National Business

FREDERICTON — The New Brunswick government is now forecasting a deficit of $299 million dollars for 2020-21, instead of the $92 million surplus it projected when it released its budget this spring.

CALGARY — The operators of the $9.7-billion Sturgeon Refinery say it is now processing oilsands bitumen as designed after two years of delays blamed mainly on equipment failures.

More retailers have announced layoffs and store closures at their Canadian operations as they continue to grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada Goose Holdings Inc. announced Wednesday it would lay off 125 employees, or about 2.

CALGARY — Canada's oilfield services sector is in for "an immense amount of pain" over at least the next year thanks to low North American oil and gas exploration activity amid a worldwide glut of cheap crude, according to a report from CIBC.

MONTREAL — Landing gear manufacturer Heroux-Devtek Inc. intends to focus on the defence side of its business to overcome a slow recovery expected in commercial aviation due to COVID-19.

CINCINNATI — Bill Keating is remembered widely as gentlemanly, considerate and modest. Underneath that genial exterior was a fiercely competitive and driven athlete, lawyer, politician and news executive. He was highly successful in all those fields.

DORVAL, Que. — Canada's Transportation Safety Board is calling on the federal government to simplify its rules around airplane landings to prevent approaches in poor visibility.

WASHINGTON — Sales of existing homes plunged 17.8% in April with the real estate market still in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic.

Amid plunging interest rates in the wake of the economic devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, many homeowners have felt tempted to break their mortgages in order to lock in a better rate and save big money.

MONTREAL — Shares in Lightspeed POS Inc.