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Poloz warns of ‘froth’ as
housing market strengthens
‘We still have the ingredients that could give rise to more speculation,’ BoC Governor says
DAVID PARKINSON
ECONOMICS REPORTER
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Po-
loz cautioned a Vancouver audience
about the risks of “froth” returning to
the housing sector, saying that the cen-
tral bank is watching for signs that the
renewed strength in housing in prov-
inces such as British Columbia could
reignite speculation in those markets.
Narrowing Japan’s gender gap
Women are breaking down business barriers as the country’s
cultural attitudes shift, but there’s still a long way to go B2
Katsura Ito, chief learning officer at Microsoft Japan, says the biggest impediment to a more welcoming environment
for women in business is the ‘immature’ outlook of Japanese male managers. SHIHO FUKADA/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Aritzia to test larger clothing sizes amid industry shift
SUSAN KRASHINSKY ROBERTSON
RETAILING REPORTER
Canadian retailer Aritzia Inc. will soon
be offering expanded clothing sizes on
a trial basis, saying it has recognized a
shift in the fashion industry.
“There has been a push into more in-
clusivity throughout society and cer-
tainly in the fashion business. That’s
not lost on us,” founder and chief exec-
utive Brian Hill said on a conference call
to discuss the company’s third-quarter
results on Thursday.
Currently, Aritzia’s core products go
up to size 10 and sometimes size 12; Mr.
Hill said the retailer would be offering
up to size 18 to gauge customer re-
sponse. The test will be conducted with
Aritzia’s Babaton brand, starting in the
spring and summer.
“We’re excited about that. We’re not
sure it’s going to make a meaningful im-
pact to our sales, but we think it’s the
right thing to do for our customers,” Mr.
Hill said.
Aritzia is not the first retailer to rec-
ognize that customers above size 12 do
not want to be relegated only to special-
N I S S AN
Lebanon bans fugitive
Ghosn from travel B3
SPORTS
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In remarks at the Greater Vancouver
Board of Trade’s Economic Outlook Fo-
rum Thursday, Mr. Poloz attributed the
return of strength in housing – partic-
ularly in B.C., Quebec and Ontario – to
a combination of healthy employment
and wage growth, and immigration-
driven population gains. That is driv-
ing “fundamental demand” that, he
said, “appears to be outpacing our abil-
ity to build new homes, which can put
renewed upward pressure on prices.”
[ EQUALITY ]
Aritzia will use its Babaton brand to gauge customer response to the idea of offering
women’s clothing up to size 18. CARLOS OSORIO/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
ty plus-size stores. In recent years,
stores such as Nordstrom, American Ea-
gle and J.Crew have been expanding
their size offerings. In 2018, Walmart ac-
quired plus-size e-commerce retailer
Eloquii for a reported US$100-million.
TYL ER HAMILTO N
Fossil-fuels sunset must give
way to hydrogen sunrise B4
HO CK EY
Perry Pearn dismissed as head Four Canadians go in top 20
coach of the Canadian women’s of Major League Soccer draft
team B11 B11
DOLLAR GOLD (oz.)
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However, he cautioned, “We will be
watching for signs of a re-emergence of
extrapolative expectations returning
to certain major housing markets – in
short, what we call ‘froth.’ ”
His comments echoed similar warn-
ings he issued in 2016, when the Grea-
ter Vancouver and Greater Toronto
housing markets were going through
booms that were fuelling rapid price
increases.
POLOZ, B5
The same year, New York-based startup
Dia&Co, which offers sizes 14 to 32, se-
cured US$70-million in funding from
venture-capital firms Sequoia Capital
and Union Square Ventures.
ARITZIA, B5
GLO BE INVESTO R
So you won a lottery: How
to handle the windfall B6
SO CCER
OIL (WTI) GCAN 10-YR
US$59.56 1.6%
-0.05 -0.02
Telus pension plan
faces losses with
Strategic holdings
in receivership
JEFFREY JONES
KELLY CRYDERMAN CALGARY
Telus Corp. and its employee retirement
plans are facing a financial hit from the in-
solvency of Strategic Group’s Alberta real
estate holdings because the telecom com-
pany is a major lender and its pension arm
co-owns nearly half the properties.
Telus Pensions Master Trust (TPMT), an
investment trust funded by Telus’s pen-
sion plans, and several debt holders last
month won a bid to prevent Calgary-based
Strategic from obtaining court protection
from creditors in 56 buildings. The compa-
ny had said it faced financial hardship be-
cause of Alberta’s economic downturn.
Strategic, led by developer Riaz Mamda-
ni, wanted to restructure the Alberta hold-
ings under court protection, which would
have allowed it to maintain its ownership
and given it the flexibility to seek relaxed
terms on its debt and put some buildings
up for sale. But in late December, a judge
sided with the creditors and placed the op-
erations in receivership, removing the as-
sets from Strategic’s ownership.
Creditors are owed a total of $708.5-mil-
lion, according to the interim receiver, Al-
varez & Marsal Canada Inc. Decisions have
yet to be made about the fate of the proper-
ties.
Telus has substantial exposure. TPMT
co-owns 95 properties with Strategic as
part of a partnership that began in 2015. Of
those, 25 are now held by the receiver. It
said there were no current appraisals of the
worth of those properties, in which TPMT
has ownership stakes ranging from 6 per
cent to 65 per cent.
STRATEGIC, B5
Housing starts
flat in 2019 due
to year-end
condo slowdown
RACHELLE YOUNGLAI
REAL ESTATE REPORTER
Canadian housing starts slowed at the end
of last year, according to the Canada Mort-
gage and Housing Corp., but the federal
agency expects them to rebound in 2020
due to population growth and a lack of
housing in Toronto and Vancouver.
Housing starts fell 3 per cent in Decem-
ber, 2019, compared with the previous
month, to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 197,329, driven largely by a decline
in new construction of condos and apart-
ments in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.
In Ottawa, construction starts of multi-
family properties, largely condos and
apartments, dropped nearly 50 per cent in
December to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 4,188. Montreal eased 10 per cent to
16,520 and Toronto declined 16 per cent to
16,884.
The declines were offset by robust mul-
tifamily construction in Western Canada,
with Calgary’s starts tripling to 21,336 sea-
sonally adjusted units and Vancouver stea-
dy at 24,840 units.
Over all, CMHC’s preliminary results put
starts for all home types last year at
196,729. That was virtually unchanged
from 2018, with the growth in multifamily
starts offsetting a decline in new detached
housing construction. The housing agency
cautioned that the annual numbers could
be revised.
Economists said the overall slowdown
was temporary given the strong popula-
tion growth, particularly in Toronto, the
country’s most populated city. “There is a
lot of activity waiting to happen,” said
CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan.
HOUSING, B5
COMPANIES
ARITZIA .................................................. B1
CIBC ........................................................ B6
CENOVUS ............................................... B2
KINDER MORGAN ................................... B2
PEMBINA PIPELINE ................................. B2
WESTJET ................................................. B3
OLY MP IC S
IOC details which types
of athlete protests will not
be allowed at Games B15