WestJet cancels flights as surprise strike begins on long weekend
Global News
WestJet maintenance crews are on strike in a surprise move ahead of the Canada Day long weekend, forcing the Calgary-based airliner to cancel flights in the busy travel period.
WestJet says it’s cancelled at least 150 flights beginning Saturday after the union maintaining the airline’s planes announced it went on strike hours earlier.
The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) announced its members started to strike around 5:30 p.m. MDT Friday because the airline’s “unwillingness to negotiate with the union made the strike inevitable.”
The move came after the federal government issued a ministerial order for binding arbitration on Thursday.
The order also followed two weeks of turbulent discussions with the union on a new deal.
Calgary-based WestJet has lambasted the move by the mechanics union, saying it’s “extremely outraged at these actions and will hold AMFA 100 per cent accountable for the unnecessary stress and costs incurred as a result.”
On Thursday, WestJet said that AMFA “confirmed they will abide by the direction. Given this, a strike or lockout will not occur, and the airline will no longer proceed in cancelling flights.”
The change in position on Friday seemed to shock both travellers and executives alike.
“Is my flight on Sunday in jeopardy?” asked Andrew Wheatley of Edmonton in a post to X.
The news comes a year and half after former health minister Adrian Dix announced the much-needed replacement, saying then it was long overdue.
Democrats are demanding Ambassador Bridge owner Matthew Moroun provide documentation of a reported meeting held with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick before Trump's threat.
From trade tensions to a shrinking workforce and existing inflation, several factors are leading to provinces posting sometimes record-breaking budgets.
The newly launched consumer rebates for electric vehicles aim to help make the purchase more affordable — but how does the cost of powering one compare with a gas vehicle?
The Kamloops institution operated between 1890 and 1969, when Ottawa took control from the Catholic Church and ran it as a day school until it closed in 1978.
The first category that’s being added is for researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience to help drive research in Canada.
A Quebec man who drowned his two children in October 2022, told a jury he has no memory of the day they died, as he testified in his own defence in Laval, Quebec.
The Ford government has broken ground on four stations and an elevated guideway for its signature Ontario Line subway, which could be finished sometime in the early 2030s.
A small black dog that was kicked in a 'disturbing and upsetting' viral video has been removed from the owner’s care, Sudbury police say.
“I am honoured to welcome Matt Jeneroux to our caucus as the newest member of Canada’s new government,” Carney said in a social media post.
It raises the base income tax rate by 0.54 per cent — the first increase in 26 years — while the deficit is predicted to soar to a record $13.3 billion next fiscal year.
While in B.C., the prime minister will attend a Liberal Party fundraiser at a private residence in Vancouver, with tickets costing $1,775.
Brampton, Mississauga and parts of Waterloo Region were among the suburbs where people flocked back to the bus, leading to overcrowding and setting records.