Five things to watch in Canadian business this week + MORE Mar 6th

OTTAWA – Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives emerged from a weekend convention confident they will be able to defeat the Liberals in the 2018 election, with a younger and more inclusive party hungry for new ideas.
It was the first convention for new leader Patrick Brown, who announced his first major policy position, saying he supported a price on carbon to fight climate change and calling the Liberals’ cap-and-trade plan a $1.9 billion government cash grab.
Brown, 37, a former federal Conservative MP who won the PC leadership in May 2015, offered few details on how he’d put a price on carbon _ British Columbia’s carbon tax “is one example” _ and said it must be “revenue neutral” with tax cuts for people and businesses.
“Having polluters pay and having that returned as a dividend to taxpayers in broad-based tax relief is a sensible approach to dealing with the environmental challenges of today,” Brown told The Canadian Press in an interview Sunday…

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown at the Ontario Progressive Conservative convention in Ottawa. (Fred Chartrand, CP)
OTTAWA — Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives emerged from a weekend convention confident they will be able to defeat the Liberals in the 2018 election, with a younger and more inclusive party hungry for new ideas.
It was the first convention for new leader Patrick Brown, who announced his first major policy position, saying he supported a price on carbon to fight climate change and calling the Liberals’ cap-and-trade plan a $1.9 billion government cash grab.
Brown, 37, a former federal Conservative MP who won the PC leadership in May 2015, offered few details on how he’d put a price on carbon — British Columbia’s carbon tax “is one example” — and said it must be “revenue neutral” with tax cuts for people and businesses.
“Having polluters pay and having that returned as a dividend to taxpayers in broad-based tax relief is a sensible approach to dealing with the environmental challenges of today,” Brown told The Canadian Press in an interview Sunday…

In releasing their latest quarterly earnings, Royal Bank, CIBC and Scotiabank each added nine oil and gas firms to their loan watch lists, the latest sign of trouble in the oilpatch. But the names of those companies are kept confidential.

BEIJING, China – Asian stocks were mixed Monday after Beijing cut its growth target for the cooling Chinese economy and promised more market-opening reforms, with markets in mainland China rising while Hong Kong’s benchmark fell.
KEEPING SCORE: The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.3 per cent to 2,884.29 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.2 per cent to 20,148.59. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.4 per cent to 16,939.76. Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 rose 0.9 per cent to 5,196.40 and Seoul’s Kospi added 0.3 per cent to 1,961.16. Taiwan, New Zealand fell and Singapore were lower.
CHINESE GROWTH CUT: Premier Li Keqiang lowered Beijing’s official growth target this year to 6.5 to 7 per cent from last year’s “about 7 per cent” and promised more market-opening reforms. The ruling Communist Party is trying to promote more self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumption, reducing reliance on trade and investment. The steady decline in China’s economic growth over the past five years has sent shockwaves through its trading partners, dampening demand for industrial components and raw materials…

Five things to watch this week in Canadian business:
Mining Meeting:
The four-day PDAC Mining and Investment Conference, held annually in Toronto, begins Monday. This year’s event is expected to feature more than 1,000 exhibitors and 23,000 attendees from upward of 100 countries.
Women’s Day:
Victor Dodig, CEO of CIBC, participates in a discussion Tuesday in Toronto about women in business. The event will take place at the Rotman School of Management.
Bank of Canada interest rate announcement:
The central bank is scheduled to make its next interest rate announcement Wednesday. “Instead of a rate cut, look for an all-talk, no action dovish tilt from the Bank of Canada in its message,” says Avery Shenfeld, chief economist for CIBC World Markets. The rate is at 0.5 per cent.
Mr. Trudeau Goes To Washington:
Canada’s prime minister is in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with President Barack Obama for an official state visit, including a glitzy state dinner at the White House on Thursday night…