Toronto ponders EV mandate for Ubers, taxis

Ride-sharing in Toronto could soon become an eco-friendly way to travel, which might make you feel a little better about all those Uber charges. 

Driving the news: Following the lead of cities like Amsterdam and New York, Toronto is considering requiring vehicles-for-hire — like taxis, Ubers, and Lyfts — to be zero emission by 2031, under a new recommendation by the Municipal Licensing and Standards division. 

AI is a side hustle sidekick

Looking to put some extra muscle into your side hustle? Look no further than our robot pals.

Driving the news: A new Morgan Stanley survey found that the incomes of gig workers who used generative AI were 21% higher compared to those who didn’t. The report’s most optimistic reading projects AI to add US$1.4 trillion to the side hustle economy by 2030. 

The UN takes a temperature check

As the 2023 UN General Assembly enters its final day, member nations are trying to find a way to get a passing grade on the world’s hardest group project. 

Driving the news: This year’s assembly has been called a “halftime summit” as the UN checks in on the 17 sustainable development goals it aims to achieve by 2030. At the midway point, UN nations are currently on track to meet *check notes* zero of these goals.

The Bank of Canada has a lot more work to do

If the Bank of Canada (BoC) is looking for a new mantra during these trying times, might we suggest, “What goes up must come down… to the 2% inflation target.” 

What happened: Canada's annual inflation rate in August jumped to 4% from 3.3% in July, increasing the odds of a rate hike at the BoC’s next meeting on October 25. To make matters worse, core measures that filter out extreme price changes also rose to 4% from 3.75%. 

Auto talks extended past strike deadline

5,680 autoworkers remained on the job past a midnight strike deadline as talks between Unifor, the union representing autoworkers, and Ford were extended another 24 hours.

  • "The union received a substantive offer from the employer minutes before the deadline and bargaining is continuing throughout the night," Unifor said in a statement.
Why it matters: The extension leaves the door open to avoid a strike at a time when the Big Three automakers are already contending with labour disruptions in the US.

Grocers agree to try and stabilize food prices

For the second time this year, the federal government hauled grocery executives to Parliament Hill for a “chat” about high food prices.

Driving the news: Canada's five biggest grocers have agreed to work with the feds to stabilize food prices, according to Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.  

PM says India behind killing of Sikh leader

Canada’s relationship with India just got a lot more complicated.

What happened: Canadian intelligence has credible evidence that India was behind the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Sikh leader, earlier this year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons yesterday.

Celebs lock up their likeness

Did anyone have Tom Hanks filing a copyright for his AI avatar on their 2023 bingo card?

Driving the news: A new startup, Metaphysic, is launching a tool that will allow celebrities to build their “AI likeness” and register it with the US Copyright Office.

Autoworkers see risk in electric vehicle future

Electric vehicles might be great for bringing emissions down, but there’s growing concern among autoworkers that they might not be great for people who make cars for a living.

Driving the news: United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, who is leading the first-ever US strike against all three of GM, Ford, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler), has highlighted the possible dangers for workers presented by the EV transition.

One neat trick to build more apartments

Alongside milk, bread, and prescription drugs, new apartment buildings are now GST-free. 

What happened: The federal government announced an immediate removal of the federal GST on the construction of new rental apartments—a move Ottawa urged provinces to follow.

The Peak at TIFF 2023

Last week, we gave you our most anticipated movies for TIFF 2023. After gorging ourselves on cinema, here are our five favourites that we watched at the fest. 

Why Ontario is at the centre of a nuclear renaissance

After years of flatlined growth in nuclear power, there’s growing interest and investment around the world in building new nuclear reactors. And as it turns out, Ontario is at the centre of that nuclear renaissance. 

The Peak team recently had the chance to see firsthand what that means through a tour of Ontario Power Generation’s nuclear facility in Pickering. Afterward, we sat down with Riley Found, a Senior Manager for New Nuclear Growth at OPG, to talk about why Ontario is at the forefront of building new nuclear.

How did a Vietnamese EV company get so big while selling so few cars?

You’d think that to be one of the world’s most valuable car companies, you’d need to move a lot of hot rods.  Well… you’d be wrong.

Driving the news: Buzzy Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast disclosed in recent regulatory filings that nearly two-thirds of the vehicles it sold in the first half of the year were purchased by a taxi company owned by its parent company, Vingroup.  

Luxury hotels are booming

London (England, not Ontario) is set to welcome at least 13 new high-end hotels, some of which claim to offer seven-star accommodation—a number of stars we didn’t even know was possible. 

Driving the news: The fun began earlier this week with the launch of the £1,300-a-night Peninsula London. Located near Hyde Park, the £1.1 billion resort offers a spa, 24-hour concierge service, and fleet of luxury cars available to guests, including a 1935 Rolls-Royce.

TIFF’s sponsorship tiff

Usually, when we talk about Tiff’s troubles, it’s about Tiff Macklem’s ongoing battle with Canadian inflation. Today, however, we’re looking at a different TIFF: The Toronto International Film Festival. 

What happened: Over 200 actors, directors, and other entertainment industry professionals signed an open letter to TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey asking for the festival to drop RBC as a sponsor due to what they claim is the bank’s “colossal” funding of the oil and gas industry. 

Tesla makes manufacturing breakthrough

Its CEO may be busy challenging Mark Zuckerberg to cage matches, but Tesla has still managed to come up with a new way to make cars that’s expected to be faster and cheaper

Driving the news: Using 3D printers, Tesla has created a new “gigacasting” process, in which many small parts of a vehicle are made from a single mould.

Don’t pick up the phone

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Your phone rings, you pick it up, and within 0.01 seconds, you realize it’s a scammer. You hang up and swear off answering calls for good. 

Turns out the same thing is happening to most of us.

Driving the news: Nearly half of Canadians have been targeted by a scam attempt recently, per a new TransUnion report, and the most commonly reported type of scam was “vishing,” which you might know better as “those scam phone calls I get at every waking hour.” 

White House asks Big Tech for AI answers

Washington rolled out the red carpet for big tech’s A-listers yesterday, but instead of asking them who they’re wearing, the Silicon Valley equivalent of the Avengers were quizzed about AI.  

Driving the news: A who’s who of Big Tech met in Washington yesterday to discuss safeguards for AI, with industry leaders and lawmakers acknowledging that AI regulation will be challenging but necessary. 

Common cold drugs not only taste bad, they don't work

Ever feel like your cold medication isn’t really doing the job? That may be because it’s literally not doing the job—or any job, for that matter.

What happened: An FDA advisory panel found that an active ingredient commonly found in cold medicine is no more effective than a placebo for treating congestion. 

Amazon goes green(ish)

In an effort to offset the environmental impact of its business (and its founder’s 417-foot, US$500 million superyacht), Amazon is getting into the carbon capture game. 

Driving the news: Amazon has made its first investment in direct air capture technology (DAC), purchasing 250,000 tons of carbon removal credits over 10 years from 1PointFive, a DAC plant in Texas.