Striking aircraft mechanics are seen on the picket line at Pearson International Airport, in Toronto, Saturday, June 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher KatsarovChristopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
Thousands of air travelers across the country had their Canada Day long weekend plans disrupted Saturday after WestJet Airlines cancelled more than 350 flights in the wake of unexpected strike action by its unionized mechanics.
WestJet said more than 30,000 passengers were affected by the flight disruptions Saturday, and an additional 250,000 travelers might be impacted if the strike continues through the long weekend.
Hundreds of WestJet mechanics walked off the job Friday evening following a strike notice issued by their union, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA).
On Saturday, travelers were hovering around the WestJet booth in Terminal 3 of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport anxiously waiting to find out if their flights had been cancelled.
Villamor Torres and Mary Jane Herrera came to the airport after struggling to rebook their cancelled flight over the phone. The Toronto couple was looking forward to starting their vacation in the Cayman Islands on Saturday when they received an email at 9:40 a.m. notifying them that their flight was cancelled.
“We’re trying to figure out what to do—we’re in the middle of getting a new flight but they said if we get a new flight they won’t compensate us,” said Ms. Herrera.
At the airport, they were met with more confusion. “They say they’ll get us a new flight but when we ask which one they’re not responding,” said Mr. Torres.
“It’s chaos,” said Amy Morris, who was visiting the country for the first time from Atlanta, Ga., with her family. “We had a hiking trip planned tomorrow in Banff, we lose the entire first day at least…it’s not a great introduction to Canada.”
The family of four were headed to Calgary when they learned of the cancellation while on a connecting flight to Toronto. “We’re getting no information from WestJet at all — they said within a couple of hours we’ll get a reassignment, but we’ve heard nothing,” said Ms. Morris. “It was a last family vacation, the kids are moving out of state, and it was supposed to be our last hurrah.”
Some travelers arriving at Pearson were pleasantly surprised that their WestJet flights had not been cancelled.
“We had no problems with our flight so far,” said Dave Johnson, the President of the Bowling Association of Ontario who was headed to Winnipeg for a national championship with 40 other players. “They’ve checked our bags already… I was thinking they’d have picket lines and be blocking the doors.”
Sean McVeigh, a WestJet aircraft maintenance engineer picketing at Pearson’s Terminal 3 on Saturday, said the strike is an attempt to force the airline to return to a “respectful negotiation.”
McVeigh said the union regrets any inconvenience caused to passengers.
“However, the reason they [passengers] have possibly missed a flight or had to cancel is due to the reason that WestJet is not respectfully sitting down at the table and negotiating,” he said alongside roughly 20 others on the picket line. “We take on a lot of responsibility and we would just like to be appreciated financially,” he said.
Passengers are seen in the WestJet check-in area at Pearson International Airport, in Toronto, Saturday, June 29, 2024.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
WestJet said another 150 flights could be cancelled by the end of the day Saturday if there was no resolution to the walkout.
“We are extremely outraged at these actions and will hold AMFA 100 per cent accountable for the unnecessary stress and costs incurred as a result,” said WestJet Airlines president Diederik Pen in a statement.
The union said WestJet’s “unwillingness” to negotiate made the strike inevitable, and accused the airline of insinuating retaliatory action against union members.
The country’s second-largest airline pleaded for immediate intervention by the federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan and Canada Industrial Relations Board.
On Saturday, Mr. O’Regan said he was reviewing a decision made by the industrial relations board to refer a dispute between WestJet and the AMFA for binding arbitration — a process where a third party deliberates on the terms of a collective agreement.
“I will be taking additional steps to protect the interests of the employer, the union and all Canadians traveling over this national holiday weekend,” Mr. O’Regan said in a statement posted on X.
But a new statement later in the day said he respects the authority of the board, which he noted is independent from the government.
“I told them [WestJet and AMFA] they needed to work together with the Canada Industrial Relations Board to resolve their differences and get their first agreement done,” O’Regan said after the meeting on Saturday evening.
The airline’s CEO, Alexis von Hoensbroech, blamed the situation on what he said was a “rogue union from the U.S.” that was trying to make inroads in Canada.
Von Hoensbroech said as far as the airline was concerned bargaining with the union had come to an end once the minister directed the dispute to binding arbitration.
“This makes a strike totally absurd because the reason you actually do a strike is because you need to exercise pressure on the bargaining table,” he said. “If there is no bargaining table it makes no sense, there shouldn’t be a strike.”
He added the union had rejected a contract offer that would have made the airline’s mechanics the “best paid in the country.”
Whatever the outcome of the contract dispute, Gábor Lukács, a Canadian air passenger rights advocate says WestJet has a legal obligation to provide passengers with cancelled flights a reasonable and speedy alternative.
“Under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations they need to reschedule you on another airline or buy a ticket from a competitor,” he said, adding that this should be done within the first few hours after a cancelled flight. “If WestJet is not reachable for several hours they are not fulfilling their obligation.”
Passengers who can’t reach the airline or aren’t offered a clear alternative travel plan should proceed to book a flight at their own expense and send WestJet the bill, Lukacs recommended. Most importantly — ”they should document every message and exchange with the airline.”
Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.
I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.
Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.
Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.
NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.
Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.
The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.
It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.
Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.
Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.
“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.
The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.
“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.
Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.
Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.
In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.
It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.
The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs
It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.
The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.
Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.
Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
