Canada finds it's cheaper to ship oil via stop in California

Robert Tuttle, Bloomberg News  

Jun 27, 2024

Canada’s newest oil pipeline has turbo-charged exports of the country’s heavy crude to Asia and a diversion through California is making for a longer but potentially cheaper journey.

Close to 3 million barrels have been shipped off Vancouver for China or India since the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline began operating in May, almost tripling the capacity of the sole system linking Alberta to a Canadian port. More than 55 per cent of those volumes have first journeyed south to Southern California where the crude was transferred onto very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, according to Vortexa ship tracking data. 

The transfers have offset one of the key disadvantages of exporting Canadian crude off the West Coast versus the U.S. Gulf: the port of Vancouver can only accommodate Aframax-size tankers or smaller, which hold less than half of what VLCCs hold. As such, shipping directly from Western Canada to distant markets would typically cost close to twice as much per barrel per day than on VLCCs, according to a ship broker familiar with rates who asked for anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the information.

However, the diversion to California has lengthened the time of the journey to Asia, reducing a key advantage of exporting Canadian crude off the West Coast versus the US Gulf.

The practice is expected to become more common as Aframax tankers are redeployed for making shorter voyages, the broker said. 

Another advantage of transferring the oil onto VLCCs is that shippers can simultaneously send other grades of crude from other regions of Americas. For example, the Eagle Varona, which left for China earlier this month, is carrying two Canadian crude grades, Cold Lake and Access Western Blend, plus Castilla crude from Colombia, according to Vortexa. 

A record 7 million barrels-plus of oil, mostly Cold Lake, have been shipped off Vancouver this month, the first full month of operations for the 890,000 barrel-a-day Trans Mountain system. The U.S. West Coast, particularly Los Angeles, has been the biggest recipient so far in June with 3.9 million barrels, followed by China, India and Ecuador, according to Vortexa data.

Lundin weighs sale of zinc mines in Sweden and Portugal

Jacob Lorinc, Archie Hunter and Vinicy Chan, Bloomberg News Jun 27, 2024

Lundin Mining Corp. is considering a potential sale of two European zinc mines as the Canadian metals producer turns its focus to copper in Latin America, according to people familiar with the matter.

Vancouver-based Lundin is gauging interest in its Zinkgruvan mine in Sweden and Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Any divestment would help raise funds for further investments in a suite of copper assets in Chile and Argentina.

Deliberations are at an early stage and there’s no certainty Lundin will proceed with a sale, the people said.

The European mines, which are Lundin’s oldest assets, generated about 19 per cent of its revenue last year. Zinkgruvan, an underground mine southwest of Stockholm that has operated continuously since 1857, churned out 76,349 tons of zinc last year, according to the company. Neves-Corvo produced 108,812 tons of zinc as well as 33,823 tons of copper. 

The firm is meanwhile pressing ahead on projects in South America. Its Josemaria project in Argentina, a vast copper and gold deposit in the Andes, will cost about US$5 billion to build into a mine, according to Royal Bank of Canada. On Tuesday, it increased its stake in one of its Chilean copper mines, Caserones, from 51 per cent to 70 per cent in a $350 million deal.  

The company has undergone a series of changes since the death of Swedish-Canadian founder Lukas Henrik Lundin in 2022. The firm relocated its headquarters from Toronto to Vancouver last year, prompting a wave of leadership changes, and Lundin’s son Jack Lundin took over as chief executive officer in December. 

The company owns three already-operating copper mines in South America — two in Chile and one in Brazil. 

“We have a strong balance sheet today, and we are not in a position where we need to divest out of any of our assets in our portfolio,” said Jack Lundin, who declined to comment directly on potential European asset sales in a Tuesday interview. 

“We’re not required to make a sale to make our ambitions in South America a reality.”

The world’s biggest mining companies are all seeking to expand in copper, in anticipation of rising prices as demand for clean power and data centers is forecast to outstrip supply in future years. 

Zinc prices have similarly rallied this year on the back of constraints on mine supply, though the long-term outlook is clouded by the metal’s heavy exposure to the downtrodden construction sector. 

Lundin has received unsolicited offers for Neves-Corvo before, including one that valued the operation at around $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

SPACE

MDA Space awarded $1-billion contract for next phases of Canadarm3

The Canadian Press

MDA Space Ltd. has won a $1-billion contract with the Canadian Space Agency for the next phases of the Canadarm3 program. The Canadarm 2 reaches out to capture the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft and prepare it to be pulled into its port on the International Space Station Friday April 17, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/NASA

MDA SPACE LTD (MDA:CT)

13.66 0.02 (0.15%)

As of: 07/01/24 2:05:04 pm
REAL-TIME QUOTE. Prices update every five seconds for TSX-listed stocks

Chart Type - 5day

See Full Stock Page »

MDA Space Ltd. has won a $1-billion contract with the Canadian Space Agency for the next phases of the Canadarm3 robotics system.

MDA is building the Canadarm3 which will be used aboard Gateway, a collaboration led by NASA to establish a space station in lunar orbit.

Gateway is a key part of NASA's Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon.

The contract includes funding for the final design phase as well as construction, system assembly, integration and test of the full robotics system.

It will include a large arm, a smaller dexterous arm, specialized tools for performing maintenance and science tasks, as well as a ground segment for command and control.

The contract will also include planning and personnel training in preparation for on-orbit mission operations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2024.

• 
  

Canada cuts bureaucracy, loans cash to bolster its space firms

Monique Mulima, Bloomberg News   Jun 28, 2024

Four decades after the U.S. first began to encourage commercial space launch programs, Canada has finally gotten serious about promoting its homegrown space industries. 

It launched the Commercial Integration Cell in May and the National Space Council in April after two years of planning. Both are intended to increase collaboration and communication between the government and the private sector, and were inspired by steps the U.S. had taken years earlier. Telesat Corp. Chief Executive Officer Dan Goldberg said in an interview that Canada’s cell is “long overdue.”

So far, just a few companies like MDA Space Ltd. and Telesat are participating in the integration cell due to the extensive clearance process, according to the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 7 Wing space operational command.

“The current governmental process, that is outside the Department of National Defence, is just very tedious,” 7 Wing Commander Colonel Catherine Marchetti said in an interview. “Frankly I think maybe it needs to be looked at.”

Although Canada isn’t currently competing at the same level as the U.S. or China in space, Chris Quilty of analytics firm Quilty Space sees the nation making advancements through cooperation.

“They can’t do their own lunar program on their budget, so they’ll kind of tag-along with the U.S.,” Quilty said. Instead, he said, Canada’s long-term objectives include being more active in the space between Earth and the moon.

The global space economy is expected to grow from US$630 billion in 2023 to US$1.8 trillion in 2035, according to a report by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Co. Canada ranked just 13th in the world on government space spending in 2022, according to Space Foundation research. 

Yet Quilty noted that many countries with economies close in size to Canada’s don’t have as developed a space program. “Canada is one of those countries, along with Israel, that box above their weight class in all things space,” he said.

MDA CEO Mike Greenley said that the commercial cell is “an important evolution” for Canada’s space ambitions.

“Other countries have those as well,” he said, adding that it’s vital for government and industry to know “what we’re each doing with our assets in space.”

Telesat loan

Canada’s spending of US$730 million on its space program last year was dwarfed by other nations, including the U.S., China and Japan, according to a Novaspace report. 

But the government agreed to what would be its biggest loan to a company this year, for a space venture. It plans to loan Telesat as much as $2.1 billion (US$1.5 billion) to build out its Lightspeed network of low-Earth orbit satellites built by MDA that will enable data processing, broadband and military uses.

The loan, which was equal to the amount Canada has spent on its space agency in the past five years, came at a time when a majority of Canadians say the government is spending too much. But Telesat defended the loan, saying that government backing is common in other parts of the world.

“We have big competitors in the U.S., like SpaceX for instance, that work really hand in glove with the U.S. government for funding,” Goldberg said. “Same with our European competitors, they’re working very closely with their governments.”

Quilty said that it was “a geopolitical decision” to support Canadian space firms and create hundreds of technology jobs.

Companies like MDA and Telesat are looking to low-Earth orbit because it offers better latency and affordability than traditional geostationary satellites and is a new market for satellite makers that were in the shrinking television market.

The growth of low-Earth satellite systems, like SpaceX’s Starlink, has helped boost MDA’s revenue growth above many of its larger peers, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Ken Herbert, who added that this industry “is relatively new for the company.”

Government ambitions

Following China’s voyage to the far side of the moon this month, the Canadian Space Agency and NASA are planning an expedition to the moon’s south pole in 2026 to search for ice. If they find water, CSA says it could be used for electricity and help establish a permanent moon base. 

In May, MDA, which developed the Canadarm robotic arm used on the International Space Station, joined Voyager Space Holding, Airbus SE and Mitsubishi to help build the Starlab space station, which is intended to become the commercial heir to the ISS after it is retired around 2030. 

And MDA’s Canadarm3 will be part of NASA’s Gateway, a space station designed to orbit the moon. On Thursday, the company received an additional $1 billion Canadian government contract to complete its construction and testing.

CSA has also funded research into mining the moon and asteroid samples from the Osiris-Rex mission with NASA. 

David Haight, a director at CSA, said exploring the moon is important because “Mars would be the next step.” And to venture further into the solar system, he said, “there’s definitely a lot of science and technology that we need to develop.”

NASA insists Boeing Starliner crew ‘not stranded’ on ISS


By AFP
June 29, 2024


Starliner docked with the ISS on June 6 for what was meant to be roughly a week-long stay, but their departure has been pushed back multiple times because of thruster malfunctions and helium leaks that came to light during the journey -

 Copyright Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies/AFP -

The first astronauts to fly Boeing’s troubled Starliner are definitely not “stranded” at the International Space Station, NASA insisted Friday despite having no clear timeframe for bringing them home.

In an unusually defensive press call, officials attempted to put a positive spin on where things currently stood after weeks of negative headlines due to the spaceship’s delayed return.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off on June 5 following years of delays and safety scares affecting Starliner, as well as two aborted launch attempts that came as astronauts were strapped in and ready to go.

They docked the following day for what was meant to be roughly a week-long stay, but their return has been pushed back multiple times because of thruster malfunctions and helium leaks that came to light during the journey.

“Butch and Suni are not stranded in space,” declared Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. — © AFP

He added the pair were “enjoying their time on the space station” and “our plan is to continue to return them on Starliner and return them home at the right time.”

Before that can happen, however, ground teams need to run more testing to better understand the root causes.

It was known there was one helium leak affecting Starliner before the launch, but more leaks emerged during the flight. While non-combustible, helium provides pressure to the propulsion system.

Separately, some of Starliner’s thrusters that provide fine maneuvering initially failed to kick in, delaying docking. Engineers are not sure why Starliner’s computer “deselected” these thrusters, though they were able to restart all but one of them.

The thruster testing could begin July 2 and would last at least two weeks, said Stich.

“It is pretty painful to read the things that are out there,” added Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president and program manager of its Commercial Crew Program.

“We’ve gotten a really good test flight that’s been accomplished so far, and it’s being viewed rather negatively.”

Teething issues with new spaceships aren’t uncommon, with the Space Shuttle program facing its share of problems in its early days.

But the Starliner program has suffered from comparisons to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Both companies were awarded multibillion dollar contracts in 2014 to provide the US space agency with rides to the ISS, with SpaceX succeeding in 2020 and carrying dozens of people since.

Aerospace giant Boeing’s reputation has also nosedived in the wake of the safety scandal surrounding its 737 Max passenger jets.

Starliner undergoing thruster testing before indefinite return flight

The Boeing Starliner's first crewed mission and its final test flight will last between 45 and 90 days while NASA engineers study issues with helium leaks and thruster problems with the spacecraft that is docked at the International Space Station. 

Photo by NASA/UPI | 

June 29 (UPI) -- An initial eight-day Boeing Starliner test mission to the International Space Station will be extended indefinitely to test the spacecraft's thrusters.

Test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely aboard the ISS and are not stranded in space, NASA commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said during a briefing Friday.

But there is no targeted return date "until we get the testing completed," Stich said.

"Our plan is to continue to return them on Starliner and return them home at the right time," Stich said. "We have a little bit more work to do to get there for the final return."

Related
NASA pushes Starliner return to July
Boeing Starliner launches to International Space Station from Florida

The Starliner's service module contains thrusters, helium lines and other systems that NASA officials need to study before discarding the module upon re-entry and allowing it to burn up.

Those components require further study to determine why the Starliner deselected needed thrusters as it approached the ISS for docking on June 6.

The Starliner launched on June 5 after several delays to complete its first crewed mission and final test flight with test pilots Wilmore and Williams aboard.

NASA also plans testing as soon as Wednesday at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico to replicate how the thrusters were used during the flight. The testing will take about two weeks.

The Starliner developed helium leaks in five aft thrusters during the launch and while approaching the ISS as the thruster jets pulsed to control the docking procedure.

Helium valves in the service module were closed upon docking, but those valves must be opened to pressurize the helium lines used to power the thrusters.

The questionable thruster jets fired when tested while the Starliner is docked at the ISS while a fifth thruster and produce enough thrust to enable a successful return to Earth.

Stich said the Starliner has many times more helium than needed for the one-day return journey to Earth.

The initial mission was scheduled to last 10 days, including eight while docked at the ISS.

The thruster problems have extended the mission to between 45 and 90 days.

Nine people are aboard the ISS. Four came to the ISS from a Soyuz capsule and three from SpaceX's Dragon.


SpaceX launches U.S. spy satellites from Vandenberg


SpaceX launches spy mission from Vandenburg Space Fore Base.

 Photo courtesy SpaceX

June 29 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched spy satellites for the United States from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday night.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at the opening of a two-hour window, 8:14 p.m. PDT.

The United States' National Reconnaissance Office described the classified mission as "the second launch of NRO's proliferated architecture, delivering critical space-based ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] to the nation."

A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the booster landed on the droneship, Of Course I Still Love You, in the Pacific Ocean. It was the eighth launch and landing for this booster. Overall SpaceX has had 326th booster landings.

SpaceX ended its webcast after the Falcon 9 landing at the request of the NRO.

It was the 66th Falcon 9 mission of the year with 47 for SpaceX's Starlink broadband project in low Earth orbit.

The first Falcon 9 launch was 14 years ago -- pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The first NRA spy mission launch was May 22.

"NRO systems are designed, built and operated by the NRO. As a matter of national security we do not discuss the companies associated with the building of our systems, our contractual relationships with them, their specific activities, or the locations where NRO systems are built," NRO said in a statement to Spaceflight Now.


NASA awards SpaceX $843M to build vehicle to push Int'l Space Station out of orbit

NASA on Wednesday awarded SpaceX hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a spacecraft that can push the ISS out of orbit once it finishes it operational life in 2030. File Photo by NASA/UPI 

June 27 (UPI) -- NASA has awarded SpaceX $843 million to develop a new vehicle that can push the International Space Station out of orbit as part of the space laboratory's planned retirement, the federal agency said.

The ISS is planned for its operational life to finish around 2030, and SpaceX was announced by NASA on Wednesday that it has been commissioned to develop a so called deorbit spacecraft vehicle that will deorbit it in a controlled manner and avoid risking populated areas.

"Selecting a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low-Earth orbit at the end of station operations," Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA, said in a statement.

The ISS has been in operation for 24 years, and its deorbiting is the responsibility of all five space agencies that have been operating it since 1998.

Canada, Europe, Japan and the United States have committed to operating it until 2030, while Russia has committed to operating it until at least 2028, NASA said.

NASA has said that while much of the orbital laboratory is repairable and replaceable in orbit, the primary structure of the station, including the crewed modules and the truss structures, which are subject to dynamic loading events, cannot be, giving the ISS a finite lifetime.

"NASA has concluded that deorbiting the International Space Station using a U.S.-developed deorbit vehicle, with a final target in a remote part of the ocean, is the best option for the station's end of life," the federal agency said in a recent report.

NASA has also said that the United States plans to transition its operations in low-Earth orbit to commercially owned and operated destinations.

VIDEO: Moment Chinese rocket crashes after unexpected launch

TEHRAN, Jun. 30 (MNA) – A Chinese space rocket blasted off without warning during a test of its engines and crashed into a mountain in a fiery explosion, according to dramatic footage captured by onlookers.

Meteorites strike Mars far more often than thought, probe finds


By AFP
June 28, 2024


Mars is hit by large meteorites creating a 30-metre wide crater once a month, scientists estimate - Copyright AFP RAHEB HOMAVANDI

Pierre Celerier

Mars is bombarded with basketball-sized meteorites on a nearly daily basis, fives times more often than previously estimated, seismic recordings from a NASA spacecraft have revealed.

Before the new study was published on Friday, the best guess for how many meteorites strike Mars was made by looking at images taken by orbiting spacecrafts or models based on craters on the Moon.

But NASA’s InSight probe, which landed on a Martian plain called Elysium Planitia in 2018, has allowed scientists to listen to the internal rumblings of the red planet for the first time.

Mars is roughly twice as big as the Moon and is much closer to our solar system’s main asteroid belt, making it a prime target for large rocks hurtling through space.

Most meteorites taking a shot at Earth break apart in our atmosphere. But the Martian atmosphere is 100 times thinner than Earth’s, giving it little protection.

Rather than scouring through images taken from far away, the international team of researchers behind the new study in Nature Astronomy were able to listen in on meteorites smashing into Mars.

“Listening for impacts seems to be more effective than looking for them if we want to understand how often they occur,” study co-author Gareth Collins of Imperial College London said in a statement.

The researchers used the data from InSight’s seismometer to estimate that every year Mars is hit by between 280 to 360 meteorites, which all blast craters bigger than eight metres (26 feet) wide.

“This rate was about five times higher than the number estimated from orbital imagery alone,” study co-author Geraldine Zenhaeusern of the ETH Zurich university said.

– Mars missions, take note –


Frequent, intense dust storms make it particularly difficult for spacecrafts orbiting Mars to see small meteorite craters down below.

New craters are easiest to spot in flat and dusty areas, but “this type of terrain covers less than half of the surface of Mars,” Zenhaeusern said.

“The sensitive InSight seismometer, however, could hear every single impact within the landers’ range,” she added.

The scientists tracked a particular acoustic signal which is produced when meteorites strike Mars to estimate the diameter of craters and their distance from InSight.

They then calculated the number of craters made in one year near the lander, before extrapolating that number across the entire planet.

“This is the first paper of its kind to determine how often meteorites impact the surface of Mars from seismological data,” said Domenico Giardini, who works on the InSight mission.

This data should be taken into account in “planning for future missions to Mars,” he added.

The researchers estimated that a big meteorite strike makes a 30-metre crater on Mars about once a month — something that may linger in the minds of astronauts hoping to walk on the red surface one day.

Desert moss has the potential to grow on Mars

The drought-tolerant plant could help create biologically sustainable human habitats beyond Earth

The camera on Nasa's Curiosity rover records white streaks and specks on Mars, caused by charged particles from a solar storm that took place in May 2024. Images: Nasa

Nicky Harley
Jun 30, 2024

A climate-resistant desert moss has the potential to grow on Mars, scientists believe.

The moss Syntrichia caninervis could be a good candidate for colonising extraterrestrial environments, a study has found.

Due to its extreme ability to tolerate harsh conditions lethal to most life forms, researchers believe it could help create a sustainable human habitat beyond Earth.

The moss is well known for its ability to tolerate drought conditions, but researchers, in a report published on Sunday in the journal The Innovation, have found that it can also survive freezing temperatures as low as minus 196°C and high levels of gamma radiation. In all cases, prior dehydration seemed to help the plants cope, it said.

READ MORE
UAE scientists to study impact of climate change on falcons in the Arctic

“Our study shows that the environmental resilience of S. caninervis is superior to that of some of highly stress-tolerant microorganisms and tardigrades,” the researchers, who include ecologists Daoyuan Zhang and Yuanming Zhang, and botanist Tingyun Kuang, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.

“S. caninervis is a promising candidate pioneer plant for colonising extraterrestrial environments, laying the foundation for building biologically sustainable human habitats beyond Earth.”

A small number of previous studies have tested the ability of microorganisms, algae, lichens, and plant spores to withstand the extreme environments of outer space or Mars, but this is the first study to test whole plants.

Syntrichia caninervis is a common moss species with a widespread global distribution.

It grows in extreme desert environments including Tibet, Antarctica, and the circumpolar regions as part of the biological soil crust - a widespread and resilient type of ground cover often found in arid lands. Given the moss’s ability to survive extreme environmental conditions, the researchers decided to test its limits in the lab.

To test the moss’s cold tolerance, the researchers stored plants at −80°C in an ultra-cold freezer for three and five years, and at −196°C in a liquid nitrogen tank for 15 and 30 days.

In all cases, the plants regenerated when they were defrosted, although their rebound was less rapid compared to control specimens that had been dehydrated but not frozen, and plants that were not dehydrated before freezing rebounded more slowly than plants that were dried, then frozen.

The moss also demonstrated the ability to survive gamma radiation exposure that would kill most plants, and doses of 500 Gy even seemed to promote the plants’ growth, it found.

For comparison, humans experience severe convulsions and death when exposed to around 50 Gy.

“Our results indicate that S. caninervis is among the most radiation-tolerant organisms known,” the researchers said.

Finally, the researchers tested the moss’s ability to endure Mars-like conditions using the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Planetary Atmospheres Simulation Facility.

The simulator’s Martian conditions included air composed of 95 per cent CO2, temperatures that fluctuated from −60°C to 20°C, high levels of UV radiation, and low atmospheric pressure.

Dried moss plants achieved a 100 per cent regeneration rate within 30 days after being subjected to the Martian conditions up to seven days.

Hydrated plants, which were only subjected to the simulator for one day, also survived, though they regenerated more slowly than their desiccated counterparts.

“Although there is still a long way to go to create self-sufficient habitats on other planets, we demonstrated the great potential of S. caninervis as a pioneer plant for growth on Mars,” the researchers said.

“Looking to the future, we expect that this promising moss could be brought to Mars or the Moon to further test the possibility of plant colonisation and growth in outer space.”

Updated: June 30, 2024

 

WestJet strike averted as Ottawa imposes arbitration on airline, mechanics

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

A possible long-weekend strike at WestJet has been averted.

The federal government on Thursday directed the airline and plane mechanics into binding arbitration, steering clear of a work stoppage that threatened to disrupt flights for hundreds of thousands of travellers over the Canada Day long weekend.

In a late-afternoon social media post, Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan said he was invoking his authority under the Canada Labour Code to end the impasse between the two sides as the clock ticked down toward a Friday evening deadline.

"Strong first agreements set unions and employers on the path of collective bargaining," O'Regan said in a statement.

"They set a strong foundation to build upon at the bargaining table and bring the parties one step closer to a strong second agreement and an even stronger third agreement — reached at the bargaining table. That’s what we want to see here."

WestJet and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association both said they will abide by the order, with strikes and lockouts off the table.

“With the government’s actions, the summer travel plans of Canadians have been protected and we have a path to resolution,” said WestJet Airlines president Diederik Pen. No more flight cancellations are planned, after more than a dozen on Thursday.

The union, which had opposed arbitration by the country's labour tribunal, took a less upbeat tone.

"There is no modern precedent for the minister’s action," the association's negotiating committee said in a statement. But it added that it will tell its approximately 680 workers "to refrain from any unlawful job action."

Union members voted overwhelmingly to reject a tentative deal earlier this month and fought WestJet's request for intervention by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

In response to that request, the mechanics association served the company with an initial 72-hour strike notice on June 17, prompting WestJet to cancel nearly 50 flights last week before both sides agreed to resume negotiations. 

The second strike notice came Tuesday amid tense negotiations over the collective agreement — the first between WestJet and the union.

The Calgary-based carrier had already begun to cancel flights this week, calling off roughly 25 trips on Thursday and Friday in anticipation of possible job action as early as 5:30 p.m. MDT on Friday. Affecting some 3,300 customers, WestJet's decision to start concentrating its 180-plane fleet sought to avoid leaving aircraft in far-flung locations and stranding passengers and crew in the event of a work stoppage.

As negotiations around the contract dragged on in a windowless conference room at a hotel near Toronto's Pearson airport, the tone of statements put out by the two sides grew chippier.

On Wednesday, the airline asked the tribunal to quash the latest strike notice and bar future ones — except on approval from the labour board. The affidavit from lawyer Simon Mortimer argued that the union was "moving backward" in the talks, pointing to one counter-offer from workers that called for "a 50 per cent cost increase" over the tentative agreement.

The union's bargaining demands showed a failure to act in good faith and its public statements included "inflammatory" and "offensive" elements, the document claimed.

The union — the majority of its WestJet members are aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) who inspect each active plane daily — claimed the carrier was resorting to "false accusations" and "brinksmanship."

In a statement, the mechanics' negotiating committee retorted: "WestJet alleges that an AME strike would place the 'company and the travelling public in peril at a critical time.' It is difficult to conceive of a more inflammatory or offensive comment."

Ian Evershed, a union representative involved in the talks, cited "some pretty intense moments" during the negotiations.

“We just aren’t seeing any progress," he said in phone interview Wednesday.

Just over a year ago, the airline found itself in a similar situation after some 1,800 pilots threatened to walk off the job. WestJet averted a strike after reaching a last-minute deal in the wee hours ahead of a long weekend in May, but not before cancelling more than 230 flights and disrupting the travel plans of thousands of passengers.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board could opt not to suspend the right to a work stoppage as it hammers out a contract, but precedent and statements from the two parties suggests that outcome is a non-starter.

Both sides are slated to meet with the tribunal on Friday. "The board will then determine next steps or make the necessary rulings, as appropriate," tribunal spokesman Jean-Daniel Tardif said in an email.

The mechanics are hoping for a raise well beyond WestJet's initial offer of a roughly 10 per cent pay hike — it put forward a bigger one this week — in the first year of a five-and-a-half-year contract, Evershed said. He also pointed to counterparts in the United States who he said earn more than 1.5 times the current compensation level.

WestJet said it has offered a 12.5 per cent wage hike in the first year of the contract, and a compounded wage increase of 23 per cent over the rest of the term.

It also said the deal would protect work-life balance, ensure job security and attract more workers to the technical operations team.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2024.

 

Jim Pattison Group acquires U.S. grocery chain owner Save Mart Companies

The Canadian Press

Businessman and philanthropist Jim Pattison returns to his seat after speaking during a Canada's Walk of Fame ceremony honouring him, in Vancouver, on Friday February 15, 2019. U.S. grocery chain owner the Save Mart Companies says it has been acquired by the Jim Pattison Group. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck , THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

U.S. grocery chain owner, the Save Mart Companies, says it has been acquired by the Jim Pattison Group.

Save Mart spokesperson Jennifer Shelton confirmed the acquisition by the Vancouver-based holdings company, but declined to share financial details, including the value of the deal.

Save Mart's website says it operates about 200 grocery stores across California and Nevada.

Its store banners include Save Mart, Lucky, Lucky California, FoodMaxx, and Maxx Value Food.

Under the deal, Shelton says Save Mart will retain its headquarters in Modesto, Calif.

The Jim Pattison Group dates back to 1961, when it owned an auto dealership, but has since grown to a massive company that has been involved with Save-On-Foods, Great Wolf Lodge, Ripley Entertainment, Genpak and Canfor. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2024.

 

After quietly closing stores, Rooms + Spaces merchandise creeping into Toys 'R' Us

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

Only a few steps into a Toys “R” Us store just north of Toronto, it’s obvious something is up at the childhood mecca.

Stacks of beer and whisky glasses sit alongside Beatles records and band T-shirts in the entrance way of the Vaughan Mills mall location one June weekend. Roam the rest of the store and among the rows of toys, there are now aisles dedicated to pillows and beauty products and an entire department for kitchen and home decor.

Most of the items bear fluorescent signs advertising 40 per cent off products labelled as being from Rooms + Spaces, the home goods retailer Toys “R” Us Canada's owner Putman Investments opened in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What happened to the chain, which appears to have shrunk from 24 stores to two in roughly a year, is a mystery.

Rooms + Spaces declined to comment for this story.

Retail experts, however, say Rooms + Spaces' retrenchment from standalone locations to its appearance at Toys "R" Us is the likely product of shifting consumer habits amid high inflation, sluggish home sales and competition from several old and new retailers in the same segment of the market. 

"The retail landscape in general is struggling. Consumers either have less money or they're just spending less so that's an issue," said Joanne McNeish, an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University specializing in marketing.

"The second part is the household furniture landscape. So many people bought things in COVID because they were in their homes and ... they're not purchasing things now for their homes. People are spending money on travel; they're spending money on experiences."

And when they are shopping for housewares, there are no shortage of places to look. Stalwarts like Ikea, Hudson's Bay, Walmart and Canadian Tire feature in most Canadian markets alongside new entrants like Fox Home. Dollarama and Loblaw also keep expanding their merchandise ranges.

"It's a category that's really struggled to become a destination of all things," said Grant Packard, associate professor of marketing at York University.

"There's a spatula here, there's a floor lamp there and it's just kind of odds and sods (across many stores)."

Ont.-based Putman Investments is a relatively new player in the world of housewares but no stranger to retail.

Owner Doug Putman, whose steelworker father Bob started Everest Toys in the 1990s, purchased Sunrise Records in 2014, HMV in 2019 and Toys "R" Us Canada in 2021. 

He bought 45 DavidsTea locations when the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020 and turned them into a chain of tea shops called T. Kettle, which now lists just two locations on its website.

His journey in housewares began in May last year, when he revealed a plan to snap up 21 properties left vacant through Bed Bath & Beyond and BuyBuy Baby's recent bankruptcy and turn them into a new concept, Rooms + Spaces.

An August press release announcing grand openings for many of the Rooms + Spaces locations bumped the chain's expected store count to 24.

Many of those stores appear to have opened, but in the months since, Rooms + Spaces has only retracted. Customers report frequent emails offering significant markdowns and social media is rife with chatter about stores that disappeared within months.

Vancouver media reported the company had to vacate its West Broadway location in December, when legal notices posted on its door noted it had defaulted on its lease.

Sometime after, Rooms + Spaces merchandise started cropping up at Toys "R" Us Canada, where Putman has also recently added departments selling books, music, DVDs and other merchandise from HMV.

Some feel the emergence of Rooms + Spaces products in Toys "R" Us is both an admission of just how bleak the current retail landscape and a brilliant idea.

"Whenever you put two stores together, it increases store traffic for both," McNeish said.

Those with kids are likely drawn into Toys "R" Us to purchase dolls, Lego and games but then discover the store also has all the housewares they need with young ones around. The same aha moment likely happens every time a grandparent, aunt or uncle visits in search of a gift.

"It creates now something else they might go there for," McNeish said, guessing that Putman's goal might be to create a retailer that's more akin to a department store.

Rooms + Spaces is not the only one applying that logic. Over its history, Indigo Books & Music Inc. has expanded heavily into the toy category and added housewares, Packard pointed out, who once worked for the retailer.

He thinks Rooms + Spaces' efforts "may work even better than Indigo because the lifestyle of the young family is a broader demographic than the lifestyle of the culture lover or the book lover."

But taking advantage of those synergies and salvaging the business will take a lot of work because Packard so far feels home furnishings have wound up to be "a little bit beyond" Putman's core of toys and pop culture merchandise. 

Even if Rooms + Spaces doesn't last, Packard said Putman's retail prowess might not be thrown into question as much as some might expect.

"In retail businesses, the failure rate is incredibly high," he said.

"If he bought 10 businesses and seven of them failed, he's successful."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2024.