near standstill, over-
whelmed retailers are turning to
idled food distributors for help
getting goods into their stores.
Food-services distributors
have seen their sales decline by
as much as 70 per cent because

of the pandemic, and their ware-

houses are stuffed with invento-

ry ordered weeks ago.

Some of the product has gone

bad, some has been donated to

food banks and some has been

sold to grocery chains in formats

customers would not normally

see.

Retailers, on the other hand,

are facing unprecedented de-

mand and are having trouble

keeping pace.

They need more product,

more storage, more trucks and,

most importantly, more workers.

To their mutual benefit, the

two distribution networks are

collaborating like never before.

“The retail supply chain was

collapsing while we were stand-

ing idle,” said Randy White, the

president of major food-distribu-

tion companySysco Canada,a

stand-alone subsidiary of Sysco

Corp. that employs nearly 5,

workers across the country.

“So we decided to stand up

and say: ‘We can help. We can

help the supply chain.’ ... That’s

a business transaction, but it’s al-

so a community effort.”

DISTRIBUTION, B

Grocerystorestapnew

supplychaintofillshelves

KATHRYNBLAZEBAUM
SEANSILCOFF
SUSANKRASHINSKYROBERTSON

Alberta’s unemployment will likely sur-
pass 25 per cent because of the COVID-
pandemic, Premier Jason Kenney said
Tuesday, and that’s without factoring in
the full impact of lower oil demand and
prices. A 25-per-cent rate would be double
the worst unemployment rate in the
province in the last four decades.
“This will be the most challenging peri-

od in our economy, in relative terms,

since the Great Depression. There’s sim-

ply no doubt about it,” Mr. Kenney told an

online energy symposium Tuesday morn-

ing.

Mr. Kenney’s projections of 500,

unemployed Albertans paint a more dire

picture than numbers presented on

March 25 by Royal Bank of Canada Eco-

nomics.

In a Canada-wide report on the eco-

nomic fallout from COVID-19, the bank

forecast 200,000 lost jobs between Alber-

ta and Saskatchewan – 20 per cent of the

overall hit to employment in the country.

Mr. Kenney’s office said in making its

unemployment forecast, it used multiple

indicators, including Alberta employment

insurance filings and business closings as

a result of the pandemic. Spokeswoman

Christine Myatt said there were no further

details available, including how long such

a dramatic spike in unemployment could

last.

ALBERTA, B

Albertaunemploymentcould

top25percent,Kenneysays

Ifthejoblessratereachesthatlevel,itwouldbedoublethehighestrateinfourdecades

EMMAGRANEYCALGARY
KELLYCRYDERMANCALGARY
ROBERTFIFEOTTAWA

JeffreyJonesCanadadoingitsparttocurbsupplies

inthisill-timedoilwar B

Japandeclaresstateofemergency,

approvesalmost$1-trillionstimulusplan

‘Wewillprotecttheemploymentandlifeatallcosts,’PrimeMinisterAbes aysB

Thestateofemergencygivesauthoritiesmorepowertopressbusinessestoclose.FRANCKROBICHON/REUTERS

VASIAW