Here are five things you need to know this morning:
Strike looms once again at WestJet: The union representing mechanics at Calgary-based airline WestJet has issued its second strike notice, setting the stage for job action that could happen as soon as Friday. WestJet had previously warned that talks were going nowhere, urging the government to intervene. Things seemingly thawed last week when the two sides resumed talks, but not before the airline preemptively cancelled several dozen flights. The airline says Wednesday morning it will be taking even more actions in the coming days to manage the impacts of a walkout that could happen as soon as 5:30 p.m. mountain time on Friday. Members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association overwhelmingly rejected a tentative deal earlier this month and have voiced opposition to the airline’s request for arbitration.
Couche-Tard names new CEO, dividend hike as earnings underwhelm: Revenue at TSX-listed convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard came in at $17.59 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter ended April 28, slightly ahead of expectations. But EPS of 48 cents was just shy of the 50 cents expected, and well down from the 71 cents seen this time last year. The owner of 16,000 convenience stores around the world did raise its dividend, however, to 66.5 cents annually, up from 53 cents before. And the chain says its COO Alex Miller will take over the job of CEO starting in September, when current head Brian Hannasch retires.
Shell moving ahead with carbon capture in Canada: Shell says it is moving ahead with plans to build a carbon capture and storage facility in Alberta. The facility known as Polaris has been green lit by the company and when completed in 2028, it will capture about 650,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The U.K. oil giant also says it is moving ahead on another facility, the Altas Carbon Storage Hub, in partnership with ATCO elsewhere in the province.
Pembina and Haisla give OK to US$4B floating LNG project: Pembina Pipeline Corp. and the Haisla First Nation have fully invested in Cedar LNG, a proposed floating liquefied natural gas terminal in B.C., Bloomberg reports. Both sides are equity holders in the US$4 billion project designed to ship Canadian gas to export markets in Asia. The project is supposed to produce 3.3 million metric tons a year and be located in Haisla territory but powered by B.C. Hydro.
The bank of mom and dad getting even more generous, says CIBC: A new report from CIBC has found that cash gifts from parents to their adult children as down payments on homes are getting larger and more frequent. In a study published this week, the bank says nearly a third of first time buyers in Canada are relying on some sort of gift from a family member, and the average size of such a gift is now in the six figures. It doesn’t even seem to be a one-time thing either, as a growing share of existing homeowners are getting help from parents to upsize from starter homes to larger ones. “This phenomenon is helping to mitigate the bite of housing inflation for buyers, but unfortunately it is also contributing to a widening of the already wide wealth gap in Canada,” economists Benjamin Tal and Katherine Judge said in the report. Tal spoke with BNN Bloomberg on Tuesday about the report’s findings.
The post The Daily Chase: WestJet strike looms as mechanic talks break down again appeared first on Bloomberg.