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TORONTO — Aimia Inc. says it remains open to negotiating a fair deal for the purchase of its Aeroplan loyalty program by Air Canada and its partners despite striking a deal with Toronto-based Porter Airlines and holding discussions with the Oneworld airline alliance.

“We never stop negotiating. Should the consortium want to engage with us in a constructive dialogue, we would be happy to entertain that,” Aimia CEO Jeremy Rabe said Friday during a conference call.

“At the same time, we feel very confident about our future plans. So either or, we’re happy to go down either path.”

Rabe insisted that Aimia didn’t reject the Air Canada group’s offer, but said it was very conditional and didn’t fairly value the business.

The future of Aeroplan, which has more than five million members, has been in doubt since Air Canada announced in May 2017 that it planned to launch its own loyalty rewards plan in 2020.

Under a new deal announced Friday, Toronto-based Porter would become a preferred Canadian airline for the Aeroplan loyalty points program as of July 2020, when the current arrangement with Air Canada ends.

The privately owned airline, which has its main hub on the Billy Bishop airport on one of the islands near Toronto’s downtown, currently serves Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and other Canadian cities from St. John’s, NL to Thunder Bay, Ont. as well as U.S. destinations including the New York City area, Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C..

“This is a unique opportunity for Porter to join a well-established travel loyalty program and, in the future, reach its vast member base to aggressively promote our airline,” said Michael Deluce, Porter’s chief commercial officer.

Under terms of the deal, Porter’s existing VIPorter loyalty points will be converted into Aeroplan miles.

Porter’s fleet of aircraft is only a fraction the size of Air Canada’s, but Aimia has also been in discussions with the Oneworld airline alliance, whose members include British Airways, American Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Those partnerships would give Aeroplan members new options when the loyalty program’s current deal with Air Canada expires in 2020.

Aimia’s shares increased nearly 10 per cent to $3.80 in Friday morning trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

There remains a reasonable likelihood that Aimia will reach an agreement to be bought out by Air Canada given the high uncertainty in transitioning Aeroplan through 2020, said Drew McReynolds of RBC Capital Markets.

“We also believe the difference in the perceived value of Aeroplan among the parties is not overly material to the consortium yet meaningful to the value of Aimia,” he wrote in a report.

‘Making solid progress’

Shortly before announcing the Porter agreement, Aimia reported that spending on Aeroplan credit cards remained strong in the second quarter and the company is “making solid progress” on streamlining its business.

The Montreal-based company also announced that its continuing operations had a net profit of $11.1 million or four cents per share in the second quarter, with revenue up 3.9 per cent to $375.4 million.

That contrasted with a year-earlier net loss of $25.1 million or 22 cents per share from continuing operations, or 18 cents per share if discontinued operations were included, with $361.3 million in the second quarter of 2017.

MONTREAL — On a recent episode of Quebec’s popular TV talk show, “Tout le monde en parle,” co-host Dany Turcotte asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau why he hadn’t heard of any significant Netflix investment in Quebec since a major announcement last year.

The U.S. streaming giant committed in September 2017 to investing $500 million over five years in Canadian-produced movies and television shows, in both English and French.

“It’s not happening fast,” Turcotte said to Trudeau about Netflix money in Quebec. “There is nothing happening.”

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The prime minister replied defensively: “On the contrary.” Netflix would invest “even more than they had initially planned to,” he promised.

Maybe Trudeau knew something about Netflix’s plans that Turcotte, a Quebec show-business veteran, didn’t.

But none of the Quebec-based production companies or unions representing actors, directors or writers contacted by The Canadian Press said they have heard of any French-language movie or television series in development by Netflix in the province.

Culture is a highly charged issue in Quebec — and it’s no surprise that alongside questions about cannabis legalization and Saudi arm sales the prime minister was put on the spot about Netflix.

Melanie Joly, the former heritage minister, lost her portfolio last summer following what was widely seen as a disastrous handling of the Netflix file.

Joly was savaged in the Quebec media for her government’s decision not to impose the federal Goods and Services Tax on Netflix or any other online-streaming company.

Netflix’s $500-million announcement was seen by cultural and political leaders in the province as a sop to the industry after the government exempted Netflix from tax requirements faced by other players in the industry.

It’s a question of equity, said Gilles Charland, director general of the union representing Quebec’s image and sound technicians.

“It’s not about adding a tax on people,” Charland said. “It’s about ensuring that whether you’re subscribed to Bell or Videotron or Shaw or Netflix, you pay a tax for using that product.”

The $500-million pledge was supposed to make up for the break given to Netflix, but more than one year after the announcement, francophone Quebec directors, writers and actors are still waiting for a big project.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Gabriel Pelletier, head of a union representing 700 film, television and web-based directors in Quebec.

“It takes time to develop projects,” he conceded, “but still, there should at least be some deals for developing something.”

English-language production making strides

On the English side, Netflix has made significant moves in Canada over the last year.

It recently renewed the show, “Travelers,” created by Canadian Brad Wright and shot in Vancouver. The company has other English-language movies and television shows in production across the country.

Montreal-based Muse Entertainment is currently in post-production on “Good Sam,” a US$5-million feature film for Netflix, scheduled to run on the company’s online platform in 2019.

Muse Vice-President, Jesse Prupas, said in an interview, “as a producer, I am very happy for this opportunity and it took me years to get it — I’m delighted.”

Netflix has yet to slate an original Quebecois movie or TV series

Netflix points to two recent projects involving francophone talent as evidence it has not ignored Quebec.

It bought the rights to the 2017 film, “Les affames,” scheduled to appear on the platform in 2019. And the company plans to record four francophone comedians during the next Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal as part of an international series featuring 47 comedians from around the world.

Writers, editors and actors see signs of goodwill from Netflix, but so far it is not funding any original Quebecois movie or television series.

In a statement to The Canadian Press, Netflix said, “we are always on the lookout for the best stories.”

The company said its $500-million commitment includes movies and television shows in both English and French, as well as an additional $25 million in market development.

“There is more to come,” the company said.

‘I think they will deliver, but I don’t know when’

Simon Ross, a spokesman for the Heritage Department, declined comment on the progress of Netflix investments but assured Quebec artists, “we have their back when it comes to protecting our culture.” He said the government “expects the company to make the investments stipulated under the Investment Canada Act in both official languages, and we are monitoring it.”

Last May, Netflix held a two-day series of meetings in Montreal during which it received numerous pitches. Helene Messier, head of an association that represents 150 independent Quebec production companies in film, television and online, attended one of the events in May.

“There were more than 1,000 ideas submitted to Netflix during those meetings,” Messier said in an interview. “I know it can take time to develop projects,” she added, “but I would have hoped that by now we would have at least been able to announce something.”

Messier said Netflix “created an expectation” in Quebec last year when it announced its investment, and she remains optimistic.

“I think they will deliver,” she said in an interview, “but I don’t know when.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have officially tied the knot, and while some Canadians surely have royal wedding fatigue, one of the country’s foremost storytellers believes this “story about love” is a great reason for the nation to come together.

During CBC’s broadcast of the nuptials, semi-retired broadcaster Peter Mansbridge took the time to speak directly to the camera about why covering the royal wedding is newsworthy in terms of both time and money.

“Every once in a while, you want to show that there’s more to our world than all the horrible things that happen,” said Mansbridge, dividing his attention between the audience and The National co-anchor Adrienne Arsenault.

“It’s a story about royalty and celebrity, and it was nice to watch, and it was nice to check out of the horrible things we see and cover so much of our lives, and to realize that nice things happen too.”

One of these nice things also includes Mansbridge’s return to TV — this time with a beard.

The Stratford, Ont. resident, who first covered a similar event back in 1981 for Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding, is the former chief correspondent of CBC News. His appearance at the royal wedding marked his first time back on the airwaves in a non-Canadian Screen Awards capacity since his final newscast on Canada Day of 2017.

He made sure to stress the day’s feel-good significance and place in history for his co-host and those at home.

“Here’s why it’s important, and especially important for you [Adrienne]. This is a person, this is a journalist who has covered some of the worst things we’ve seen in our world in the last 20 years. And you have those images burned into your mind and your soul, and you’ve tried to help us through by telling these stories. And they’re an important part of what we do as journalists. But you know, they’re not the only things that happen in this world.”

“Fairy tales, well, you know, they may never come true or they may almost never come true,” Mansbridge continued. “But it’s nice to believe in them for a day.”

At the end of their broadcast, Arsenault only had one way to thank Mansbridge for his remarks — with a heartfelt tweet.

Arsenault was one of many who showed their appreciation for what Mansbridge had to say, as his name became a trending topic throughout the network’s coverage by virtue of what he shared or perhaps just because people were happy to see him back on television.

Though Mansbridge has not yet made any statements about his future plans to return to CBC News, at the end of a Facebook Live on Saturday, he gave one last send-off.

“Enjoy the weekend, it’s a holiday weekend back home,” said Mansbridge, referring to the Victoria Day holiday. “You know, make sure you get out and enjoy it, and I’m glad you caught this bit of history, because this was history.”

“I’m Peter Mansbridge in Windsor, so long for now.”

Watch the full video of Mansbridge’s remarks about the royal wedding below.

OTTAWA — Canada’s spy agency says many members of the environmental and Indigenous communities see the federal purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline as a betrayal, and suggests that could intensify opposition to expanding the project.

A Canadian Security Intelligence Service assessment highlights a renewed sense of indignation among protesters and clearly indicates the spy service’s ongoing interest in anti-petroleum activism.

The Canadian Press used the Access to Information Act to obtain a heavily censored copy of the June CSIS brief, originally classified top secret.

Watch: Trudeau on why Ottawa isn’t appealing Trans Mountain decision. Story continues below.

Civil liberties and environmental activists questioned the rationale for CSIS’s interest, given that opposition to the pipeline project has been peaceful.

CSIS spokeswoman Tahera Mufti stressed the spy service is committed to following the governing legislation that forbids it to probe lawful protest and dissent.

“While we cannot publicly disclose our investigative interests, we can say that it is important for the service to pose important analytical questions on these types of issues, such as the question of whether developments such as the purchase of a pipeline could give rise to a national-security threat to Canada’s critical infrastructure.”

‘Developing intelligence issue’

Earlier this year, Kinder Morgan dropped plans to twin an existing pipeline that carries about 300,000 barrels of bitumen daily from Alberta to British Columbia. The federal government announced in late May it would buy the pipeline and related components for $4.5 billion.

The government intends to finance and manage construction of the second pipeline — which would increase the overall flow of bitumen to 890,000 barrels a day — and ultimately try to find a buyer.

The CSIS brief characterizes resistance to the pipeline project as a “developing intelligence issue.”

“Indigenous and non-Indigenous opponents of the project continue to highlight the increasing threats to the planet as a result of climate change and the incompatibility of new pipeline and oil sands projects with Canada’s 2015 commitment under the Paris Climate Accord,” the brief says. “At the same time, many within the broader Indigenous community view the federal government’s purchase and possible financing, construction and operation of an expanded bitumen pipeline as wholly incompatible with its attempts at Crown-Indigenous reconciliation.”

The pipeline acquisition and commitment to complete the project is therefore “viewed as a betrayal” by many within both the environmental and Indigenous communities, CSIS says.

“Indigenous opposition at the grassroots level remains strong. In response to the federal purchase, numerous Indigenous and environmental organizations have restated their commitment to prevent construction.”

The brief singles out the Treaty Alliance Against Tar Sands Expansion, noting it has signatories from over 50 North American First Nations in its bid to halt the project. It also features a May quote from Canadian environmental organization Stand.earth that the decision “will haunt the Trudeau government.”

The intelligence brief was completed a little more than two months before the Federal Court of Appeal quashed government approval of the pipeline project due to inadequate consultation with Indigenous groups and failure to properly assess the effect of increased tanker traffic in the waters off British Columbia.

Unclear exactly what CSIS was looking at: expert

In the wake of the court ruling, the federal government ordered the National Energy Board to reassess the tanker issue and asked a former Supreme Court justice to oversee fresh consultations with Indigenous communities.

The CSIS brief notes there had been “no acts of serious violence” stemming from peaceful demonstrations and blockades at Trans Mountain facilities in British Columbia that resulted in the arrest of more than 200 people, or at smaller protests across the country.

However, the document includes a section titled “Violent Confrontations and Resource Development” that mentions past conflicts over shale-gas development in New Brunswick and a high-profile pipeline in North Dakota.

It is unclear, because of the redactions to the document, exactly what CSIS was looking at, said Josh Paterson, executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which has expressed strong concern about the spy service’s monitoring of activists.

In the information that has been released, there is no suggestion of a threat to national security or critical infrastructure, of clandestine activities or of violence in relation to the Trans Mountain project, Paterson said.

“While some opponents of the pipeline were arrested during protest for breaching a court order, that was a matter for police and the courts, and was done out in the open — it should not be a matter for our spy agency.”

Given past interest on the part of security and police officials, the CSIS brief is not surprising, said Tegan Hansen, a spokeswoman for Protect the Inlet, an Indigenous-led effort against the pipeline and tanker project.

But she is curious as to why the spy service document makes reference to sabotage and violent physical confrontations.

“I’m not sure why they’re trying to draw that connection with violence,” Hansen said. “I’d be interested to know. But it’s certainly not our intention to ever pursue violence.”

In what’s being called “northern humour at its best,” the hashtag #NunavutTVShows uses dryness and wit to highlight some serious issues for the northern territory, while also painting a picture of the community and culture of life in Nunavut.

The social media campaign — which involves tweeting a typical TV show with its name re-imagined for Nunavut — trended on Twitter over the weekend.

Tweeters from the North poked fun at the landscape, the cost of living, and the internet.

And had a few things to say about the healthcare system.

And while many of the tweets touched on some serious topics for the North — such as housing (which has been called “inadequate and unsafe” by officials), hunger (food shortages are a huge problem), and health issues (Nunavut has the worst health outcomes in all of Canada) — others touched on the community and culture.

The hashtag actually made its debut five years ago (and as #NunavutMovies), but had a surge over the weekend in response to another huge and heartbreaking issue for Nunavut: suicide. At its worst, the five-year suicide average for Nunavut was 121 per 100,000 people — nearly 11 times the national rate, according to the Canadian Press.

Some users thanked those tweeting #NunavutTVShows for making them laugh, and — for those who may have moved away — for reminding them of home.