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FINWIRES

Mark Carney's Government Introduces Bill C-39 to Speed Up Major Projects

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The Government of Canada introduced Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, to speed up reviews for major infrastructure projects while supporting the workers who build them, according to a statement from Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

The government said the bill is intended to provide businesses with greater speed, certainty, and predictability when investing in Canada. It aims to accelerate major projects, strengthen supply chains, open new markets, and unlock the country's natural resources, the statement added.

As part of the "Canada Strong For All" initiative under the proposed bill, the government plans to add 100 new health and safety officers, increasing inspection capacity by about 70%. It will also hire 26 new staff at the Canada Industrial Relations Board to help clear the backlog of worker complaints against employers.

"The proposed measures were informed by cross-country engagement with workers, unions, employers, Indigenous Peoples, provinces and territories, industry, and other partners," the statement said.

What else is happening in Mining & Metals?

Mining & Metals

Kenorland Minerals Says Sumitomo Metal And Centerra Will Exercise Right to Maintain Equity Stake

Kenorland Minerals (KLD.V) said Friday after trade that Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada and Centerra Gold (CG.TO) will exercise their "top-up right" to maintain their respective 10.1% and 9.9% equity stakes in the company.Kenorland will issue 23,126 shares to Sumitomo, and 22,668 shares to Centerra. The shares will be priced at CA$2.498 each, a statement added.Kenorland shares closed down CA$0.01 at CA$2.25 on the TSX Venture Exchange.

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Mining & Metals

Nexus Industrial REIT Prices CA$300 Million Senior Unsecured Debentures

Nexus Industrial REIT (NXR-UN.TO) after trade Friday said it priced a CA$300 million private placement of senior unsecured debentures, maturing March 29, 2030.The debentures were issued at CA$1,000 per CA$1,000 principal amount and carry a fixed annual interest rate of 4.563%, with interest paid in equal semi-annual installments on March 29 and Sept. 29, starting March 29, 2027, the company said."It is a condition of closing of the offering that the Debentures be rated at least BBB (low) with a Stable trend by Morningstar DBRS," it added.The proceeds will be used to repay existing debt and for general corporate purposes. The offering is set to close around Sept. 29, the company said.

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Mining & Metals

TSX Closer: The Index Ends Lower as Industrials, Energy Weigh

The S&P/TSX Composite Index edged lower on Friday as weakness in industrial, energy and technology stocks outweighed gains in health care and financials.The index closed down 67.61 points, or 0.2%, to 35,806.65 with mixed sectors. Industrials led decliner,s down 0.9%, followed by energy and information technology that closed down 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively. Shares in health care and financial closed up 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.The Battery Metals Index, which includes companies listed both on the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange, jumped 4.5%.In commodities, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude fell on Friday as fresh diplomatic efforts around regional tensions helped ease some concerns over oil supply disruptions, even as risks to shipping routes in the Middle East remained elevated. October WTI crude oil contract settled down $1.61, or 1.6%, at $100.30 per barrel, while November Brent oil was last seen down $1.13, or 1.1%, at $103.69 per barrel.Meanwhile, December Comex gold futures jumped 0.4%, or $17.30, to $4,417.00 per ounce at last look.In currencies, the US dollar edged lower 0.02% against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD at 1.3988 at last look.In economics news, international investors bought CA$20.7 billion of Canadian securities in July, bringing the rolling 12-month inflow to an "astonishing" CA$295.5 billion, equivalent to 8.7% of this year's gross domestic product, BMO Capital Markets said in a note.The inflow was driven entirely by Canadian bonds, said BMO's Chief Economist Douglas Porter in the note.Meanwhile, Canada is a net importer of vehicles, in contrast to Mexico, which is becoming a major auto exporter, according to BMO.Canada produced 1.2 million vehicles over the past 12 months, compared with 3.9 million in Mexico, said. Yet Canada sells more vehicles domestically than Mexico, with more than 1.9 million sold versus around 1.6 million in Mexico.The distinction is becoming more relevant as reports indicate that Mexico and the US may be close to a trade and tariff agreement. The impact on Mexico's auto industry will be worth watching, particularly as Prime Minister Mark Carney cited the refusal by the United States to ease the 25% tariff on light trucks as one reason US-Canada trade talks broke down last month, Porter wrote.

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