Business

Stranded mom speaks out about travel ordeal due to Westjet strike

Published

4 months ago

July 3, 2024

Mosetta Ferguson says she saved up for more than a year to take her first trip to Canada to visit her daughter, a trip she says was wonderful until her flight home was cancelled as a result of a strike involving WestJet mechanics that stranded thousands of people over the long weekend.

Ferguson, who lives in the Caribbean, arrived in June for a two-week stay with her daughter in Thorold, Ont. in Niagara Region.

She was set to fly out Saturday with her 14-year-old and her five-year-old. So her daughter drove the three to the airport at 4 a.m., only to discover that the flight had been cancelled because of the short-lived 48-hour strike.

They turned around and went back to Thorold, returning to Pearson at 6 a.m. Tuesday for the rescheduled flight at 9:30 a.m.

But when they arrived, Ferguson says, they were told they didn’t have tickets for that flight.

“Why are we not on the flight? Because they did not send us a rebooking when they rescheduled the flight,” she says.

Ferguson said that her older daughter opens one restaurant early and closes another late and was not able to make another three-hour round-trip to the airport on Thursday, so the mom and her two younger children stayed at the airportwhile they waited to be rebooked on another flight.

While the airline provided her with one night at a hotel and three $15 meal vouchers to share between the three of them, she was told that they would need to pay out-of-pocket for any further expenses and seek reimbursement later.

However Ferguson says she’s already spent the extra money she saved for the trip on additional gas and food and doesn’t have anymore left to purchase extra meals and another night at a hotel after being rebooked on another flight set to depart Toronto on Thursday.

“This is now my fifth day over my time. I have already spent the extra money,” Ferguson says.

“I have a debit card that I think had a few dollars on it, but I can’t even use it because it keeps getting declined. I can’t reach the bank to find out what’s going on.”

WestJet was forced to park 130 aircraft at 13 airports across Canada as a result of the strike, resulting in hundreds of cancelled flights.

Though most passengers were rebooked after a deal was reached to end the strike on Sunday night, the airline has warned that “returning to business-as-usual flying will take time and further disruptions over the coming week are to be anticipated.”

Ferguson said that the situation has effectively left her stranded with two kids and no money to cover expenses.

“Right now, my only thing is to make sure whatever I’m able to find, I make sure my children are eating. Even if I don’t eat, I have to make sure they eat,” she says through tears.

What’s more, she said, nobody at the airline seems willing to help. While a manager spoke with her the first day and acknowledged they failed to send her confirmation of the new flight, she claims that she has been unable to reach anyone at the airline despite calling repeatedly in recent days.

“It’s just, it’s just nerve-wracking for me, because I have to be in a situation where I have to try figure out where their (her kids) next meal is coming from,” Ferguson says.

In an email to CP24, Westjet said its teams “are working diligently to support all impacted guests as we rebuild to normal operations” in the wake of the strike.

“Unfortunately, as July long weekend is a peak travel period across Canada, limited availability exists both within our network and through alternative carriers, making options for reaccommodation extremely challenging,” the airline said.

“In compliance with the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), in the event reaccommodation with WestJet or an alternative airline isn’t available within 48 hours of a guest’s scheduled departure, guests are entitled to request a refund to their original form of payment.”

The airline did not respond to the specifics of Ferguson’s situation, but said they encourage travellers to check the Canadian Transportation Agency’s website to learn about their rights.

Ferguson said while she understands the strike caused problems for the airline, it’s not her fault.

“I just, wish that they would realize, yes, you may not have been the one that caused the strike, but your customers did not cause the strike either. So why should I pick up the slack?” she said. “”When you call their phone, you get a message, and then it cuts. You can’t even speak to anybody at the airline. You can’t get them on the phone, you can’t get to the managers at the airport, you can’t reach anybody.”

Her message to the airline, she says, is a simple one: “You need to be a little more humane to people,” realizing that not all travellers might have the funds to sustain themselves through a nearly-weeklong delay.

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Business

Carry On Canadian Business. Carry On!

Published

20 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Steven Kaszab

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.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

Business

Imperial to cut prices in NWT community after low river prevented resupply by barges

Published

23 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Business

U.S. vote has Canadian business leaders worried about protectionist policies: KPMG

Published

23 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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