Movers arrested after investigation; Air Canada cancels dozens of daily flights: CBC’s Marketplace cheat sheet

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After Marketplace investigated these movers, the police investigated. Now, they’ve been arrested

Following an undercover Marketplace investigation into a group of national moving companies accused of deceptive pricing, Toronto police have arrested two key figures and charged them with a slew of criminal offences.

The charges come after a raid Friday, as the two bosses arrived at a Scarborough, Ont., address where the moving companies are based. Within moments, a large police contingent descended on the premises, seizing the company’s assets and recovering customers’ belongings, including family heirlooms and the ashes of at least one deceased person being held by the movers.

Business partners Cemal Ozturk and Dogan Celik, both 30, have been charged with four counts each of fraud, mischief, possession of property obtained by crime and false pretence, as well as conspiracy to commit indictable offences.

Ozturk and Celik were detained for at least 72 hours, until a bail hearing Monday. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

A police press release alleges customers were “provided with a low-cost contract for moving their belongings,” but once the items were loaded onto a truck, “the men would contact the customers making a demand for more money.” 

Customers who wanted their belongings delivered “would be forced to pay the inflated prices,” often in the thousands of dollars.

In an email statement at the time of the Marketplace investigation, Celik said his companies value customers and treat them with respect, and that his companies will be “doing a full review of all of our operations and procedures to ensure that the companies are following these important company values.” 

Despite several attempts by phone, registered mail, email and social media, Ozturk could not be reached for comment at the time of the Marketplace investigation. CBC has been unable to identify Ozturk and Celik’s lawyer. Read more

WATCH | Hidden cameras catch movers pushing inflated weight estimates: Hidden cameras catch movers pushing inflated weight estimates 4 months ago

Duration 2:10

Roadway Moving first quoted the Marketplace producer $895 to move 1,000 pounds. After filling out an inventory spreadsheet, that number jumped to $1,495 before tax to move 3,000 pounds. But on moving day, the estimated weight went up again.

Back in March, Marketplace used secret trackers and hidden cameras to show how some movers could be ripping you off. Watch the full investigation here.

Amid industry-wide delays, Air Canada cancels dozens of daily flights

If you’ve got an Air Canada flight booked this summer, you’ll want to double-check to make sure it hasn’t been cancelled. 

The airline will cut dozens of daily flights this summer as it grapples with a series of challenges amid soaring demand for travel.

Flight delays have been a big issue this month across all airlines.

Analytic firm Data Wazo says 54 per cent of flights to six large airports — Montreal, Calgary, Toronto’s Pearson and Billy Bishop airports, Ottawa and Halifax — were bumped off schedule in the seven days between June 22 and 28.

Air Canada’s flight changes would see the company reduce its schedule by 77 round trips — or 154 flights — on average, each day during the months of July and August.

“Three routes will be temporarily suspended between Montreal and Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Kelowna and one from Toronto to Fort McMurray,” said Peter Fitzpatrick, an airline spokesperson.

Most flights affected by the changes are out of its Toronto and Montreal hubs, he said. Read more

An Air Canada flight taxis on the tarmac at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal on May 16, 2022. The airline is reducing its summer schedule by 154 flights. (Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images) Nutrition warnings are coming to the front of some packaged foods in Canada

It will soon be easier for Canadians to spot which pre-packaged foods come packed with high levels of saturated fat, sugar or sodium.

That’s because Canada will now require companies to add nutrition warnings to the front of pre-packaged food that meets that criteria in an effort to help grocery shoppers make healthier choices with just a glance.

But ground meat will be exempt from the labels, after ranchers groups objected to Health Canada’s proposal earlier this month.

The government says the labels are meant to help Canadians eat healthier, as the so-called “nutrients of public health concern” have been linked to conditions such as cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

“These regulations are designed to make it easier for us to make informed, healthier choices,” said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. Read more

Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos announces new food labeling in Ottawa on Thursday. Canada will require that companies add nutrition warnings to the front of pre-packaged food with high levels of saturated fat, sugar or sodium, starting in 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) Could TikTok be banned from app stores? That’s what this U.S. communication regulator wants to see

TikTok is one of the world’s most popular apps. But a United States communications regulator is flagging serious privacy concerns and warning the app is not just “for sharing funny videos or memes.”

Brendan Carr, a commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has written a letter to the CEOs of Apple and Google, alerting them that the wildly popular video-sharing app does not comply with the requirements of their app store policies.

“At its core, TikTok functions as a sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data,” Carr wrote in the letter.

The letter comes after U.S. news outlet Buzzfeed reported last week that data on U.S. users has been repeatedly accessed by entities in mainland China. TikTok subsequently announced that it plans “to delete U.S. users’ private data from our own data centres and fully pivot to Oracle cloud servers located in the U.S.,” the company said. 

John Zabiuk, chair of the cybersecurity program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, says that if the U.S. does decide to ban the app, Canada is likely to follow suit. 

“It’s a hugely popular app and it would make a lot of people upset [but] if we look at the architecture and the way it works, it is an extremely dangerous application,” he said. Read more

TikTok is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance, which is itself linked to the Chinese government. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters) What else is going on?

Canada’s economy grew in April, but May contraction expectedEarly outlook for May indicates a contraction of 0.2%.

Do unions at Starbucks mean the labour movement is picking up steam?Workers try to unionize at 100s of Starbucks locations along with Apple stores, Indigo, and PetSmart.

What you should know about the shortage of infant formulas for babies with food allergiesParents and caregivers should speak with a health care professional, such as a doctor, registered dietitian or nurse, about their baby’s needs. They can help recommend possible formula substitutes and how to transition them into your baby’s diet.

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