Quebec chocolatier to buy Laura Secord

QUEBEC CITY -- Laura Secord and its chain of 129 stores across Canada have been bought by a Quebec City chocolatier, the new owner announced Feb 19.

Local media say Jean Leclerc, who owns Nutri-Art Chocolates in Quebec City, will be returning the 97-year-old retail institution to Canadian hands.

Nutri-Art, which has about 100 employees, is a former division of cookie company Leclerc.

Laura Secord has changed hands several times over the years and is currently owned by a U.S. private equity firm, although the Quebec Solidarity Fund owns a small share as well.

The 51-year-old Leclerc was a Liberal member of the Quebec legislature between 1985 and 1994.

Laura Secord originated when Frank O'Connor began selling hand-made chocolates from his Toronto store in 1913. He named the business after the British loyalist from the Niagara region who walked 32 km to warn British officers about a surprise attack the Americans were planning in the War of 1812.

Nortel asks courts for cash to keep staff

TORONTO -- Nortel Networks Corp has asked American and Canadian courts to approve an employee retention plan designed to keep some key staff from quitting their jobs.

The insolvent Canadian telecom equipment maker says that buyers for its various business divisions have made it clear they want Nortel to hang onto employees to ensure that the transition of its businesses goes smoothly.

It says that includes jobs ranging from finance to supply chain management.

Nortel says the plan was created with the help of independent advisers who factored in the possibility that more stable and competitive jobs could lure staff away from the company.

Nortel says it has made more than US$2 billion from the completed sales of its assets, while another $1 billion is expected once several previously announced sales are completed.

Enbridge profit climbs 14%

CALGARY -- Calgary-based pipeline operator Enbridge Inc says its fourth-quarter profit increased 14 percent to $300-million. Enbridge's total revenue for the quarter was down 17 percent from the comparable period of 2008, falling to $3.2-billion from $3.9-billion.

The company operates the world's longest pipeline system for carrying oil and liquids, running from Canada's northern reaches to the southern United States.

It's also a major distributor of natural gas in some parts of Canada and the United States.

The company also announced Feb 3, ahead of the earnings report, that its pipeline system has been chosen to carry production from the Leismer oil sands project owned by Statoil Canada Ltd.

The Statoil Leismer project becomes the sixth to use Enbridge's regional oil sands system, an important element in getting energy from northern Alberta to users.

The initial contract provides for Enbridge to carry up to 30,000 barrels per day of bitumen from Phase 1 of the Leismer project, starting in late 2011.

The four Statoil oil sand leases are expected to eventually produce 220,000 barrels per day of bitumen.

The pipeline would carry oil sands crude to the Northern British Columbia port city of Kitimat, where it could travel by sea to lucrative Asian markets.

Quebec City to get biofuel plant

QUEBEC CITY -- The construction of a new $57 million waste transformation plant in Quebec City will help reduce green-house gas emissions, officials have announced.

Construction of the plant, which will convert organic matter such as table scraps into biofuel, is expected to begin this summer.

The bulk of the cost will be paid for by the city, with the federal government kicking in $17.7 million and the province adding an additional $16.5 million.

Fuel produced by the plant could theoretically be used to power up to 150 public transit buses for a year, said Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume.

A similar plant is already in operation in Toronto and plans to build one in Rivière-du-Loup were announced by the federal government earlier this month.

This type of technology offers additional uses for organic waste, said Mathieu Painchaud of the Quebec City Regional Council for the Environment.

"Usually, we make only compost out of it, now we can make energy out of it, plus compost," Painchaud said.

Construction of the plant is expected to be completed in 2013.

By then, Quebec City’s green-bin collection program will have been expanded.

Compost pick-up will be offered to 70 per cent of residential homes and buildings of under six units, officials said.