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Bubble busting, beaches and Airbnb
Nova Scotia cut a deal with Airbnb and announced it with some fanfare this week but it amounts to not much more than a fingers-crossed honour system when it comes to keeping COVID out. At least a few hundred Airbnb hosts are registered. People renting out their "primary residence" even if they have one in several provinces don't have to register so who knows who's staying and from where they came. Judging from the vanloads of non-isolating out of province campers and surfers hitting our beaches, it might be time to do something more about that.
The end of the 12-step commute?
Half of the folks working from home on the East Coast want to keep it that way, but most believe they'll be back in the office soon. How certain depends on where you live. Eight out of 10 Newfoundlanders reckon the office beckons but a bare majority in Nova Scotia figure they'll be commuting in their cars and not their slippers in a few months.
Good news, bad news
Norway's state-owned oil company, Equinor floated a little good news Thursday morning. They've found oil off Newfoundland. Then they announce a write-down of $2.9 billion on their other petro-properties.
Crepes, sake and teppanyaki
Seven months of pandemic and half that in lockdown haven't stopped Halifax foodies and restaurateurs. David's Tea has been supplanted by T Kettle, Sake, Chicking and Coda Ramen have opened and Portland Street Creperie is still ladling goodness onto the griddle.
A whole lot of pivoting going on
You may be sick of the word but entrepreneurs are doing it like nobody's business. Take Bridgewater's 902 Athletics, a crossfit gym that kept most of its members by sending gym equipment home with them. Or Newfoundland's all-woman Granville Biomedical, which 3D-prints swabs and other medical devices. Or two Halifax animation houses that have chosen different routes to ramp up for the boom in content that doesn't require actors getting up close and personal.
COVID-detecting mask ready by January
Sixth Wave of Halifax is out to beat the second wave of COVID with a smart mask that ought to be prototyped within 90 days. It got a boost Thursday, in the form of $250,000 from the Nova Scotia government. Other COVID-related good news Thursday: hotels and such got a 25-cent-on-the-dollar break on their property taxes.
Sobeys bag takes a bow
My sister-in-law calls them Saskatoon Samsonite. Greens call them a scourge. To me the humble Sobeys bag helps me ease a foot into a wet boot, pack a lunch for a rainy walk or pick up a gift left by the neighbour's shifty brown dog. Today they're done in Nova Scotia. Here's John Demont's ode to the grocery store plastic film star.
Empire breaks with peers, joins grocery fee rebels
Empire/Sobeys boss Michael Medline won friends among food makers and shoppers this week. Instead of joining Walmart and Loblaw in slapping a raft of new or bigger fees on every supplier, he called them out and called for a grocers' code of conduct. In July, Walmart Canada slapped fees of up to 6.25 per cent on suppliers. Loblaw followed suit last week with a flat fee of 1.2 per cent plus distribution and marketing charges.
PERSPECTIVES
CHARLEBOIS: Grocers' code could protect Canadian food processing
The UK's had a code of conduct for grocers for more than a decade. Australia has one, at least on paper. Sylvain Charlebois, the food professor, says we might need one too. Why? Start with stopping grocery chains from downloading their costs on processors and farmers and driving independent grocers out of business. Finish (maybe) with cheaper groceries.
KELLY: We're losing money every day
CFIB president Dan Kelly says one in three small businesses are going deeper in the hole every day. The second wave is burying the tourism and hospitality industry but lots of other sectors are hurting as well. He'd like to see more money poured into wage subsidies, and cheques for those whose landlords refused to join the rent assistance program that ran from April to September.
LakeCity shoutout
Nova Scotian Liam O'Rourke honed his social enterprise skills in Montreal, then put them to good use as CEO of LakeCity Works in Dartmouth. He's just made Canada's Top 40 under 40 list for young business leaders, sponsored by Caldwell and MNP.
That’s the wrap
Have a tip, a comment or something else to share? Email me at [email protected].
Back next Friday. Until then, mask up and hide a few Oh Henry’s before the kids eat them all.
Brian Ward is SaltWire Network's managing editor for business.
