Canadian Connections 

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February 24, 2021

• 'Responding to Escalated Violence in Retail'
  -Hear from Sean Sportun at the Retail Loss Prevention Forum

• Third COVID Wave in Canada?
  -Trudeau warns of dangerous 3rd wave as Canada copes with vaccine 'drought'

• Ontario Scraps Plan to Ease COVID Restrictions
  -No Reprieve for Toronto as Tight Lockdown Extended to March

• 'Five hundred feet away, and they can let people inside, but I can't?'
  -Steeles Avenue a frustrating border for locked-down Toronto businesses

• CFIB Statement on Lockdown Extensions in Toronto and Peel

• Toronto small businesses weary from pandemic uncertainty

• Opinion: Manitoba retailers paid bigger COVID price than rest of Canada

• Vaccines are Only One Piece of the Puzzle
  -Mass vaccinations not only factor in Canada's reopening timeline

• Record Vaccine Delivery
  -Canada to receive record 640K vaccine doses this week with Pfizer, Moderna deliveries

• U.S. is outpacing Canada's COVID-19 vaccine rollout

• Retailers Rushing to Build Logistics Hubs
  -E-Commerce Explosion to Fuel Warehouse Building Boom in Canada

• Struggling Bars & Restaurants Facing New Competition from 7-Eleven
  -Why 7-Eleven's plan to serve alcohol in Ontario sparks concern - and curiosity - in business community

• Union workers call on Ontario to reject 7-Eleven proposal to sell alcohol

• Largest Monthly Drop Since April
  -Canada: Retail Sales decline by 3.4% in December vs. -2.5% expected

• Canadian Tire to Close National Sports Store Chain Amid New Competition

• How the Pandemic Has Changed Consumer Expectations While Accelerating Ecommerce in Canada

• Canadian retail sales of cannabis double in December 2020

• Scarborough, ON: Boy, 16, charged with murder in fatal strip mall shooting

• Vancouver, BC: Alleged mask thief cuts hands of LP officers during his escape

• Edmonton, AB: Another robbery too much for business owner during pandemic

• Quinte West OPP arrest three suspects in province-wide shoplifting spree

• Welland, ON: Canine helps track down suspect after pharmacy armed robbery

• Kingston, ON: 3 men arrested following armed robbery of convenience store

• C-Store - Kingston, ON - Armed Robbery

• Pharmacy - Welland, ON - Armed Robbery

• Sports Shack - Edmonton, AB - Burglary

​

February 17, 2021

• 'Responding to Escalated Violence in Retail'
  -Hear from Sean Sportun at the Retail Loss Prevention Forum

• Canada's Phased Reopening
  -Why Ontario will ease province-wide COVID-19 lockdown regionally

• No Timeline for Reopening Toronto
  -Toronto mayor says city should 'stay the course,' calls for 'very cautious' approach to reopening

• St. John's metro region in lockdown as cases balloon

• Forced store closures dampen Indigo's holiday sales period, but profits still climb

• COVID Safety Inspections Ramp Up in Canada
  -Ontario conducts inspection blitz of distribution centres in Peel Region

• 'No Face Masks Allowed'
  -B.C. business owner posts sign banning masks from store

• Restaurant and Retail Workers Facing Abrasive Customers Over COVID Rules

• Canada's Slow Vaccine Rollout Gets a Boost
  -Canada prepares for single biggest Pfizer vaccine shipment to date

• Why Canada is falling behind in Covid vaccinations

• Vaccines intended for N.S., N.B. to be diverted to Northern Canada

• Canada's COVID 'Infodemic'
  -Chief public health officer takes aim at COVID-19 'infodemic,' urges vigilance over misleading online content

• New rules requiring a negative COVID test at Canadian border now in effect

• New Unarmed Police Force in Canada?
  -Saskatoon police to roll out unarmed 'alternative response officers'

• More Disturbing Details About Retail's Jeffrey Epstein
  -Model Beverly Peele alleges women 'couldn't leave' Nygard sex parties

• In Case You Missed It: Fashion Mogul Peter Nygard Denied Bail by Judge

• Store Adds More Security as Robberies Increase
  -Edmonton, AB: Store targeted by armed masked men in the middle of the day

• Conception Bay South, NL: Thieves suspected to have used a front-end loader in c-store robbery

• Montreal, QC: Break-Ins Made Valentine's Day Weekend a Costly One for These Griffintown Restaurants

• C-Store - Conception Bay South, NL - Smash & Grab Burglary

• C-Store - Thunder Bay, ON - Armed Robbery

• Jewelry Store - Toronto, ON - Burglary (2x)

• Pharmacies - Calgary, AB - Burglary (3x)

• Thrift Store - Westboro, ON - Burglary

​

February 10, 2021

• Still 'No End in Sight' for Some Businesses
  -Easing of Retail Lockdowns in Ontario Not Enough to Save Many Businesses

• Coronavirus variants are spreading throughout Canada. Is it still safe to reopen?

• Ontario will slowly open the door to some non-essential retail in the coming weeks - but many businesses are frustrated at being left out

• Alberta begins Step 1 of easing COVID-19 restrictions

• COVID Lockdowns Leading to Permanent Closures
  -Study Tracks Retail and Restaurant Closures Across Canada

• Canada's Vaccine Woes Continue
  -Canada's vaccines delayed again: Moderna to send fewer COVID-19 vaccine doses while Pfizer issues continue

• Canadians Support COVID Travel Restrictions

• Declare thrift stores essential, Ottawa woman urges province

• Teens lose work as part-time retail jobs vanish due to COVID-19

• Clearview AI's Misconduct Opens Larger Discussion Around Privacy and Use of Technology in Canadian Retail Locations

• Clearview's facial recognition tech is illegal mass surveillance, Canada privacy commissioners say

• 'The Rumors Became Real'
  -Former Nygard employees, intern say fear, intimidation, even sexual harassment commonplace at the company

• Racial Bias in the U.S. is Spilling Into Canada
  -The retail sector has a racial bias problem - and this Sephora survey suggests it's costing it customers

• J.Crew has officially closed all of its Canadian stores

• Big Changes Coming for Canadian Grocery in 2021 and Beyond: Expert

• Nordstrom Appoints New Canadian Head of Stores

• Air Canada to temporarily cut 1,500 jobs, suspend 17 routes

• Serial Robber Has Long Criminal Record
  -Halifax, NS: Man accused of committing four robberies in two hours

• Waterloo, ON: Employee assaulted during convenience store robbery

• Police in P.E.I. seize more than $45K worth of hydromorphone, arrest two men

• Charlottetown, PEI: Suspended sentence for theft for Summerside man

• Vancouver, BC: Anti-masker accused of threatening employee with baton after stealing apple

• C-Store - Waterloo, ON - Robbery/Employee Assaulted

• CIBC- Halifax, NS - Robbery

• Dog Store - Halifax, NS - Robbery

• Drug Store - London, ON - Burglary (2x)

• Pharmacy - Halifax, NS - Robbery

• Roots - Halifax, NS - Robbery

​

February 3, 2021

• Shoplifting Down 47% - But Business Break-Ins Increased
  -Overall crime dropped during Covid-19, StatsCan says

• DoorDash Scam Targeting Canadians?
  -TD customers in several provinces hit with fraudulent DoorDash debit charges

• Lockdowns Lifted in Manitoba
  -Relaxed restrictions in effect for retailers & hair salons

• Quebec to open businesses, hair salons on Feb. 8, keep curfew in place

• Pandemic rules for stores, malls a grey zone for shoppers

• Employees Cut Amid Ongoing COVID Lockdowns
  -Hudson's Bay permanently laying off more than 600 workers across Canada

• Shutout by allies, Canada will produce its own vaccines by the end of 2021

• Canadian mogul fined after getting Covid vaccine meant for Indigenous residents

• Canada's Jeffrey Epstein
  -Secret Nygard videos show former fashion mogul charged with sex trafficking travelling with teenage girl

• Canada's Retail Staffing Crisis Grows as People Flee Big Cities
  -Mounting Retail Staffing Crisis in Canada Requires As Talent Pool Thins

• Top Canadian Grocers
  -Longo's lands top spot on customer experience index

• Nordstrom Appoints New Canadian Head of Stores

• Retailers saw a boost in November before lockdowns began to bite

• Kiehl's to Shut 1/3 of its Canadian Stores as it Focuses on Ecommerce and Multi-Brand Retail Distribution

• Winnipeg, MB: Officer cleared in fatal shooting of liquor store robbery suspect

• Rimbey, AB: Clothing store broken into twice in 10 days, $24K worth of merchandise stolen

• Halifax, NS: Up to $7,000 in Pokémon cards stolen in game store break-in

• Winnipeg man charged after 15 stores, restaurants robbed since December

• West Vancouver robber uses bear spray to steal $10,000 worth of sunglasses

• St. Albert, AB: Fraudsters target senior for $2,000 in prepaid gift cards

• C-Store - Langley, BC - Robbery

• C-Store - Lower Sackville, NS - Armed Robbery

• Clothing Store - Rimbey, AB - Burglary (2x)

• Game Store - Halifax, NS - Burglary

• Sunglasses Store - Vancouver, BC - Armed Robbery

​

January 27, 2021

• RCC's Retail Loss Prevention Forum

• Vaccinating the Security Industry
  -Union calls for security guards to be added to vaccine priority list

• 200,000+ COVID-Related Closures in Canada
  -COVID-19 could shutter more than 200k Canadian businesses forever

• COVID Lockdowns = Mass Closures?
  -Half of Restaurants in Canada Could Shutter Permanently Amid Lockdowns

• Toronto BIAs Tell Premier Ford That Lockdowns Are Unfair

• COVID Cyber Scams
  -Fake Canadian COVID notification apps & websites aim to steal  money & personal data

• FedEx, Innomar score big contract to distribute COVID vaccine in Canada 

• Canada keeps end-September COVID vaccination target despite Pfizer delay 

• Made-in-Canada coronavirus vaccine starts human clinical trials

• 'Old, Sick, Broke, Lonely & Likely to Die in Jail'
  -For Peter Nygard, Alone and Jailed, Rags-to-Riches Story Turns Upside Down

• Peter Nygard to Be Spotlighted in Four-Part Streaming Series

• 45 Retail Bankruptcies
  -Retailers Led Bankruptcy Filings in Canada Over the Past 12 Months

• Salesforce Releases 2020 Holiday Shopping Report Showing Canadians Shifted Online in a Big Way

• Retail sales continue rebound, having risen 7 months in a row since  COVID low in April

• QuanU, other retailers find new real estate deals in Canada

• Godiva to close all 11 Canadian stores by end of March

• Organized Crime Leader Arrested Trying to Enter Canada
  -Nabbed Canadian man named as one of world's biggest drug kingpins learned underworld trade from Mafia in Canada

• Drug Trafficking Operation
  -‘Cocaine bananas’ shipped to Canadian grocery stores in botched operation

• Orillia, ON: Alleged five-finger-discount ends in drug/weapons seizure

• Halton, ON: Violent trio used robbery to stock up on supplies

• Winnipeg, MB: 2 men recovering after one was shot in suite above c-store

• Kawartha Lakes, ON: Lindsay man arrested after suspected shoplifting incident

• Charlottetown, PEI: Man charged after he was caught shoplifting

• C-Store - Niagara Falls, ON - Armed Robbery

• C-Store - Kitchener, ON - Armed Robbery

• Cannabis Store - Calgary, AB - Armed Robbery

• Electronics - Alliston, ON - Robbery/Tied Up Employees

​

January 20, 2021

• Social Distancing Tool to Keep Stores Safe & Open
  -Canadian Company Creates Social Distancing Traffic Management Platform to Help Retailers Manage Crowds

• First-Ever Solution for Stores Struggling During Pandemic
  -E-commerce Solution for Canadian Malls Struggling During Lockdowns

• A Long Way Until Lockdowns Are Lifted?
  -Ontario must cut COVID-19 cases to 1,000 daily to lift lockdowns, medical officer says

• Extended Ontario Lockdowns Blasted for Harming Small Retailers

• Vaccine Setbacks
  -Provinces delaying or revisiting vaccine programs as Pfizer slows dose deliveries

• Ontario Launches Online Security Guard and Private Investigator Testing

• Ontario premier pleads with Biden administration for COVID vaccine help

• Canada could impose new COVID-19 travel restrictions without notice

• LP & Security Measures Driving Down Crime
  -Liquor Mart thefts plummet 97.5% at stores once reeling from shoplifters

• Canada's Epstein
  -Nygard's Lawyer Calls Jail a 'Death Sentence'
  -Fashion mogul Peter Nygard seeking bail on U.S. charges of sex trafficking, racketeering

• Canada's Top Retailers
  -Leger Ranks Canada's Top Retailers Including Physical and Online Experience

• Shopping Centres in Canada to See Significant Changes in 2021 and Beyond

• Walmart Canada to help staffers ease stress

• Biden's plan to cancel Keystone pipeline signals a rocky start with Canada

• Toronto, ON: Restaurant owners huddled inside office as shots rang out in front of their store

• Kamloops, BC: Police looking for gun-flashing suspect in alleged store theft

• Peterborough man arrested in vehicle break-in, credit card fraud investigations

• St. John's, NL: Crown seeks 3 1/2 years for man who told store clerks his name before deciding to rob them

• C-Store - Saint John, NB - Armed Robbery

• Electronics - Waterloo, ON - Armed Robbery

• Gas Station - St. John's, NL - Armed Robbery

• Gas Station - Kawartha Lakes, ON - Armed Robbery

• Unnamed Store - Regina, SK - Armed Robbery

​

January 13, 2021

• Vaccinating Retail Employees
  -Retail workers waiting to hear about their place in vaccination line

• At least 4M Canadians need vaccines for country to look at reopening economy

• Refusing to Comply with Lockdowns
  -Business owners prepared to defy health orders as 'last resort'

• Paying Businesses to Stay Closed?
  -Indigo CEO calls for government compensation amid lockdowns

• Extended Ontario Lockdown Announcement Blasted for Harming Small Retailers

• Petition pushes for lift of COVID-19 restrictions on small businesses in Calgary

• Canadians call out leaders for breaking their own Covid-19 rules

• As Canada battles rising COVID-19 cases, lack of sick leave fuels transmission

• Ontario declares emergency as COVID cases surge & Canada buys more vaccines

• Canada-U.S. land border closure extended to Feb. 21

• Walmart Canada Customer Data Exposed
  -Data exposure flaw on Walmart.ca revealed personal customer information

• Couche-Tard exploring Carrefour takeover to create global retail giant

• Stores Shutting in Vancouver 'Luxury Zone', Bizou Shutting 30% of Boutiques

• Loblaw set to close company-run transportation operations in Cambridge, 150 employees laid off

• British Columbia: Online Pharmacy Aims to Disrupt Retail with Next Day Delivery

• London, ON: Shots fired at LCBO alcohol display in failed store robbery

• Niagara, ON: $20K in merch stolen from Niagara Moose Knuckles store, police say

• Windsor, ON: Cashier gets kicked & punched during variety store robbery

• Kitchener, ON: Customer steals $250 worth of groceries from store

• Two Men Stole A Suitcase Full Of Meat At A Toronto Store & Fled In A Rideshare

• ATM - Corner Brook, NL - Armed Robbery

• C-Store - Nepean, ON - Robbery

• C-Store - Halifax, NS - Armed Robbery

• C-Store - Kitchener, ON - Armed Robbery

• Gas Bar - Nepean, ON - Robbery

• Jewelry Store - Hamilton, ON - Armed Robbery

• Jewelry Store - Corner Brook, NL - Burglary

• Liquor Store - London, ON - Armed Robbery/Shots Fired

• Moose Knuckles - Niagara, ON - Burglary

• Pharmacy - Nepean, ON - Robbery

• Pharmacy - Barrie, ON - Armed Robbery

• Variety Store - Windsor, ON - Robbery

​

January 6, 2021

• One-Third of Ontario Businesses May Not Survive New Restrictions
  -Second COVID Lockdown Will Obliterate Small Retailers & Businesses: Experts

• Canada's Slow Vaccine Rollout
  -Health experts urging quicker vaccine rollout in Canada as COVID-19 cases surge, doses sit in freezers

• Fewest International Brands Enter Canada Since '14
  -International Retailers Continue to Enter Canadian Market Despite Pandemic

• These three Toronto businesses with a COVID outbreak pose a 'significant risk'

• Charges laid in assault on B.C. Walmart employee who asked customers to wear masks

• Canadian Retail Sees Sales Surge, but so does COVID

• Canadian Businesses Take on Amazon
  -A Canadian 'Buy Local' Effort Fights Amazon on Its Own Turf

• E-Commerce Fraud Surging
  -Online shoppers in Sudbury, North Bay caught up in rising e-commerce fraud

• In Case You Missed It
  -Canada-Based Shopify hosts thousands of fraudulent shops, analysis finds

• Canadian Ecommerce Company EMERGE Sees Growth Through Website Acquisitions

• 15 of the most bizarre items reported stolen in Canada in 2020

• Mississauga, ON: Arrest made in $1.5M jewellery store robbery & attempted murder; 2nd suspect still on the loose

• $100K Scam Targets Ontario Box Stores
  -Trio arrested following 'elaborate' Ontario box store scam

• Nationwide Fraud Bust
  -6 Winnipeggers charged in cross-Canada fraud ring

• Montreal, QC: $ 100,000 in jewelry stolen in downtown armed robbery

• Vancouver, BC: Theft suspect sprays bear mace directly in face of store employee

• Halifax, NS: Car stolen at Halifax gas pumps used to rob convenience store

• Nunavut: Iqaluit man sentenced two years for C-store armed robbery

• Surrey, BC: Theft of Surrey firefighters' thrift store van 'disheartening'

• C-Store - Kitchener, ON - Armed Robbery

• C-Store - Halifax, NS - Armed Robberies (3x)

• C-Store - Halifax, NS - Armed Robbery

• Cell Store - Calgary, AB - Armed Robbery

• Coffee Shops - Toronto, ON - Burglary (2x)

• Family Market - St. Thomas, ON - Armed Robbery

• Dessert Shop - Toronto, ON - Burglary

• Pawnshop - Montreal, QC - Armed Robbery

• Shoppers Drug Mart - Langford, BC - Armed Robbery

• Shoppers Drug Mart - Saanich, BC - Armed Robbery

• Traders - Traders, NL - Armed Robbery

• Variety Store - Strathroy, ON - Armed Robbery

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