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STANTEC INC. $69.35 (Toronto symbol STN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (780-917-7288; www.stantec.com; Shares outstanding: 46.7 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; Dividend yield: 1.1%) sells a range of consulting, project-delivery, design and technology services. Its clients operate in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, transportation and construction.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2014, Stantec’s revenue rose 12.7%, to $481.3 million from $426.9 million a year earlier. Acquisitions were one reason for the gain. Stantec is also working on many new projects, including major pipelines and the huge Westside Subway Transit Corridor in southern California.

Earnings gained 17.9%, to $33.5 million, or $0.72 a share, from $28.4 million, or $0.62.

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DOREL INDUSTRIES $37.90 (Toronto symbol DII.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-731-0000; www.dorel.com; Shares outstanding: 32.3 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; Dividend yield: 3.3%) makes a range of items, including ready-to-assemble home and office furniture; juvenile products, such as car seats, strollers, high chairs, toddler beds and cribs; and recreational goods, mainly bicycles.

In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Dorel’s sales rose 9.0%, to $647.7 million from $594.2 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Sales rose 18.1% at the recreational segment and 2.0% at the home-furnishing division. Juvenile products sales gained 5.5%.

Earnings per share rose 11.4%, to $0.78 from $0.70. Sales of its high-profit Cannondale and Pacific Cycle premium bikes rebounded with an early spring in Europe. As well, Dorel’s 70% stake in Caloi, which it acquired last year, is now adding to its profits.

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MART RESOURCES $1.38 (Toronto symbol MMT; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-270-1841; www.martresources.com; Shares outstanding: 356.6 million; Market cap: $488.5 million; Dividend yield: 4.4%) has cut its quarterly dividend to $0.015 from $0.05. The stock now yields 4.4%, based on the current rate.

The company began paying dividends (at the $0.05-a-share rate) in September 2012. At the time, it said it would keep evaluating its payout in relation to its cash flow, liquidity, capital expenditures and other factors.

Mart now says it is reducing the dividend, at least for the time being, to conserve cash. Its decision is based on the ongoing drilling program at its Umusadege field in Nigeria and uncertainty about the first oil shipments through its new Umugini pipeline.

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HECLA MINING COMPANY $3.22 (New York symbol HL; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (208-769- 4100; www.hecla-mining.com; Shares outstanding: 343.1 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion) explores for, mines and processes silver and gold in the U.S. and Mexico. Most of its silver output comes from its Greens Creek mine in Alaska and its Lucky Friday project in Idaho. The company’s Casa Berardi mine in Quebec, which it bought for $796 million in June 2013, supplies its gold production.

In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Hecla produced 2.5 million ounces of silver, up 31.1% from 1.9 million ounces a year earlier. Gold output jumped to 46,268 ounces from 13,689, mostly due to Casa Berardi. Cash flow per share climbed to $0.07 from $0.04.

The company expects its two silver mines to produce 9.5 million to 10 million ounces in 2014, while Greens Creek will add 55,000 ounces of gold. Casa Berardi is on target to produce 125,000 ounces of gold this year.

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SHERRITT INTERNATIONAL $4.45 (Toronto symbol S; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-800-704- 6698; www.sherritt.com; Shares outstanding: 297.3 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; Dividend yield: 0.9%) recently sold off all of its coal interests for $793 million in cash.

The company is now focused on nickel production, with operations in Cuba and Canada. As well, it has started up its 40%-owned Ambatovy nickel mine on the island nation of Madagascar, off Africa’s east coast. Sherritt also produces oil and gas in Cuba, Spain and Pakistan, and manages 506 megawatts of power generation capacity in Cuba.

In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Sherritt’s revenue rose 13.0%, to $120.9 million from $107.0 million a year earlier. Cash flow per share was unchanged at $0.10.

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ALIMENTATION COUCHETARD $29.50 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couchetard.com; Shares outstanding: 565.8 million; Market cap: $16.6 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) plans to keep looking for big acquisitions like its $2.7-billion purchase of Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail gas station chain in June 2012.

However, the company has a long history of not overpaying for acquisitions; in 2010, it dropped its $2-billion U.S. hostile takeover offer for Casey’s General Stores after competitor 7-Eleven outbid it. And earlier this year, it stayed out of the running to buy oil and gas giant Hess Corp.’s 1,354 U.S. gas stations and convenience stores. Marathon Petroleum eventually paid $2.9 billion.

Meanwhile, Couche-Tard’s sales rose 2.0% in the quarter ended April 27, 2014, to $9.0 billion from $8.8 billion a year ago. Earnings per share rose 10.0%, to $0.22 from $0.20. (All figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars. Per-share amounts adjusted for a 3-for-1 stock split on April 14, 2014).

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TIM HORTONS $60.17 (Toronto symbol THI; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.timhortons.com; Shares outstanding: 134.3 million; Market cap: $8.1 billion; Dividend yield: 2.1%) operates 3,610 coffee-anddonut shops in Canada, 870 in the U.S. and 44 in the Persian Gulf.

In the quarter ended March 30, 2014, sales rose 4.8%, to $766.4 million from $731.5 million a year ago. The gain was mainly because the company opened 23 outlets in Canada and 11 in the U.S. Samestore sales rose 1.6% at its Canadian locations and 1.9% in the U.S.

Earnings rose 5.5%, to $90.9 million from $86.2 million. In the past nine months, the company has repurchased $1 billion worth of shares. As a result, its earnings per share jumped 17.9%, to $0.66 from $0.56.

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Every industry and group has its own special jargon. This specialized language always has the same purpose. It simplifies communications within the industry, and helps make insiders feel they are part of a tightly knit community. It also helps the group pursue its goals. It shapes concepts that will establish lines of thought and discussions that match the industry’s view of the world. But it can be confusing for those who are not insiders in the group. This natural human tendency has probably been going on ever since language began. Many will recall George Orwell’s classic novel written at the dawn of the Cold War, 1984. In the book, the totalitarian government that rules the English-speaking world has decided to replace English with an invented language called Newspeak. This new language uses lots of English words, but it defines concepts in such a way that forbidden ideas are difficult, if not impossible, to express....

FIRSTSERVICE CORP. (Toronto symbol FSV; www.firstservice.com) serves the following areas of the real estate market: commercial real estate, residential property management and property improvement. The company has more than 24,000 employees worldwide. In the quarter ended March 31, 2014, FirstService’s revenue rose 15.1%, to $548.4 million from $476.4 million a year earlier (all figures except share prices in U.S. dollars). Excluding one-time items, earnings per share were $0.09, compared to a loss of $0.20. The first quarter is typically a slower time for the company. Revenue rose at all three of FirstService’s divisions: Colliers International (commercial real estate), up 28%; FirstService Residential (residential property management), up 7%; and FirstService Brands (property services), up 11%. FirstService Brands operates Paul Davis Restoration, California Closets and CertaPro Painters....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on specific stocks as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle. This week we had a question from an Inner Circle member on two Canadian energy stocks. In spite of its name, Tourmaline Oil has 85% of its output in natural gas. Whitecap Resources has the greater part of its production in oil. Both companies enjoy rising production—in Whitecap’s case, spurred in part by acquisitions. Pat examines both companies’ prospects for continued production increases and whether their share prices—and Whitecap’s dividend—can keep on rising. Q: Hi Pat: Can I have your view on Tourmaline Oil and Whitecap Resources? Thanks....

Pembina Pipeline and Veresen both trade at high multiples to their per-share cash flow. But both of these dividend stocks also currently maintain high yields. PEMBINA PIPELINE (Toronto symbol PPL; www.pembina.com) owns pipelines that carry half of Alberta’s conventional oil, 30% of Western Canada’s natural gas liquids (NGLs) and almost all of B.C.’s conventional oil. Pembina bought rival Provident Energy for $3.2 billion in 2012. Provident extracts, transports and stores natural gas liquids (NGLs)....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a beginning or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you advice on stock market trading and other investment topics. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investing strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Worrying about things like the direction of the economy—rather than about the long-term strengths and weaknesses of the stocks you own—can lead investors into disastrous buy-sell decisions.” Many investors spend a lot of time worrying about the wrong things, while paying little attention to anything that has a direct impact on the value of their investments. For instance, at times they may mull over every tidbit of economic information that comes out, and how it differs from its predecessor of a week or a month earlier. They hope to detect a pattern—a sign that the economy is mending and headed for a return to steady growth, or deteriorating and doomed to plunge into a renewed recession....

CHEMTRADE LOGISTICS INCOME FUND (Toronto symbol CHE.UN; www.chemtradelogistics.com) is one of North America’s largest providers of removal services for resource firms, such as oil refineries and base-metal processors. These companies’ activities create sulphur, acid and other by-products that Chemtrade converts into useful chemicals, like sulphuric acid. The trust also offers a range of environmental services through its Marsulex subsidiary, such as improving air quality and handling and treating industrial waste. Chemtrade’s revenue rose 30.4% in the three months ended March 31, 2014, to $273.9 million from $210.0 million a year earlier....

PENGROWTH ENERGY $7.12 (Toronto symbol PGF; Shares outstanding: 526.2 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 6.7%; www.pengrowth.com) produced 75,102 barrels a day (55% oil and natural gas liquids, 45% natural gas) in the first quarter of 2014, down 16.3% from 89,702 a year earlier.

The drop was mainly because Pengrowth sold several less important oil and gas properties in Western Canada. It’s investing the proceeds in more promising projects, including its Lindbergh oil sands development in Alberta’s Cold Lake region.

Pengrowth’s cash flow, which excludes these losses, fell 6.9%, to $0.27 a share from $0.29. However, that beat the consensus estimate of $0.25.

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BONAVISTA ENERGY $16.63 (Toronto symbol BNP; Shares outstanding: 189.3 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.1%; www.bonavistaenergy.com) explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Its production is 65% gas and 35% oil.

In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Bonavista’s cash flow per share gained 40.4%, to $0.80 from $0.57 a year earlier. Production rose just 2.2%, to 73,936 barrels of oil equivalent a day from 72,333. But its realized gas price jumped 55.5%, to an average of $5.07 per thousand cubic feet from $3.26, while oil prices rose 6.2%, to $79.68 a barrel from $75.05.

Bonavista plans to spend $580 million to $600 million on exploration and development in 2014. Its plans include drilling 130 to 135 wells, which will let it raise its average 2014 production as high as 77,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. For all of 2013, Bonavista spent $460 million to drill 126 wells.

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PEYTO EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT CORP. $39.25 (Toronto symbol PEY; Shares outstanding: 153.7 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.1%; www.peyto.com) produces and explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta. Its average daily production of 72,209 barrels of oil equivalent is 90% gas and 10% oil.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2014, Peyto’s cash flow rose 53.6%, to $1.06 a share from $0.69 a year earlier. That’s because the company raised its production by 30.4%. Gas prices also gained 27.5%, to an average of $4.45 per thousand cubic feet from $3.49, while oil prices rose 6.1%, to $80.49 a barrel from $75.88.

Peyto plans to spend $625 million on exploration and development in 2014, which will let it drill 110 to 125 wells. To put that in context, the company spent $578 million to drill 99 wells in 2013.

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BELL ALIANT INC. $28.91 (Toronto symbol BA; Shares outstanding: 227.8 million; Market cap: $6.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 6.6%; www.aliant.ca) continues to invest heavily in fibre optic networks. It now has 963,048 high-speed Internet users (up 3.9% from a year earlier) and 189,781 digital TV customers (up 38.3%).

However, lower demand for regular phone services cut Bell Aliant’s revenue by 1.2%, to $675.7 million, in the three months ended March 31, 2014, from $683.6 million a year earlier. Before one-time items, earnings declined 9.1%, to $0.40 a share from $0.44.

Due to the cost of Bell Aliant’s network upgrades, its annual dividend of $1.90 a share (6.6% yield) accounts for over 100% of its cash flow, after capital expenditures. However, that payout ratio should drop to 75% to 85% after it finishes these projects by 2016. The stock trades at a high, but still reasonable, 18.1 times its forecast 2014 earnings of $1.60 a share.

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VANGUARD FTSE EMERGING MARKETS ETF $42.42 (New York symbol VWO; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) Transitions Index, which is made up of common stocks of companies in developing countries. The fund has an MER of just 0.15%.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF’s top holdings include Taiwan Semiconductor (Taiwan: computer chips), China Mobile (China: wireless), Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Brazil: oil and gas), Vale SA (Brazil: mining), Gazprom (Russia: gas utility), China Construction Bank, Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, Naspers Ltd. (South Africa: media) and MTN Group (South Africa: wireless).

The $59.3-billion fund’s breakdown by country is as follows: China (20.6%), Taiwan (13.7%), Brazil (13.7%), India (9.9%), South Africa (9.7%), Mexico (5.7%), Russia (5.4%), Malaysia (5.2%), Indonesia (2.9%), Thailand (2.8%), Turkey (1.9%), Chile (1.7%), Poland (1.7%) and others (5.1%).

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VANGUARD GROWTH ETF $97.09 (New York symbol VUG; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) U.S. Large Cap Growth Index, a broadly diversified index that mainly consists of stocks of large U.S. companies. The fund’s MER is just 0.09%.

The $38.0-billion Vanguard Growth ETF’s top holdings are Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Philip Morris International, Oracle, Schlumberger, Comcast, Qualcomm, Gilead Sciences and Walt Disney Co.

The fund’s breakdown by industry is as follows: Technology (24.1%), Consumer Services (19.7%), Financials (12.4%), Industrials (12.1%), Health Care (11.0%), Consumer Goods (10.5%), Oil and Gas (7.9%), Materials (1.7%), Utilities (0.4%) and Telecommunication Services (0.2%).

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BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $70.50 (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $85.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.6%, www.scotiabank.com) has agreed to buy 20% of the credit card division of Canadian Tire Corp. (Toronto symbol CTC.A and a recommendation of The Successful Investor).

This business is Canada’s eighth-largest credit card issuer, with 1.8 million clients and $4.4 billion in outstanding loans. Its cardholders spend $1.2 billion annually.

The bank will pay $500 million for this stake, and Canadian Tire has an option to sell an additional 29% to Bank of Nova Scotia over the next 10 years.

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VERESEN $17.50 (Toronto symbol VSN; Shares outstanding: 219.7 million; Market cap: $3.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.7%) owns pipelines, power plants and gas-processing facilities across North America.

A major holding is 50% of the Alliance gas line, which runs 3,000 kilometres between Chicago and Fort St. John, B.C. Veresen also owns the Alberta Ethane Gathering System, 42.7% of the Aux Sable NGL plant, and the Hythe/Steeprock natural gas gathering and processing complex in the Cutbank Ridge region of Alberta and B.C.

To diversify its operations, the company is expanding into power generation, including hydroelectric facilities, wind farms and natural gas-fired plants.

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PEMBINA PIPELINE $44.90 (Toronto symbol PPL; Shares outstanding: 323.0 million; Market cap: $14.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.pembina.com) owns pipelines that carry half of Alberta’s conventional oil, 30% of Western Canada’s natural gas liquids (NGLs) and almost all of B.C.’s conventional oil.

Pembina bought rival Provident Energy for $3.2 billion in 2012. Provident extracts, transports and stores natural gas liquids (NGLs).

This acquisition is now paying off: in the quarter ended March 31, 2014, Pembina’s cash flow rose 30.6%, to $264.0 million from $202.0 million a year earlier. Cash flow per share gained 22.1%, to $0.83 from $0.68, on more shares outstanding. Pipeline expansions and strong profit margins at Provident were the main reasons for the gains.

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GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $10.03 (New York symbol COPX; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes 20 to 40 international companies that mine, refine or explore for copper. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG created this index.

Canadian firms make up 41.4% of the fund’s holdings. It also includes companies based in Australia (14.8%), Poland (4.5%), Peru (5.1%) and Mexico (5.0%). Global X Copper Miners ETF’s MER is 0.65%.

Its top holdings are Panaust Ltd. at 6.0%; Vedanta Resources, 5.4%; Oz Minerals, 5.2%; First Quantum Minerals, 5.0%; Imperial Metals, 4.9%; Hudbay Minerals, 4.9%; Kazakhmys, 4.9%; Lundin Mining, 4.9%; Grupo Mexico, 4.7%; Freeport Copper, 4.6%; and Glencore International, 4.6%.

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GLOBAL X SILVER MINERS ETF $11.36 (New York symbol SIL; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Index.

This index includes 26 international companies that mine, refine or explore for silver. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG developed the Global X Silver Miners Index.

Canadian companies make up 48.9% of the fund’s holdings, but it also includes miners in the U.S. (13.2%) and Mexico (12.0%). Its MER is 0.65%.

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ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEX FUND $10.60 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index.

This index is made up of 38 gold stocks from Canada and around the world. The iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fund’s MER is 0.60%. It began trading on March 23, 2001.

The fund’s top holdings are Goldcorp at 15.8%; Barrick Gold, 15.6%; Newmont Mining, 9.4%; Franco Nevada, 5.6%; Randgold Resources (ADR), 5.6%; AngloGold Ashanti (ADR), 5.3%; Yamana Gold, 4.6%; Agnico-Eagle Mines, 4.4%; Kinross, 3.6%; Eldorado Gold, 3.4%; Royal Gold, 3.4%; Osisko Mining, 2.7%; Gold Fields (ADR), 2.3%; and New Gold, 2.2%.

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