(Dave Bedard photo)

Burger King, Tim’s owner says 2016 off to ‘great start’

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Restaurant Brands International said it was off to a “great start” this year, after new product launches at its Burger King and Tim Hortons chains in 2015 helped boost sales in a highly competitive market. Shares of the Ontario-based company, which reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, rose as much as nine […] Read more

A+W CEO Paul Hollands, shown here at right during the chain’s Cruisin’ to End MS promotion in August, said the chain’s “better ingredients” campaign is still having a “powerful impact” on consumers. (CNW Group/A+W Food Services of Canada)

Year-over-year same-store sales climb for A+W

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian burger-and-root beer chain A+W’s recent moves to boost the profile of its ingredients in a crowded quick-service playing field has pushed its sales past the billion-dollar mark in 2015. The A+W Revenue Royalties Income Fund on Friday reported net income of $21.32 million on $1.061 billion in reported sales from the 814 restaurants in […] Read more


Manitoba Egg Farmers, which in 2013 called a halt to installation of conventional cages, has publicly demonstrated enriched housing systems.  (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Shannon VanRaes)

Egg farmers to phase out cage housing over 20 years

Reading Time: 3 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada’s egg farmers plan to replace conventional hen cages with more humane conditions over the next 20 years, amid growing pressure from consumers, restaurants and food companies. The plan — announced Friday by Egg Farmers of Canada, an industry group that manages nearly all of the country’s egg supply — comes […] Read more

Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, at the news conference for the TPP’s signing in Auckland, explains Canada’s plans for public consultations and parliamentary hearings on the deal. (New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade via YouTube)

Canada signs Trans-Pacific Partnership

Reading Time: 3 minutes Trade ministers from the 12 countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership have signed their trade agreement, committing them to take the deal to their home governments for review and/or approval. The deal, which Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland signed on Canada’s behalf on Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand, is expected to see tariffs on Canadian products in […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Tim Hortons, Burger King to move toward cage-free eggs

Reading Time: 3 minutes The owner of Canadian coffee-and-donut giant Tim Hortons and North America’s No. 2 burger chain, Burger King, has reset its goal to take the chains’ egg supplies “cage-free.” Restaurant Brands International, the parent firm for the two chains since their merger in late 2014, announced Monday it will move to 100 per cent cage-free eggs for […] Read more

(McDonalds.ca)

McDonald’s sales beat as all-day breakfast a hit

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. reported better-than-expected quarterly same-restaurant sales as the launch of all-day breakfasts proved to be a hit with diners in the U.S. and demand continued to recover in China. The world’s biggest restaurant chain’s shares jumped 3.4 per cent in premarket trading on Monday. McDonald’s introduced all-day breakfasts in October in the […] Read more


(PortMetroVancouver.com)

Canada to sign TPP, but undecided on ratification

Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters –– Canada’s new Liberal government will take the “technical step” of signing a 12-nation trade deal next week but has not yet decided whether to formally ratify the agreement, Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday. Canada is one of 12 nations that initialed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in early October after years […] Read more

Mary Jean McFall. (LeedsGrenville.Liberal.ca)

Tories challenge ag minister on chief of staff

Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal Conservatives want the House of Commons’ agriculture committee to probe the hiring of a Canadian egg processing heiress as chief of staff to the ag minister. Tory ag critic Chris Warkentin on Wednesday called on both Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and his new chief of staff, Mary Jean McFall, to testify before the […] Read more


(PortMetroVancouver.com)

New Zealand to host TPP signing Feb. 4

Reading Time: < 1 minute New Zealand plans to host the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact by its 12 member nations on Feb. 4. The country’s trade minister, Todd McClay, confirmed in a statement Thursday that New Zealand has issued invitations to TPP ministers to sign the agreement in Auckland, marking the end of negotiations. Signing the deal […] Read more