Canada

Centerra Gold Inc. is claiming a Kyrgyz open-pit mine it once ran has flooded and poses safety and environmental risks, although the government-appointed administrator says the water has always been there, Bloomberg News reported. There may be at least 40 meters (131 feet) of water at the bottom of the Kumtor central pit, the Canadian mining company said on Tuesday in a statement, citing photos on Kumtor Gold Co.’s website and a company video posted mid August on Facebook.

Canadian courts have granted Laurentian University permission to extend its insolvency restructuring efforts into the new year, Sudbury.com reported. Laurentian asked that the stay of proceedings protecting it against its creditors be extended until Jan. 31, 2022, and that the maturity date for its bridge financing loans also be extended to the same date. In granting the motion presented by Laurentian in the brief court hearing on Friday, Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz said Laurentian has demonstrated significant progress in its restructuring efforts amid a difficult situation.

Centerra Gold Inc.’s units on Wednesday filed a motion in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking penalties of $1 million a day against the Kyrgyzstan government, related to the seizure of the Canadian company’s Kumtor gold mine, Reuters reported. Centerra Gold said in May, its Kyrgyzstan units Kumtor Gold Co. (KGC) and Kumtor Operating Co. (KOC) commenced bankruptcy proceedings in a U.S. court following nationalization of the miner’s Kumtor gold mine by the former Soviet republic.

Laurentian University is asking for permission to extend its restructuring efforts into the new year, documents filed before the courts reveal, Sudbury.com reported. The university is in court once again Aug. 27, asking that the stay of proceedings protecting it against its creditors be extended until Jan. 31, 2022. At the same court date, Laurentian is also asking that the maturity date for more than $35 million in bridge financing loans also be extended until Jan. 31, 2022. The university announced Feb.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to introduce a two-year ban on foreign home buyers to tackle housing affordability in Canada if he’s re-elected, Bloomberg News reported. The proposed restriction is an attempt to cool a housing market that has soared during the Covid-19 pandemic. Surging prices have become a central issue in the campaign for the Sept. 20 vote, in which Trudeau hopes to regain a majority in parliament, with all three major parties promising crackdowns. “You shouldn’t lose a bidding war on your home to speculators.

Canadians are piling into mortgages at more than double the historical pace as the housing market appears to moderate after a pandemic boom, Bloomberg News reported. The total value of residential mortgages rose by 1.2% to C$1.73 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in June, according to data released Thursday by Statistics Canada. That’s the fastest monthly increase in loans borrowed for real-estate purchases since 2007. The spike in mortgages is evidence of Canadians’ demand for more living space during the Covid-19 pandemic, which sent sales and prices to record highs.

Canada's inflation rate jumped to 3.7 per cent in July, as the cost of shelter and durable goods went up at a fast enough pace to push the cost of living up to its highest level since 2011, CBC reported. Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that the homeowners' replacement cost index, which is related to the price of new homes, went up at an annual pace of 13.7 per cent in July. That's the fastest uptick on record dating back to 1987.

Laurentian University has issued a request for proposals from firms to undertake a review of its governance and operations as it continues through its insolvency restructuring, Sudbury.com reported. The university has set an Aug. 31 deadline for companies bidding on any one of, or a combination of the following: a governance review of Laurentian’s senate; a governance review of Laurentian’s board of governors; and an operational review. Companies interested in the contract have been asked to make submissions through MERX (reference No. 0000205175) and Bonfire.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government said that it will make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for airline and rail passengers, transportation workers and federal employees, in one of its final announcements before the start of a Canadian election campaign, Bloomberg News reported. Government officials said on Friday that the plan is to require government staff to be inoculated by early fall. Workers and passengers on airlines, railways and cruise ships will also need proof of vaccination by the end of October. “We need to regain public confidence in travel.

Over six months after Laurentian entered insolvency proceedings, the Sudbury, Ont., university has published a draft framework for claims to be submitted by faculty, staff and employees affected by restructuring — but one of the parties says the details aren't finalized and negotiations are ongoing, CBC reported. All parties are due before a judge next on Tuesday for a discussion on the compensation methodology.