National Newswatch

Canadian Blood Services in talks around paid donations of plasma as supply dwindles

Aug 13 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — Canadian Blood Services is in talks with companies that pay donors for plasma as it faces a decrease in collections. The blood-collection agency issued a statement on Friday saying it is in "ongoing discussion with governments and the commercial plasma industry" on how to more than double domestic plasma collection to 50 per cent of […]

Transat gets $100M bailout as debt load mounts despite travel rebound

Jul 29 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Transat AT Inc. has secured another emergency loan from Ottawa as the tour operator struggles to shore up its balance sheet. Transat said Friday it has reached a deal to borrow $100 million from the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation. The Crown corporation loan comes precisely 15 months after Transat received a $700-million […]

Airport screening officers go casual to call out ‘disrespect’ from Ottawa

Jun 20 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — Airport security screeners are going public with what they deem substandard pay and "disrespect" from the federal agency that oversees their work. The screeners are wearingstreet clothes at 42 airports as part of a new "Casual Monday action" to draw attention to concerns over wages and working conditions amid negotiations around a new collective agreement, […]

Half a million passengers faced delays on international flights at Pearson in May

Jun 10 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — "Pearson airport is hell on earth." So declared Ryan Whitney, a former NHLer, in a social media post from Toronto’s main airport this week. The one-time Edmonton Oilers defenceman laid bare his exasperation after undergoing a gauntlet of lines, delays, cancellations, and rebookings during an Air Canada stopover at Canada’s busiest travel hub. He said […]

Tory leadership contenders cross swords on inflation, Quebec’s secularism law

May 26 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — LAVAL, Que. — Candidates competing to lead the federal Conservatives traded barbsover contentious language laws, inflation and the trucker convoy in the race's only French-language debate Wednesday night, with Pierre Poilievre finding himself on the defensive through parts of the evening. The debate took place in Quebec, a crucial region that has proven instrumental in […]

Rusty travellers, uneven flight volumes slowing airport security lines: Minister

May 11 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says Canada's airport security agency is increasing its staffing, but that a lack of workers is not the main culprit for the unacceptable delays passengers are facing this spring. Multiple airports are reporting extremely long lines at airport security and border screening checkpoints while passengers say they are being […]

Ex-Guantanamo detainee sues Canada over 14-year detention and torture

Apr 23 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — A former detainee of Guantanamo Bay is taking legal action against the Canadian government over its alleged role in his 14 years behind bars marked by torture and intimidation. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian who lived in Montreal for under two months, filed a $35-million lawsuit Friday alleging that faulty intelligence provided by Canadian authorities […]

Canadian manufacturers hope for exemptions from latest Buy American provisions

Apr 19 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — Canadian manufacturers are once again facing the risk of being hit by U.S. protectionism and the need to fight for crucial exemptions.  The challenge comes after the Biden administration announced new procurement guidanceMonday that requires the construction material purchased for federally-funded infrastructure projects to be produced in the U.S. Dennis Darby, head of Canadian Manufacturers […]

Ottawa pledges cash for supply chain problems, but plenty of gaps persist

Apr 14 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — Ottawa plans to spend more than a half-billion dollars to fix supply chain issues, but experts say it falls far short of the kind of comprehensive strategy needed to address long-standing problems. Last week's federal budget commits $603 million over five years to support transportation network upgrades such as port or rail expansions on top […]

Sixth wave prompts renewed labour crunch in restaurants, retail and manufacturing

Apr 8 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — After two years of on-and-off lockdowns, Rachel Reinders felt a renewed sense of hope last month as pandemic restrictions eased and spring dawned on the cusp of a new patio season. But soon Reinders, who heads administration at the Lieutenant's Pump pub in Ottawa, had to scale back operations yet again, shutting down its lunchtime […]

Transport Canada fines passengers on Sunwing party flight

Mar 8 2022 — Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press — MONTREAL — Passengers are paying a pricey penalty for partying aboard a Sunwing flight last year that devolved into a raucous mile-high soirée. The federal Transport Department said Tuesday it issued unspecified fines against a half-dozen passengers who were not vaccinated when they boarded the day before New Year's Eve. Videos of the charter voyage […]

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