MONTREAL — Some of Canada’s largest banks, engineering firms, retailers and other companies pay their female British employees substantially less than their male counterparts and give out lower bonuses, according to gender pay disclosures filed in the United Kingdom. The Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and Toronto-Dominion said the mean hourly rate for their U.K.-based…
The head of one of France’s most prestigious Champagne houses has weighed into a centuries-old debate about the origin of the sparkling wine by saying that “it was invented by the English". Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, head of the illustrious family-owned producer, Taittinger Champagne, made the comment in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper. “I love England, it’s a big…
So you’ve been eyeing up one of those swish PS4 Pros for a while now. Sure, you could nip over to Amazon and treat yourself, but we both know that’ll be coming out of the Christmas present fund, and how are little Timmy and young Sandra going to find this year’s top-selling toy, a *checks…
Sweden’s ruling coalition has struck a deal with two minority parties to maintain power and ensure that the far-Right Sweden Democrats cannot gain political influence after 124 days of deadlock. Annie Lööf, leader of the Centre Party, said on that her party had reached "a breakthrough" in talks with the Social Democrat, Green and Liberal Parties. She…
TORONTO — Second Cup wants to serve up a different kind of buzz by converting some of its coffee shops into cannabis dispensaries and, when legal, pot lounges. Shares in the Canadian restaurant operator rose as much as 31 per cent to $3.62 apiece in early afternoon trading on Thursday after it announced that it…
For small businesses in Canada, the struggle to find the right candidates for job vacancies is real. Job site Indeed.com has compiled a list of the top 15 positions at small businesses that go unfilled for more than 60 days. Small businesses have a particularly hard time finding skilled workers, Indeed.com managing director Jodi Kasten…
Health insurance companies in Germany may no longer pay for dental braces after a remarkable government report found that there is no proof that they work. “We can’t say whether orthodontic treatment has any of the middle or long-term benefits that are expected of it,” Ann Marini, spokeswoman for the federation of public health insurers,…
WestJet pilots have committed to not disrupting passenger travel plans over the Victoria Day long weekend despite voting overwhelmingly to give its union a strike mandate. The Air Line Pilots Association said its WestJet members voted 91 per cent in favour of strike action. About 95 per cent of WestJet’s 1,500 pilots and WestJet Encore’s…
It was the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance for a team of divers to photograph themselves alongside Deep Blue, the notorious great white shark. But, in the words of one commentator, the resulting headline could easily have read: "stupid human dies chasing a 20ft shark". The female, one of the largest sharks ever recorded,…
OTTAWA — Millions of cellphones, tablets and other portable devices will sound off across the country next week to test Canada’s new public emergency alert system. The country’s broadcast and telecom regulator says the tests will be carried out next Monday in Ontario and Quebec and on Wednesday in the rest of the country. Test…