Technology

The Week in Canadian Press Releases: 10 Stories You Need to See

Published

1 year ago

December 27, 2024

A roundup of the most newsworthy press releases from Cision Distribution this week

TORONTO, Dec. 27, 2024 /CNW/ – With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on Cision. To help journalists and consumers stay on top of the week’s most newsworthy and popular releases, here’s a recap of some major stories from the week that shouldn’t be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

MNP WELCOMES 21 BDO CANADA OFFICES, PARTNERS, TEAMS, ACROSS FOUR PROVINCES
MNP and BDO, two of Canada’s leading professional services firms, announced today that MNP will acquire a select number of BDO’s Canadian offices, partners and team members, effective December 31, 2024. In total, 21 BDO Canada offices, with more than 40 partners and 420 team members will join MNP. The transaction will include selected locations in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and P.E.I.; provinces where both firms have offices. A list of the selected offices can be found below. MNP’s business model is designed to support its clients, team members and communities with a locally focused approach. National Bank receives final approval to proceed with the acquisition of Canadian Western Bank
“This is a fantastic outcome for our clients, our teams and the communities in which we operate. We’re excited to join forces with National Bank to offer our clients access to a more comprehensive product and service platform on a national scale. We look forward to continuing to support our clients with the same highly personalized service and regional expertise we’ve always been known for,” said Chris Fowler, President and CEO of CWB. Following this last remaining approval, National Bank and CWB will work together to ensure a smooth transition to National Bank for CWB clients and employees, who will receive additional information shortly, as both banks work towards completing the transaction.BC Ferries Announces Discussions with Bondholders
Following its conversations, BC Ferries has received feedback from such bondholders and is considering the launch of a formal consent and proxy solicitation to amend the MTI which would be conducted pursuant to the process required by the MTI. It is also expected that if such a consent and proxy solicitation were to be launched, it would likely include the offering of a work consent fee in accordance with standard market practice for such transactions. This notice does not represent a notice of the launch of a consent solicitation, proxy solicitation or bondholder meeting and does not provide any assurance that such a process or transaction will be executed.Payfare Enters into Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by Fiserv
“Our Board conducted a thorough strategic review process together with our financial advisors, having evaluated numerous acquisition, commercial partnership, and other opportunities, and concluded that the Transaction is in the best interests of the Company, its various stakeholders and its shareholders with certainty of value with an all-cash offer,” said Marco Margiotta, Payfare CEO, and Founding Partner. “This Transaction represents tangible recognition of the value and strength of what Payfare has built as we embark on this exciting new chapter.”UHN Announces Purchase of 522 University Avenue
University Health Network (UHN), Canada’s leading research hospital, is growing to meet the health care needs of the future. Today, UHN announced the purchase of 522 University Avenue, a 15-storey building located at the southwest corner of University Avenue and Elm Street in the heart of Toronto’s Discovery District. The newly acquired property will support the expansion of UHN programs in cancer care, research and education at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Toronto General Hospital. The building will also serve as another important training ground for health care learners from UHN’s Michener Institute of Education and partner academic institutions.Tentative agreement reached between UCCO-SACC-CSN, the Treasury Board and Correctional Services Canada
After a long and arduous bargaining round that has lasted for just over 2 years, the UCCO-SACC-CSN bargaining committee has managed to register some significant gains for the members it represents. Salary wise, the members of UCCO-SACC-CSN will receive a 15,73% over 4 years. Additionally, our members will be receiving a pensionable 6365$ yearly allowance beginning June 1st, 2025, and a prorated 6240$ allowance on the date of signature. The total monetary package represents approximately a 23% monetary increase for our members working within the institution. Paladin Completes the Acquisition of Fission Uranium Corp.
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) (OTCQX: PALAF) (“Paladin”) and Fission Uranium Corp. (TSX: FCU) (OTCQX: FCUUF) (FSE: 2FU) (“Fission”) are pleased to announce the successful completion of Paladin’s acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Fission (the “Fission Shares”) by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act (“Arrangement”) pursuant to the terms of the arrangement agreement among Fission, Paladin, and 1000927136 Ontario Inc. (the “Purchaser”) dated June 24, 2024, as amended on July 25, 2024 and August 29, 2024.Ontario Teachers’ Makes Investment in Omega Healthcare and Joins Private Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives as Co-Lead Investor
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (“Ontario Teachers'”) makes investment in Omega Healthcare Management Services (“Omega” or “the Company”) and joins Private Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives as Co-Lead investors. Omega is a leading technology-enabled healthcare management solutions provider. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Omega Healthcare works with healthcare institutions to empower them to deliver exceptional care while enhancing financial performance. Omega aims to help its clients increase revenues, decrease costs, and improve the overall patient experience through their comprehensive portfolio of technology-enabled and clinically-led solutions.Vermilion Energy Inc. Announces Strategic Deep Basin Acquisition
The Acquisition enhances depth and quality of Vermilion’s Deep Basin inventory and complements the Company’s high-growth, liquids-rich Montney asset. Vermilion’s Canadian liquids-rich gas assets, combined with over 100 mmcf/d of high-netback, low-decline European natural gas production provides the Company with a premium realized natural gas price. Vermilion is committed to strategically growing its international assets both organically, as demonstrated by recent successes in Germany and Croatia, and via acquisitions. EDC welcomes new President and CEO Alison Nankivell
Ms. Nankivell has more than 25 years of experience in international investments and finance, strategic planning, and leading high performing teams through transformation, all of which will be invaluable as EDC continues evolving to meet Canadian businesses’ changing needs. She joins EDC from MaRS Discovery District, where she served as CEO. Prior to her role with MaRS, Ms. Nankivell held progressively senior investment and leadership roles at EDC and EDC’s sister financial crown corporation, BDC.

Read more of the latest releases from Cision, see our resources for journalists, and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @cnwnews.

About Cision Canada

Cision is a comprehensive communications platform enabling more than 100,000 public relations and marketing professionals around the world to understand, influence and amplify their stories. As the market leader, Cision enables the next generation of communication professionals to strategically operate in the modern media landscape where company success is directly impacted by public opinion. Cision has offices in 24 countries through the Americas, EMEA and APAC, and offers a suite of best-in-class solutions, including Newswire, Brandwatch, Cision Communications Cloud® and Cision Insights. To learn more, visit www.cision.ca and follow @CisionCA on Twitter.

SOURCE Cision Canada

Technology

Bobby Lehew Named commonsku’s Chief AI Officer — an Industry First in Promo

Published

10 minutes ago

April 20, 2026

TORONTO, April 20, 2026 /CNW/ – commonsku, the connected workflow platform trusted by 950+ distributors driving $1.9 billion in network volume, today announced the creation of a dedicated AI + Strategy role, promoting Bobby Lehew to Chief AI Officer to lead the company’s AI initiative for customers and the platform. The move makes commonsku the first platform in the promotional products industry to invest at the leadership level in AI strategy shaped directly by distributor needs.

The new role bridges the gap between what AI can do and what commonsku’s customers need it to solve, owning the intelligence loop between customers, product, and the AI landscape. What makes the role distinct: it combines AI landscape intelligence, product strategy influence, direct customer engagement, and industry thought leadership in a single role.

A Natural Evolution

Lehew brings more than 30 years of experience in the promotional products industry to the role. Prior to joining commonsku, he was the CEO of Robyn Promotions, a company among the first wave of distributors who architected the model of technology driven e-commerce company stores in the industry, earning three consecutive Inc. 5000 rankings. Always tech-forward in his work, his industry recognition includes multiple Gold and Silver PPAI Pyramid Awards.

The shift to AI strategy is a natural next chapter for Lehew. At commonsku, he built the company’s content engine from scratch — co-hosting the skucast (350+ episodes, the #1 promotional products podcast) while leaning heavily into AI for all his work. He is editor of The AI Promo Brief, the industry’s go-to resource for AI developments in promotional products, and speaks frequently on the future of merch and the cultural shifts transforming how we sell. At PPAI Expo 2026, his AI session packed the room to capacity and was named a must-attend session by PPAI editors. The industry has been watching Lehew move deeper into AI for over a year. This role makes it official.

Investing in AI for Customers

“The industry is at an inflection point with AI, and distributors need a partner who understands their business,” said Catherine Graham, CEO of commonsku. “commonsku has always been built ‘by promo, for promo.’ Bobby has three decades of that expertise, a passion for helping our customers, and the strategic insight to shape AI tools for future growth. This role reflects our mission: making sure our AI tools solve real problems for real distributors.”

“The companies pulling ahead are the ones leading with customer intelligence – letting what they learn from their community shape what they build and advancing with the frontier of AI development. That’s what this role is designed to do. I’ll be talking with our customers at every level about AI and making sure the features we build make work smarter, drive growth, and eliminate friction.” said Lehew.

“Bobby and I have been creative partners for years, always pushing each other to see around corners for this industry,” said Mark Graham, President of commonsku. “We’ve launched multiple projects together and helped educate and raise the standard for what the future distributor can look like. This role is a natural evolution of that passion. He deeply understands the industry and the distributor’s pain points, and he sees with us an incredible opportunity with AI. We’re thrilled to build commonsku’s AI future together.”

commonsku’s AI investments are already in motion. The skubot Mockup Generator is in beta with Advanced and Enterprise customers, a new Opportunity Agent is entering beta as an AI-powered business intelligence tool, and the company’s immediate roadmap includes a Description Rewriter, Auto-Art Configuration, and a Presentation Generator with much more to come.

About commonsku

commonsku is the workflow platform of choice for the promotional products industry. Built by industry experts, it combines CRM, order management, and social collaboration tools in one cloud-based solution. Over 950 distributors and the industry’s largest suppliers rely on commonsku to power $1.9 billion in network volume. With commonsku, teams process more orders, work more efficiently, and grow their sales faster. Learn more at www.commonsku.com.

SOURCE commonsku

Technology

The Oxygen Plan Corporation Files Utility Patent on O2OS™ Pre-Diagnostic Behavioral Health Architecture — Measurement, Routing, Reimbursement, Governance; 2008 Prior Art

Published

10 minutes ago

April 20, 2026

Four-layer architecture spans measurement, routing, reimbursement, and governance. 2008 filing predates the Apple App Store and the current generation of digital behavioral health platforms.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The Oxygen Plan Corporation today filed a Track One (prioritized examination) utility patent application covering the O2OS™ architecture — spanning measurement, routing, reimbursement, and governance — with foundational disclosures dating to April 22, 2008.

We built the pre-diagnostic measurement layer to make risk visible before it becomes a clinical event. Our role is architecture and calibration. Deployment, operations, and vertical execution sit with institutional partners. — Eric Lucas, Founder-Governor • The Oxygen Plan Corporation

O2OS™ establishes a structured, pre-diagnostic measurement framework that makes behavioral health risk visible, routable, and economically measurable before it becomes a clinical event.

The 2008 filing predates the launch of the Apple App Store.

The subsequent 2009 PCT publication predates the current generation of digital behavioral health platforms.

THE ARCHITECTURE

O2OS™ is a four-layer operating system for behavioral health:

Measurement — Stress Number™, a composite score across Home, Work, and Social domains (each scored 0–100), designed to produce a bounded, interoperable pre-diagnostic behavioral health signalRouting — Smart Referral Engine™, threshold-triggered and tri-hierarchical, designed to match individuals to appropriate resourcesReimbursement — CPT-aligned workflow support, intended to enable billing integrationGovernance — the Automated Governance Utility™, a license registry and access control layer designed to support neutrality and structured participation

The system operates as a closed-loop architecture in which pre-diagnostic measurement informs routing, routing aligns with reimbursement pathways, and governance enables coordinated operation at scale.

STRUCTURAL GAPS

Behavioral health systems currently operate with two unresolved structural gaps:

Penetration Gap — the majority of individuals remain unmeasured at the pre-diagnostic stageRouting Gap — measured individuals are not consistently routed to appropriate resources

O2OS™ is designed as a pre-diagnostic measurement and routing architecture that addresses both conditions within a unified system.

FEDERAL ALIGNMENT

O2OS™ is aligned with established federal and reimbursement pathways, including CMS Coverage with Evidence Development (CED), CPT 96127 and CPT 96138, Medicaid 1115 Waivers, HEDIS quality measures, and CMS Aim 1 for prevention and early detection.

CLINICAL VALIDATION

Stress Number™ has been validated working in collaboration with Mayo Clinic (Archives of Psychology, 2018, N=292). O2OS™ functions as a pre-diagnostic measurement layer designed to support routing toward existing clinical tools and workflows.

About The Oxygen Plan Corporation

The Oxygen Plan Corporation develops O2OS™ — a pre-diagnostic measurement, routing, reimbursement, and governance architecture for behavioral health. Foundational disclosures date to 2008 prior art, with peer-reviewed clinical validation conducted working in collaboration with Mayo Clinic.

Learn more at:

www.theoxygenplan.com

Statements describe system architecture, intended capabilities, and alignment pathways. Implementation and outcomes vary by partner, deployment, and regulatory context.

Media Contact

Chris Lechuga, The Oxygen Plan Corporation, 1 877 897-6520, chris@rockerpr.com, www.theoxygenplan.com

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SOURCE The Oxygen Plan Corporation

Technology

West Monroe Named in Customer Experience Strategy Consulting Services Landscape by Independent Research Firm

Published

10 minutes ago

April 20, 2026

Firm believes inclusion reflects its ability to connect customer experience, AI, and execution to measurable business outcomes

CHICAGO, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — West Monroe, a global business and technology consulting firm, announced it has been named among Notable Providers in The Customer Experience Strategy Consulting Services Landscape, Q2 2026. The report serves as a resource for executives and customer experience leaders evaluating customer experience strategy consulting providers, offering an overview of 28 providers across the market based on factors such as geographic focus, industry expertise, and business scenarios.

As organizations look to increase customer stickiness and drive growth, many are increasing investment in customer experience strategy while also exploring how AI can enable more personalized, efficient, and scalable experiences. At the same time, organizations face growing pressure to demonstrate clear business value—driving demand for partners that can embed data and AI into end-to-end customer journeys and translate those investments into measurable outcomes.

“Customer experience is evolving as AI expands what’s possible—and raises the bar for how organizations deliver it,” said Chuck Malone, Platforms & Customer Strategy Lead at West Monroe. “We believe our inclusion reflects our focus on helping clients move beyond strategy to execution, embedding data and AI into customer journeys in a way that improves engagement, strengthens retention, and delivers measurable business results.”

West Monroe brings longstanding experience helping organizations design and implement customer-centric strategies across industries including healthcare, banking, energy and utilities, insurance, and consumer & industrial products.

As part of the report, Forrester asked each provider included in the Landscape to identify the business scenarios for which clients most often engage them and highlighted extended scenarios that differentiate providers. In addition to the core business scenarios identified in the report—business assessment and analysis, customer research, and vision and strategy setting—West Monroe highlighted prioritization and roadmapping, technology transformation, and workforce enablement among the extended scenarios.

A core focus of the firm’s customer experience work is contact center and service transformation—helping organizations redesign customer journeys, modernize operations, and implement AI-enabled platforms to improve service experiences and reduce cost-to-serve.

The firm’s customer experience work has delivered measurable results for clients across industries, including:

Healthcare: Redesigned critical contact center workflows for a healthcare organization, improving first-call resolution by 68%, reducing clinic task volume by 33%, and increasing patient satisfaction.Energy & Utilities: Built a Salesforce-powered digital portal in 60 days to support solar rebate programs, reducing approval timelines by more than 60% and enabling administration of 25+ clean energy programs.Banking: Led a digital transformation for a mid-market bank, reimagining onboarding, servicing, and program management—driving more than $100M in new deposits, $550K+ in annual cost avoidance, and a 96% platform adoption rate.

Learn more about West Monroe’s customer experience services: https://www.westmonroe.com/services/customer-experience-platforms.

Forrester does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. For more information, read about Forrester’s objectivity here.

About West Monroe

West Monroe is a global business and technology consulting firm passionate about creating value for our clients. We co-create solutions that accelerate results now and prepare industries to tackle what’s next. We’re excited by the possibilities that technology creates. We work with our clients to deliver on the possible, building on their goals, generating fresh insights and creating inspiring outcomes.

We excel at the intersection of industry, strategy, people and technology—always driving rapid impact. Our all-in approach comes from our unique employee ownership structure. Our clients’ success is our success. From the beginning, our growth has come from putting people at the center. Fortune and USA Today consistently celebrate West Monroe as a top workplace, and we’re recognized as a leading consultancy by Forbes and Business Insider. Let’s find more value for your business.

Share our passion at westmonroe.com

Media Inquiries
Christina Galoozis
Director, Communications & Public Relations
cgaloozis@westmonroe.com
847-302-1762

Shira Cohen
Manager, Public Relations
scohen@westmonroe.com
443-841-6879

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/west-monroe-named-in-customer-experience-strategy-consulting-services-landscape-by-independent-research-firm-302747374.html

SOURCE West Monroe