In this special edition, we will discuss with you the McDonald's chain, well known around the world and which will celebrate its 55 years on Canadian soil in the coming year. It's that the burger restaurant has been making all sorts of announcements over the past few weeks. Here is our summary:

First, two Quebecers, it was a girl from Shawinigan who had the honor of preparing a work highlighting the company's efforts to develop a healthier environment. Illustrators Geneviève Andersen, from Shawinigan, and Anne-Julie Dudemain, from Montreal, therefore imagined two magnificent drawings that McDonald's had printed on trays made of hundreds of melted plastic straws. Recall that the chain has abandoned the use of plastic straws in its Canadian restaurants to replace them with paper straws.

These trays will then be distributed to Ronald McDonald Houses who can either display them or sell them at auction in order to recover the funds.

Also, the chain announced the end of its standard loyalty program in order to migrate to an exclusively online solution. This change will take effect over the next few days. Thus, no more stickers will be given with the purchase of a drink as was the case in the past. Luckily for you, if you still have full, unused rewards cards, you'll be able to redeem them as normal until the end of 2023.

From now on, you must have the McDonald's application on your smart device to be able to take advantage of the benefits of the loyalty program.

Then, the chain's financial results were unveiled a few days ago and, despite the increase in menu prices, sales continue to grow. However, due to shutdowns in Russia and Ukraine as well as the most recent lockdown episodes in China, revenue fell 3% to $5.72 billion.

Finally, the new chain that replaced McDonald's restaurants in Russia is facing a growing shortage of fries because of Western sanctions against Moscow. According to the press, potato production in Russia was poor in 2021 and importing this vegetable is more complex than ever due to the penalties imposed on foreign markets. In some branches, no more fries are offered on the menu.