Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 8, 2009, Winnipeg, Manitoba C m y k Page b3 business editor Steve Pona 697 7264 business free press. My. Ca i Market details b5 i Winnipeg repress. Com thursday january 8, 2009 b 3 t he current round of new taxicab licence hearings is about to go from the ridiculous to the absurd. Uni City taxi Ltd. And Duff yes taxi Ltd., the dominant players in the business will be before the Manitoba taxicab Board later this month to sheepishly apply for new licences. Thatus after vehemently opposing More than two dozen other applications for 802 new taxicab licences made by a Broad assortment of Industry insiders and Well intentioned outsiders. Starting Early last summer a flurry of applications now totalling twice the number of existing plates began to fill up the Public hearing schedule of the taxicab Board the provinces taxi regulator. Some of that was prompted by Public complaints about a Scarcity of cabs in the City some was sheer Enterprise on the part of the applicants. The largest application to Date for 150 licences came from a newly formed co operative of disgruntled Drivers. Joan Wilson Unic itys general manager said jokingly i expect they will be lining up outside the door to oppose our application. Sheds Likely not far off the Mark. The weird unorthodox move by the two companies is either a cynical indication of their relentless desire to control the taxi Market in Winnipeg or a belief that they Are the Only ones capable of understanding the Market and Are doing whats Best for the Good cab Riding citizens of Winnipeg. Its probably a combination of the two. Needless to say some of the new applicants the More High spirited of whom already believe the fix is in and that uni City and Duff yes will do anything to keep out the Competition Are fuming that after opposing their attempts to get into the business by arguing there Are already enough cabs they now have the nerve to reverse their stance and try to scoop up any new licences that might be issued for themselves. Wilson acknowledges there is a Little catch 22 in their position and said they have not really changed their position. We will Tell the Board that we still do not want to see any new cars she said. They will argue that if the Board wants to Issue new licences then uni City and Duff yes have the infrastructure in place to get them on the Road. A Duff yes owner who asked that his name not be used said that if they did win the new plates he would not be surprised if they put them on the shelf not on the Road whatever this bizarre move by uni City and Duff yes is about Wilson did not deny its really about protecting Market share it will not make the taxicab boards Job any easier. Regardless of the problems that May exist in the Supply and demand of taxicabs in the City the taxicab Board needs the expertise that uni City and Duff yes possess to ensure there is service in the City after All those two companies now dispatch 91 per cent of the 410 Standard cabs in Winnipeg those companies argue there is barely enough business for their plate owners and Drivers to make a living. The others say there is plenty of business left on the table because of the arrogant attitude and poor service from the incumbents. Some of the he said she said that makes up much of the debate will be put to rest with the Public release in Early february of an Independent u. S. Consultants report commissioned by the taxicab Board in june which the Board has been mulling Over for a few months now. Whether or not it helped the process the Board is scheduled to decide on new licence applications some time in March. Martin. Cash free press. My. Ca a local company with the help of new chinese investors is poised to become the first to Market heart healthy Omega 3 pork in grocery stores across Canada. Prairie Orchard farms which has been developing Omega 3 enriched meats for eight years is beginning its major retail launch in Winnipeg on monday at five food fare stores. But the company has also attracted interest and commitments from Large food chains across the country said Joe Frend a company Vic president. Within two months youll Start to see products going Canada wide he said wednesday. Prairie Orchard is the first and Only company to receive approval from the Canadian food inspection Agency and the United states department of agriculture As a producer of Omega 3 pork and Chicken. In november its new Omega 3 Turkey also received u. S. Approval As a Good source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Until now the company has sold its meat mainly to local restaurants and specially retailers. But an infusion of capital from its new offshore partners has enabled it to take its products to National and International markets. We were Able to bring in three investors from Mainland China that Are coming to live in Manitoba Frend said. The same investors Are helping Prairie Orchard open doors in China where its Omega 3 products Are now going through the approval process. As Well the company has received interest from Chin ass two biggest pork producers who Are looking to produce Omega 3 pork in partnership with the Manitoba company. Prairie Orchard will begin its big retail push by Selling mainly pork although its Omega 3 Chicken will also be available As demand for it builds company officials say. Its Turkey product is Brand new and wont find its Way into stores right away. In addition to China the company has also drawn International interest from the United states where it has a new York distributor and France. Recently French officials asked the company to assist French producers in developing Omega 3 meats. Nino Cantafio owner of the food fare store on Arlington Street describes Prairie Orchards pork As a Premium product because of its taste As Well As its health benefits. Its the top of the line of Good eating pork said Cantafio who has 30 years of experience in the meat business. He said the new product will Likely Cost Consumers 20 to 25 per cent More than regular pork cuts. Prairie Orchard is marketing pork chops roasts and tenderloins As Well As some Bacon. Willy Hoffmann the company is president and founder said that in preparation for Selling its Omega 3 pork nationally and internationally it has already arranged with Independent and Large vertically integrated companies in Western Canada to produce up to four million hogs a year. Hog producers Are expected to Benefit from higher prices for the Niche product. To produce Omega 3 pork pigs Are fed a special Grain flax ration that the company has contracted to produce at a feed Mill in Winnipeg. Prairie Orchards achievement has been to formulate a ration that passes on the health benefits of the flax Plant to pork and other meats. The company has already received several awards for developing its Omega 3 meats including one for innovation at the 2007 Canadian Agri foods awards of excellence. Larry. Kusch free press. My. Ca the demand for High end Homes soared to new Heights in 2008 As Winni Eggers scooped up a record number of resale properties valued at $ 300,000 or More. New figures released wednesday show 1,283 such Homes were purchased last year through the Winnipeg realtors associations multiple listing service. That was a 44 per cent increase Over 2007 s total of 898, which was the previous record and was More than double the 529 purchased in 2006. That 2008 s total is quite shocking to me Peter Squire the wraps residential Market analyst said in an interview. Thatus new territory for us. Squire said the total included 158 Homes that sold for More than half a million dollars and nine that sold for More than a million. So 2008 was definitely a year for higher end sales he said. The surge in sales of upper end Homes helped propel the Wra to another record breaking year in terms of the Dollar volume of sales $ 2.4 billion compared to the previous record of $ 2.23 billion set in 2007. Not Only was 2008 the second consecutive year that sales eclipsed the $ 2 billion Mark but the seventh consecutive year they surpassed the $ 1 billion level. A slowdown in buying activity in the fourth Quarter prevented unit sales from surpassing the 13,000 Mark for the second year in a Row. They were Down three per cent from the previous year 12,630 compared to 13,079. Decembers unit sales were also Down three per cent from a year earlier 504 compared to 522. But that was still a big improvement from october and november when sales were Down 18 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. The december and 2008 resale Market results were the second housing related announcement in As Many Days. On tuesday Royal Lepage real estate services released its 2009 resale housing Market forecast. It predicted Winnipeg will be one of the Only major cities in Canada to see an increase in both unit sales its forecasting a modest one per cent gain and average Selling prices its predicting a four per cent improvement in 2009. Squire and Wra president Darlene Clare said a number of factors helped fuel the demand for higher end Homes in 2008. Soaring property values meant most move up buyers were getting a bigger Buck for their existing Homes. That coupled with Low interest rates enabled them to Purchase More expensive move up properties they said. And not Only were there More move up buyers there were also More empty testers Selling their spacious higher end properties and moving into condominiums or More modestly sized houses. Clare also noted there was another big influx of new immigrants to the province in 2008, some of them professionals with the Means to buy higher priced Homes. Murray. Mcneill free press. My. Ca ongoing taxicab licence War takes bizarre new turn Martin Cash Economy watch Winnipeg Gas High end Homes hot in 2008 by Murray Mcneill Mark Reimer / Winnipeg free press Nino Cantafio owner of the food fare at 1840 Arlington st., holds the new Prairie Orchard farms Omega 3 Chicken and pork with Prairie Orchard farms president Willy Hoffmann right and vice president of International sales Joe Frend left. The products will soon be available in National and International markets. Omega 3 pork hits stores local company is meat wins Over chinese investors by Larry Kusch 2009 will be worse experts Toronto canadians should Brace themselves for another year of economic woe that could even top the misery that unfolded in the latter half of 2008, according to some of the country is leading Bank economists. The flood of dire financial challenges facing the United states is still working its Way steadily across the Border into Canada to Bank chief economist Don Drummond said. We really be thankful for the end of 2008 because i think it will have proven to be a better year than 2009, he said. Its the medias fault if All that bad economic news has made you nervous about spending or investing in the Stock Market blame the people telling you about it. Even if your Job is Safe the value of your House a snot plunged and your investment portfolio Isnit keeping you up at night some experts say the Media is scaring Consumers from opening their wallets which in turn is adding to the woes of Canadas Economy. Media attitudes do help to shape How Consumers feel said conference Board of Canadas Glen Hodgson. While Hodgson said there Are clearly issues such As the global credit crunch that Are negatively impacting the Economy the problems Arentt As deep or widespread As perhaps people Are being led to believe. Chrysler in worst shape Detroit even by the standards of battered automakers Chrysler is in dire shape. The automakers sales in december were Down a stunning 53 per cent far worse than Ford or general motors and analysts say it probably wont survive the year As an Independent company despite us 4 billion in government Loans. Things were so bad last year that a single Toyota Model the camry Solara midsize car outsold the entire Fleet of Chrysler la cos passenger cars. Basically they re done said Auto analyst Aaron Bragman. Women swear sales Down Toronto Canadas largest women swear retailer kicked off the release of fourth Quarter sales data wednesday with a Bleak set of numbers but one analyst says the Overall shopping trend was positive. Reitmann Canada Ltd. Said sales at stores open a year or More decreased by 2.1 per cent compared with the fourth Quarter of last year with a 5.4 per cent slide in the month of december. Wendy Evans head of retail consultancy Evans and co., said clothing retailers such As Reitmann Are usually hard hit by economic downturns but other retailers Likely increased sales particularly on the strength of discounts. From the news services a 03_ Jan 08 09. Ind b3 1 / 7/ 09 11 39 00 pm ;