With train travel along two of Via Rail’s busiest routes halted by protesters for a second straight day on Sunday, passengers say they have found themselves in a quandary as they try to leave Toronto to head back home for work and school.
Via Rail says 18 of its trains were cancelled Sunday, affecting service between Toronto and Montreal, as well as Toronto and Ottawa in both directions.
“It’s been a bit of a disaster,” would-be passenger Kyle Kirkup told CBC News.
“I’m in solidarity with the protests that are going on, but it’s obviously complicated to get home.”
Kirkup is headed to Ottawa in time for work Monday after a weekend in Toronto.
Kyle Kirkup, who lives in Ottawa, says he’s in solidarity with the protests that are going on but it’s been complicated to get home following a weekend in Toronto. (CBC)
He said the problems started on Thursday while he was travelling to Toronto.
“We got to Kingston on Thursday, we were then told by Via that there’s a blockade that was happening and that the train was going to go back, and if we wanted to get off in Kingston we could find our own way to Toronto,” he explained.
“We then got an email last night saying that our train back to Ottawa had also been cancelled and that no alternatives were going to be provided by Via Rail.
“It’s definitely been complicated, a bit stressful trying to do bookings on the fly, and I wish that there would have been perhaps a bit better communication from Via about alternative options that might have been available,” he added.
Via Rail denied CBC’s request for an interview but issued a statement saying while its trains are prepared to leave on schedule should it achieve line clearance, “until the issue is resolved, departures from Ottawa/Montreal to Toronto and Toronto to Ottawa/Montreal can’t operate due to these circumstances beyond our control.”
“Services continue to operate between Ottawa and Montreal, between Montreal and Quebec City, and west of Toronto in southwestern Ontario,” the statement reads.
Blockade in solidarity with demonstrators in northwest B.C.
Protesters have been demonstrating at Belleville, Ont., against the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline project in British Columbia.
Canadian National Railway traffic was also blocked along the corridor east of Toronto.
The blockade took over the tracks Thursday night in solidarity with demonstrators in northwest B.C. where Indigenous people and supporters are protesting the construction of a pipeline that crosses Wet’suwet’en territory.
RCMP officers in B.C. have been arresting people for breaching a court injunction that attempted to clear the way for construction of the 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline.
CN says it has been granted an injunction order to remove protesters from the site near Belleville, Ont.
Kirkup said while he has been inconvenienced by the demonstrations, he supports those staging them.
“I think it’s important to recognize why the protest is going on. I think it’s super important and even though I’ve experienced delays, I’m still happy to support the work that’s being done for a better nation-to-nation relationship in Canada,” he said.
Kirkup said it was quite the challenge trying to book a bus ticket back to Ottawa, but he was finally able to find a seat on the 2:30 p.m. Greyhound bus.
Kimia Fardfini missed her train from Ottawa to Toronto on Thursday and was also forced to make other arrangements to leave Sunday from Toronto to Ottawa. (CBC)
Another passenger, Kimia Fardfini, missed her train from Ottawa to Toronto on Thursday and was also forced to make other arrangements to leave Sunday from Toronto to Ottawa.
Fardfini, who is originally from Toronto, goes to school in Ottawa.
“I booked my Via Rail well in advance like I always do, and when I got to the train station in Ottawa it was delayed indefinitely and they cancelled it. So, I had to take the Greyhound and currently I’m in Toronto trying to figure out how to get back to do my school work tomorrow,” she told CBC News on Sunday.
“Since yesterday, well since all weekend, I’ve been looking at the train status for my train tonight and I can’t find anything for my specific train. It says it’s tentatively scheduled, but I don’t know if I really trust Via right now.
“The Greyhounds are booked already. So, it was either that or my family tried to take time off to drive me or rent a car, which is just as expensive as flying because I’m under 25 and that’s not really possible. So, I had to book on Porter last night and it was $422,” Fardfini added.
Plan ahead, Metrolinx spokesperson says
As people prepare for the start of the new work week, Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins is urging people to plan ahead, in the event any of its services are disrupted because of the ongoing protests.
“We always suggest to our customers, before you leave the house, check the website for any service updates, check your phones, sign up for on-the-go alerts, that kind of thing,” Aikins told CBC News.
Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins says people to plan ahead, in the event any of its services are disrupted because of the ongoing protests. (Angelina King/CBC)
“Our customers come a long distance. It’s a little different than often with the TTC customers [who] just jump on the closest subway or streetcar. Our customers will sometimes travel an hour and a half, two hours away to get to their destinations, so, we always tell them to plan ahead.”
Metrolinx is a government transportation agency that manages and integrates road and public transport in Ontario, including GO Transit.
Aikins said while she does not expect a disruption at all seven corridors, she’s hoping for the best on Monday.
“We transport 200,000 people a day from all over the region, so if they can’t get to their jobs and their medical appointments it disrupts a lot of lives, potentially.”
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – 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.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
