Business

How WestJet strike strands B.C. family in Mexico

Published

3 months ago

July 3, 2024

One B.C. family is desperate to get their daughter home after their WestJet flight from Mexico was cancelled due to a labour dispute.

The cancellation was one of more than 1,000 across the country and stems from a two-day-long mechanics union strike that impacted more than 100,000 travelers, according to the company.

Kristen Williams and her family were supposed to leave Puerto Vallarta Saturday, when they were notified their flight was canceled. Since then, Williams said the family has had no luck finding an alternative route to get back to Terrace.

“I felt really helpless,” she said. “I felt stranded. There’s no communication, so we literally felt stuck here.”

Williams said her family has repeatedly called the airline, and approached agents at the WestJet counter for help. She told CTV News the agents told her they are contractors and are therefore unable to rebook the family’s flight.

“Our loved ones are at home worried about us,” Williams said.

She added the earliest they’ll be able to get home is July 7. Her 21-year-old daughter is already overdue for the weekly medication she needs to treat her rheumatoid arthritis.

“We need to get her home,” she said. “I wanted to send my daughter home to a pharmacy because we need her prescription. We can’t fill it here.”

Gabor Lukacs, the president of Air Passengers Rights, said an airline is required to rebook passengers on another flight within 48 hours at their expense – or purchase another ticket on another airline.

“What passengers can do in such a situation if WestJet is refusing to rebook them – as is required by law – is to book a ticket on their own and make WestJet pay for it,” Lukacs said.

As of Tuesday, WestJet said it canceled 1,137 flights since Thursday, and that 125 out of 180 planes are now active again as the airline works to resume normal operations.

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Business

Cannabis Retail Blues: To much Stock, to Few Customers

Published

2 hours ago

September 24, 2024

Steven Kaszab

As of January 2024, Canada is home to more than 3,600 recreational cannabis retail shops and this number is increasing annually with a single store to every 10,000 Canadians. The retail sector has been facing multiple challenges and one is surely overabundance of stores within smaller communities. Too many retailers compared to users of cannabis. The use of cannabis has remained relatively the same, while multiple retailers and online sales forces are competing for this marketplace.

Failures within the retail field are not a surprise, as Tokyo Smoke closes its multiple stores, and most shops’ profit margins remain small and diminishing over time. Mass closures may happen within certain provinces such as Ontario where situations of multiple retailers are situated right beside a competitor. Massive amounts of revenue have been collected by provincial governments while these stores remain open to every possible financial flux possible.

The black market remains healthy and profitable. An excuse to legalize pot was to challenge illegal pot sales and make it difficult to sell this pot outside of legal means. 22% of Canadian pot smokers get their supply from the black market. They say the pot tastes better and is slightly less costly. Legal pot management is costly and this cost is passed onto the customer. With gummy sales growing, the cost of management by legal means is difficult and costly too.

It seems the government may need to rethink its policy regarding cannabis and the possibility of legalizing further types of illicit drugs in the future. A total ack of imagination exists within the policy network where old-fashioned prejudice towards addiction and the use of narcotics is seen as criminal and threatening to society. All the while the number of traffic stops due to drivers under the influence of narcotics continues to grow, and the use of drugs by the youthful generation continues to be a problem. A solution to our society’s problems will never come from present-day authorities.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

Business

Get ready for more cases tackling misleading fees after Cineplex ruling, expert says

Published

15 hours ago

September 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – At least one competition expert says the record $38.9 million fine against Cineplex Inc. is bound to encourage more action against companies engaged in a deceptive practice known as drip pricing.

The theatre operator was found late Monday to have engaged in the practice, where customers are drawn into a purchase without full disclosure of the final cost.

The Competition Bureau’s case against Cineplex related to a $1.50 charge many customers were forced to pay when purchasing movie tickets online.

Vass Bednar says these types of fees are common across many sectors, providing plenty of fodder for potential future cases that could delve into the pricing of airline, bus and concert tickets.

The executive director of McMaster University’s master of public policy program says the Competition Bureau’s success with the Cineplex case shows there’s no issue too small for the watchdog to go after.

Cineplex maintains it has always been upfront about its $1.50 online booking fees and has said it will appeal the fine levied by the Competition Tribunal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CGX)

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Business

CDPQ buys stake in U.K. power company from Brookfield Asset Management

Published

17 hours ago

September 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has signed a deal with Brookfield Asset Management and its institutional partners to buy their 25 per cent stake in British power company First Hydro Co.

Financial terms of the deal by the Quebec investment manager were not immediately available.

First Hydro is responsible for the management and operation of two power plants in Wales.

Emmanuel Jaclot, CDPQ’s executive vice-president and head of infrastructure, says the investment marks the fund’s first foray into pumped hydro storage.

French utility Engie is the majority shareholder in First Hydro with the remaining 75 per cent stake.

The deal is expected to close by the end of 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BAM)

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. The headline in an earlier version incorrectly stated the country where First Hydro is located.

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