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Veteran entrepreneur on a quest to make motorcycling safer
Three summers ago, when Jay Giraud had moved on from his last startup, he spent a lot of time riding motorcycles. The weather was warm and the roads dry. Mr. Giraud had been on motorcycles much of his adult life. But riding around Vancouver on his Ducati, he felt a constant frisson of risk among all the cars and trucks. “There were too many close calls, on every ride,” he said. Mr. Giraud then experienced the madding traffic of Jakarta on a motorcycle, when he visited the Indonesian capital for a wedding. On the flight home, he thought there had to be a way to make it safer to ride. Story
Alberta entrepreneurs hope election will usher in business-friendly policies
Many Alberta small-business owners, who have been struggling through a prolonged economic downturn, are hoping the next provincial government will bring relief through business-friendly policies. The Alberta election is April 16 and polls suggest that Rachel Notley’s ruling New Democrats will be replaced with Jason Kenney’s United Conservatives, which have campaigned to scrap the carbon tax and loosen some labour rules that have driven up business costs. Story
In a slowing Toronto housing market, realtors feeling the pinch
Market reports about the Greater Toronto real estate market often focus on whether buyers are on the sidelines or if sellers are biding their time as the region grinds through a generally slow period. Rarely does anyone mention the financial trouble that a lack of sales causes for the 52,000 realtors who are members of the Toronto Real Estate Board. Story
Bedtime stories led to helping companies program for Alexa
Voice-based assistants, such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, are growing in popularity, to such an extent that market research company eMarketer predicts there will be 5.8 million such smart speakers in use in Canadian households this year. Story
Sobeys to delay changes to supplier payment terms by two months
Sobeys Inc. is delaying by two months the implementation of its controversial overhaul of supplier payment terms, acknowledging it had botched its handling of the matter. Story
Supreme Court bars business customers from class-action suit against Telus
Canada’s top court has ruled that business customers of Telus Corp. cannot take part in a class-action lawsuit over cellphone billing and must instead arbitrate their claims against the company, a decision that comes amid growing concern about the use of mandatory arbitration clauses. Story
WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE
Calgary city council votes 8-7 to increase residential taxes by 3.45%
After postponed and marathon meetings, Calgary city council finally decided to increase 2019 property taxes for homeowners and lower them for businesses on Monday. GlobalNews
Halifax startup closes $40M funding round
Halifax medical device maker ABK Biomedical Inc. has raised a record-setting US$30 million venture capital round, with which it hopes to bring two products to market. Entrevestor
N.S. entrepreneur alleging bad-faith dealings with Starbucks loses court claim
A Nova Scotia businessman who failed to lure Starbucks (SBUX.O 0.48%) to a frappuccino-deprived corner of the East Coast province has lost a bid to recoup costs from the coffee giant. BNN Bloomberg
Sarah Efron