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Aeroplan-funded flights bringing Ukrainians to Canada expected to begin in June

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OTTAWA — The first free commercial flights to Canada for Ukrainian refugees offered through a fundraising drive involving Aeroplan points won’t be available until June.

On April 20, U.S.-based organization Miles4Migrants said it had expected flights to begin as early as May using the new fund, a partnership between the charity, the Shapiro Foundation and Air Canada, which owns the Aeroplan loyalty program.

The program will now be up and running next month.

Andy Freedman, co-founder and board member of Miles4Migrants, said the charity wanted to ensure everything is in order before the program begins.

“We are on track to launch the program in early June, which is only a very slight delay,” Freedman said. “We’re doing that to ensure that the operations of the process in place is set up for success.”

The organization will help Ukrainians book commercial flights to Canada using donated funds or Aeroplan points on a first-come-first-served basis.

The goal was to cover flights to bring at least 10,000 people fleeing from Russia’s invasion in Ukraine who were approved to come to Canada, and the free travel initiative was announced a month ago by Ottawa, in partnership with Air Canada and two charities.

The spots are in addition to targeted chartered flights to bring Ukrainians to Canada, announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this year.

While the funds already raised are ready to be used to book flights, there are still details to be finalized on providing direct support to Ukrainians with Miles4Migrants’ partners.

That means ongoing co-ordination with other non-profits and the government to ensure people registered for flights are eligible, that they have somewhere to turn if the flight is cancelled and adequate support upon arrival.

“We don’t want to launch a program where those pieces are not set up in place,” said Freedman, whose organization has worked previously with Canadian non-profits and collaborated with resettlement efforts for Afghans with the U.S. government.

The Aeroplan points collection launched in collaboration with the Canadian government has collected more than 144 million points so far, according to Air Canada. The airline said that total includes its 100 million points donation announced on April 20.

The Shapiro Foundation, which is also part of the partnership, has pledged to match Aeroplan point donations up to 50 million points. Cash donations are also being collected by the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto.

The role of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in this initiative is to ensure that Ukrainian nationals have the necessary documentation, such as approval for the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel program.

The program provides access to three-year temporary residency for Ukrainians and their immediate family. According to the latest data, 104,553 people have been approved.

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said many are requesting the program without knowing for sure whether they’ll come to Canada or stay somewhere closer to Ukraine. The Miles4Migrants-led program is “complementary” to Canadian government charter flights to some of those who qualify for the program, she said, calling it a “two-pronged approach.”

Thus far, three chartered flights with about 300 people each have been announced, due to arrive on May 23, May 29 and June 2.

Opposition parties have said the two-pronged approach is ineffective and Ottawa should arrange more charter flights quickly.

“Already, Canada is not the most effective on the ground and they have found a kind of public-private solution where … there are still many questions and we do not have time to ask,” said NDP deputy leader Alexandre Boulerice.

The Bloc Québécois also called for additional charter flights, with immigration critic Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe saying he felt the government tried to “buy time” by announcing the deal with the charities while doing “absolutely nothing” to ease the logistical burden.

“They’re taking credit for a program that they have no role in and on top of that the program is still not in place,” he said.

Fraser’s spokeswoman replied that “sometimes, things on the back end take longer to sort out, but it shouldn’t prevent us from being clear with the public about the kind of initiatives that we are undertaking.”

The NDP, Bloc and Conservatives have reiterated their demand that all visa requirements for Ukrainians be lifted.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2022.

 

Émilie Bergeron, The Canadian Press

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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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 Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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