National Business

MONTREAL — On a warm Wednesday this month, a cartoon raccoon raised a cocktail glass and sarcastically saluted Air Canada.

WestJet has cancelled nearly 700 flights as of Sunday, upending plans for close to 100,000 passengers as an unexpected strike by plane mechanics entered its third day on the busiest travel weekend of the season.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Beryl strengthened into a hurricane Saturday as it churned toward the southeastern Caribbean, with forecasters warning it was expected to become a dangerous major storm before reaching Barbados late Sunday or early Monday

The Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to investigate an aircraft accident at a fire-threatened Northwest Territories community.

WestJet airplane mechanics hit the picket lines Friday evening in a surprise move that forced the airline to cancel over 150 flights beginning on Saturday.

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (21,875.79, down 66.37 points): TC Energy Corp. (TSX:TRP). Energy. Down 94 cents, or 1.8 per cent, to $51.86 on 34.4 million shares.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index closed lower Friday on broad-based losses, while U.S. stock markets also closed down despite earlier gains. The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 66.37 points at 21,875.79 as energy and industrials fell.

Stocks drifted lower on Wall Street, erasing the S&P 500’s gains for the week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% Friday, but remains close to the record high it set last week. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.7% and the Dow slipped 0.1%.

TORONTO — Canadian insolvencies rose in May from last year as elevated inflation and interest rates continue to hit businesses and consumers.

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