In the news today: Air Canada pilot strike looms

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Flying Air Canada next week? Read this first

You’re packing your bags but still don’t know if Air Canada will be taking you to your planned destination.

Calgary-based travel agent Lesley Keyter says she’s been fielding questions from people travelling this weekend and next week about whether to cancel their trip or change their flight as a potential work stoppage looms.

“I have tried to reassure people, if they look back historically, these disruptions typically don’t last longer than maybe four, five days,” Keyter, owner of the Travel Lady, said.

“But of course, the ripples from that continue along much longer than that and people’s confidence is shaken.”

The union representing Air Canada pilots is in position to strike as soon as Sept. 18, so the required 72 hours’ notice could come over the weekend.

Talks to resume in Metro Vancouver transit strike

Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.

No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.

Tidal power junk: rail cars filled with concrete

Four boxcars filled with concrete are sitting on the floor of the Bay of Fundy near Walton, N.S., where residents are worried the debris — abandoned by another failed tidal power project — has become a hazard to local fishers.

In May 2023, massive air bags were used to float the rail cars to the mouth of Walton’s harbour, an area where about 20 to 30 recreational fishers pass through daily as they seek flounder and highly prized striped bass.

An unusual scene emerges every time the bay’s record-setting tides recede to reveal the hulks, along with massive chains that were supposed to be used as moorings for Occurrent Power’s experimental tidal turbine.

The company, formerly BigMoon Power, was planning to move the anchors to a testing site on the other side of the Minas Basin. But last week, news broke that the company had filed for bankruptcy.

More layoffs for workers at Ontario Science Centre

More workers at the Ontario Science Centre are set to lose their jobs as the abruptly shuttered east-Toronto attraction contemplates a move to a temporary home, potentially in a neighbouring city.

Dexterra Group, which provided cleaning services for the attraction, sent a letter to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union last week, saying 28 employees will lose their jobs by Oct. 31.

The science centre has terminated its cleaning services agreement with Dexterra and that triggered the layoff notice, the company said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press.

The employees were given the news on Friday.

Denis Villeneuve donates to local Montreal cinema

At a time when many independent movie theatres in Canada are struggling, one Montreal cinema says it is entering “a new chapter” after receiving a major donation from Quebec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve.

Cinéma du Parc announced this week that the Quebec-born director behind “Dune” and other Hollywood blockbusters is the latest big-name director to show his support for a cherished local theatre. He has given an undisclosed amount to help ensure the long-term financial security of the movie house where he has long attended screenings.

The theatre is unveiling a new look on Thursday after spending more than $1.4 million on a facelift. Located in the basement of a shopping centre near McGill University, the cinema’s mezzanine has been overhauled and the theatre’s interior boasts red drapes reminiscent of David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks.” Even the bathroom stalls have been upgraded with portraits of movie characters.

No sign Lytton, B.C., blaze was arson: RCMP

Mounties in British Columbia have concluded there’s no evidence that the devastating fire that swept through the community of Lytton more than three years ago was arson.

Police have now ended their investigation into the June 2021 wildfire, saying they could not pinpoint the cause of the blaze that killed two people and wiped out much of the village and part of the First Nation, a day after a Canadian temperature record of 49.6 C was set in Lytton.

A statement from the RCMP on Wednesday said there was “no evidence to suggest the fire was intentionally set by the actions, or inactions, of any individual(s)” and the criminal investigation “has not determined the cause of the fire.”

Police said they reviewed the weather conditions around the time, exhaustively searched two “areas of interest” where the fire may have started and interviewed 168 witnesses.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024

The Canadian Press