Canadians stranded in the United Kingdom are facing uncertainty around how or when they will be able to get home and in some cases where they will stay while waiting out the travel ban.
Brooke Johnson, 42, is from Ontario’s Niagara Region but had travelled to London for work. Her contract ended on Dec. 18, and she had been preparing to leave when Canada suspended all commercial and private passenger flights from Britain.
That initial 72-hour suspension on flights from the U.K. has now been extended for two weeks until Jan. 6, as Canada tries to prevent a new variant of the novel coronavirus detected there from spreading here.
There are concerns that the new variant is significantly more contagious than other strains, though it may not be any more deadly.
Johnson said she is stressed about “this open-ended thing of not knowing when this is going to end or where I am going to stay.”
The problem, Johnson said, is that her accommodation runs out soon, and parts of London and areas in the southeast of England are under stricter Tier 4 COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s a little scary because of course the hotels and Airbnb have been closed for bookings, so I have somewhere to stay until Dec. 28, but after that it’s a big question mark,” she said.
Reports of thousands left stranded in the U.K.
There are reports of many people left stranded in the U.K. as dozens of countries around the world imposed travel restrictions on fights from the country.
Global Affairs Canada said there are currently 11,038 Canadians registered as being in the country, but this is a voluntary registration and not all may wish to leave.
Johnson said she has a few days to find a place to stay.
“In normal times, I would check into a hotel or stay with friends, but who’s gonna take me in now in the middle of the pandemic when things are raging in London? I’ll be putting myself and others at risk,” she said.
“It is what it is right now, but it’s really hard and stressful.”
Saeed Durhan of Mississauga, Ont., had travelled to London to vacation and visit friends and family. Now he and his 15-year-old son are unable to book a flight home. (Submitted by Saeed Durhan)
Saeed Durhan, 51, was lucky enough to be able to extend his hotel stay, but it’s costly.
“We’ve been scrambling to find a flight home since Sunday,” he said.
“We haven’t found anything.”
Durhan travelled from Mississauga, Ont., for vacation and to visit family, but now he can’t book a flight to get him and his 15-year-old son home.
He has even tried to book a flight back to Canada through Washington D.C., but was told United Airlines will only take U.S. citizens.
Durhan said there has been no help, guidance or direction from the Canadian government or consulate office.
“I’m not looking for a free ride here. What I would like the Canadian government to do is exactly what the US government did,” he said.
“They have United Airlines taking only U.S. citizens. Why can’t Canada do the same thing with Air Canada? There are Air Canada planes sitting at Heathrow Airport. Why can’t they do the exact same thing and say only Canadian residents can board the plane and go back home?”
Global Affairs Canada says there are no plans to offer repatriation or assisted departure flights.
In a statement to CBC News, it said it is aware of Canadians abroad seeking to return to Canada.
The federal government has advised against non-essential travel outside of Canada since March 13, 2020.
But Global Affairs Canada says it continues to monitor the situation closely.
“The Canadian consulate basically told me I’m on my own,” Durhan said. “The Canadian government is leaving its own citizens completely stranded.”
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.
