A Dragon’s Den star who heads up a massive beer, wine and spirits empire. The only female master distiller in the province. And production manager at the 2021 Canadian Brewery of the Year. The spirits and beer scene is going strong in Calgary, and women are front and centre, as I discover during a recent visit. . An hour’s drive south of Calgary, in the bucolic town of Turner Valley, Winnipeg-born, Scotland-raised Caitlin Quinn is the master distiller at Eau Claire Distillery, the first boutique distillery in Alberta. Quinn got an undergrad degree chemistry, but quickly realized it wouldn’t lead Read more
Canada
The Trudeau government says it’s making it easier for Canadians to get their passports renewed, or to acquire new ones. Lineups have been horrific in several major Canadian cities this summer as the demand for travel soars. But Ottawa says the government is taking solid action, including the use of mpre than 300 Service Canada Centres. “The recent increase in passport demand combined with the longer processing times have resulted in a growing number of Canadians requiring their passport applications be transferred to local passport offices for processing in order to get them in time to travel,” officials said. “This Read more
Toronto Pearson continues to experience some of the highest rates of delayed flights around the world, and the critics are pouncing. But we’re also seeing problems at the Toronto City Centre/Island Airport and at Montreal Trudeau. The airline tracking website Flight Aware sparked a worldwide condemnation of Canada’s busiest airport when it reported that Pearson’s delay rate for the period from May 26 to July 9 was 52.5%. That was the highest in the world, and Pearson was the only airport on the planet with a cancellation rate higher than 50%. Things started to get better, but progress seems to Read more
Air Transat is getting a $150 million assistance package from the Trudeau government. Transat A.T. Inc. announced today that it has reached an agreement with Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation (“CEEFC”), a federal Crown corporation, to obtain $100 million in added financing, as well as $50 million in credit. “In this final LEEFF (Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility) loan, Transat will receive up to $150 million to protect Canadian jobs and ensure operations can continue, despite the company’s ongoing capital operating challenges as a result of the pandemic,” the government said in a press released. “The amount consists of $100 Read more
I was at Toronto Pearson today at 9:30 a.m., and it was like another world. Hardly any cars at the departures level, only a few people in line for the Air Canada U.S. ticket window, and maybe 15-20 people that I could see in line for security. Which made me wonder? Was I just there at the right time, or are things improving at Canada’s busiest – and most vilified – airport? “We’re starting to see improvements on average wait times, both with departures and arrivals, but there’s more work to be done to provide reliability and consistency for our Read more
