National Business

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index erased its gains from the day before asindustrial and telecom stocks weighed on the market, while U.S. markets were mixed. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 138 points at 21,873.72.

A former SNC-Lavalin executive has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in connection with a bribery scheme for a bridge repair contract in Montreal, the RCMP say.

OTTAWA — The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.

MONTREAL — Metro Inc. is preparing to expand its Moi Rewards program across its Ontario grocery stores later this year after launching last May and garnering more than 2.5 million active members in Quebec.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish. The S&P 500 closed little changed Wednesday after a two-day winning streak erased nearly two-thirds of last week’s steep loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.

HALIFAX — The federal Fisheries Department says five people from Maine were arrested in southwestern Nova Scotia last weekend for illegally fishing for baby eels.

TORONTO — Ontario's environment ministry has ordered a Sarnia-area chemical company to get its benzene emissions under control after a neighbouring First Nation raised concerns.

OTTAWA — Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.

TORONTO — First Quantum is preparing for post-election negotiations in Panama in the hopes a solution can be reached for its currently shuttered Cobre Panama mine, said chief executive Tristan Pascall on Wednesday.

OTTAWA — Canadian retail sales edged lower in February, weighed down by lower sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors. Statistics Canada said Wednesday retail sales fell 0.1 per cent to $66.