In the news today: Air Canada flight cancellations, Alberta’s third summer town hall

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Some Air Canada flights to be cancelled today

Some Air Canada flights that were scheduled to take off today will be cancelled as the airline braces for a work stoppage this weekend.

The union that represents around 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants is poised to strike just before 1 a.m. on Saturday, as the airline also plans to lock out those workers.

Air Canada says it will begin cancelling flights today, with more disruptions Friday and a complete stoppage by Saturday if it doesn’t reach a last-minute deal with the flight attendants’ union.

It says customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options “to the extent possible.”

Smith to lead Alberta panel at third town hall

A travelling panel collecting public feedback on Alberta’s grievances with Ottawa is set to make its third summer town hall stop tonight.

Premier Danielle Smith and 15 other members of her Alberta Next panel are scheduled to be in Edmonton to brainstorm with people about possible future referendum questions.

The premier has said one of the reasons for the panel is to address concerns that are inspiring separatist sentiment in the province.

Its agenda focuses on six policy ideas, including pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan and creating a provincial police force to replace the RCMP.

Ottawa should help fixer’s family, ex-general says

A former top general says it would be “unconscionable” for Ottawa to allow the family of an Afghan translator who risked his life to help Canadian soldiers to be deported back to Afghanistan.

Retired general Rick Hillier, a former chief of the defence staff, said it would be appalling if Canada failed to help the ex-translator’s sister, who fled to Turkey from Afghanistan but has been denied permission to remain in that country.

“That would be unconscionable, if she ends up getting deported from Turkey and has to go back to Afghanistan to live under that brutal Taliban regime — who hate women just as a starting point,” Hillier told The Canadian Press in a recent interview.

“We can do better.”

Chinese tariff on canola seed comes into force

A Chinese tariff of nearly 76 per cent on Canadian canola seed is set to come into force today.

The duty, announced Tuesday, has already caused the price of one of Canada’s most valuable crops to fall, wiping out millions of dollars in its value.

It comes a year after China launched an anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola.

The investigation was in response to Canada’s 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, and the two countries have since hit each other with various levies.

Canola farmers and Ottawa have rejected claims of dumping, arguing exporters have followed rules-based trade.

Simons opens first Toronto department store

Wandering through Simons’s newest store a day before it opened on Thursday, Bernard Leblanc had a quiet confidence despite the busyness surrounding him.

Across almost every inch of the flagship store at Yorkdale mall in Toronto, staff were scurrying to unwrap and steam the last of the location’s merchandise, vacuum carpets and dress mannequins.

The seemingly menial tasks belied the enormity of what they were all preparing for: Simons’s entry into the venerable Toronto market.

That feat has been a long time coming. La Maison Simons is 185 years old but has taken such a methodical expansion outside its home province of Quebec that it only counted 17 stores until now. While it’s long wanted to head to Toronto, it somehow detoured through Halifax, Vancouver and even the city’s outskirts in nearby Mississauga before forging its way into the heart of Ontario on Thursday.

TIFF backtracks after pulling Oct. 7 documentary

The Toronto International Film Festival has changed course after pulling a documentary about the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel from its lineup.

In a statement sent Wednesday evening, TIFF chief executive officer Cameron Bailey said the festival would work with filmmaker Barry Avrich to find a way to screen the film.

Bailey denied allegations that its previous decision to disinvite the film was a case of censorship.

Earlier in the day, TIFF said that the doc titled “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” didn’t meet the festival’s requirements, including “legal clearance of all footage.”

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025

The Canadian Press