An Air Canada flight took off from Beijing to Toronto with no running water on board last week amid the worsening novel coronavirus outbreak, a move that has angered the union representing flight attendants.
The flight lasted 13 hours and a passenger on board told CBC News the washrooms ran out of antiseptic wipes, meant to replace traditional handwashing, after about four hours.
CUPE, which represents Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants, said it would not comment on the matter. But an internal memo sent Friday to its membership and obtained by CBC News speaks to concerns about the safety of flight attendants.
“Faced with a public health situation in which thorough handwashing with soap and water have [sic] been repeatedly cited as the most important and effective way to protect oneself and others from contracting the 2019-nCov (Coronavirus), it is categorically unacceptable for any aircraft to be dispatched without a fully functional water system.”
Memo to CUPE members (CUPE)
“It is the union’s position that any aircraft without a fully functional water system ought to be immediately removed and not positioned for operations until such a time as the issue can be corrected — regardless of aircraft type,” the memo said.
The union also strongly discouraged members from accepting shifts on flights experiencing water issues in exchange for supplemental compensation, such as a bump in pay.
Air Canada to increase supplies for flights to Asia
In an email to CBC News Saturday afternoon, Air Canada said “the aircraft developed an issue with its water system in Beijing and it could not be repaired quickly locally.
“After careful consideration the decision was made to still operate the flight based on our understanding that customers would rather return to Canada than stay longer in Beijing. The flight was operated in compliance with protocols for such situations.”
It noted that the outbreak is an extremely rare situation.
Earlier Saturday, Air Canada sent out a note to staff saying it would no longer operate widebody aircraft with “broad water system issues” on its international routes and that its international flights would carry “ample additional bottled water” for handwashing in case a water system issue occurs in flight.
However, it said it would continue to operate widebody and narrow body aircraft experiencing “limited” water system issues and would ensure there was “ample additional bottled water boarded to facilitate handwashing.”
Air Canada also said it would increase the number of masks, gloves, and hand-sanitizing supplies on all Asia flights.
On its website, the Public Health Agency of Canada advises that all travellers protect themselves from novel coronavirus by washing their hands often “with soap under warm running water for at least 20 seconds.” It says travellers could use alcohol-based sanitizer “only if soap and water are not available.”
The agency maintains the risk of coronavirus to Canadians remains low.
Passenger says flight ran out of wipes
A man who was a passenger on the flight who did not want his named used, told CBC News that he was informed at the gate there would be no water available in the washrooms. He said while the crew did put antiseptic wipes in the washrooms, they ran out roughly four hours into the flight.
He said he found it “disturbing that Air Canada would allow passengers to fly on a [sic] airplane with no water to wash our hands for over 13 hours, run out of sanitary wipes that were dried out and basically useless.”
The flight in question departed Beijing on the evening of Jan. 23, the same day the World Health Organization declared the outbreak to be an emergency in China. It arrived in Toronto at 8 p.m. ET. The Boeing 777-300 has 10 bathrooms on board. There were three meal services during the flight.
At the time the flight was operating there were about 650 reported cases of coronavirus and 18 reported deaths in China. The next day the number of reported infections jumped to 830 with 25 deaths.
The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on Jan. 30. That same day Air Canada suspended all flights to Beijing and Shanghai.
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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
