Talks between air traffic control workers and NAV Canada have broken down, and workers are now concerned they will be replaced by contractors if they strike.

The workers’ union and NAV Canada, a private not-for-profit corporation which operates air traffic control at airports across Canada, reached an impasse last week. The workers are represented by Unifor Local 1016, which says the company notified them it has a service contractor lined up in case of a strike.

Unifor national president Lana Payne says a recent victory on the East Coast should encourage NAV Canada to avoid a strike, and called on the federal government to move on Bill C-58 which has been working its way through parliament for months.

“We have been fighting tooth-and-nail for the federal government to pass anti-scab legislation now,” she said in a statement. “Let Unifor’s actions at CN Autoport be a warning to other companies that our union won’t tolerate scab labour. We will defend our members’ right to strike and to free and fair collective bargaining.

"My message to NAVCan: Unifor is ready. All of us.”

The union was on strike for more than a month at the Nova Scotia port, picketing to prevent replacement workers from entering the site. The strike ended earlier this month after the union's demands were met.

Workers in Air Traffic Control Training, Operational Support, Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), Flight Data Analytics and Aeronautical Information Management at NAV Canada locations from coast-to-coast are represented by Unifor. Workers recently voted 95% in favour of striking over wages, staffing, and scheduling issues.

They will be in strike position May 4.

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Technicians who work for NAV Canada could strike next month, potentially affecting airports across Canada.

The Canadian Air Navigation Specialists Association (CANSA) is represented by Unifor Local 1016. On April 11 the union announced members voted 95% in favour of striking, and will be in legal position to do so on May 4.

“This result demonstrates a strong mandate from members to pursue our demands for fair wages, staffing practices, scheduling of hours of work, and job security,” said union local president James Walker in a statement today. “We are committed to open and honest bargaining at the table with NAV Canada, but we’re also prepared to support the membership if the employer will not budge.”

NAV Canada is a private, not-for-profit corporation which manages air traffic control, flight information, and aeronautical services at Canadian airports.

The union has been bargaining since May last year. They asked for federal mediation in February and are still at the negotiating table, with one more day of talks on Friday.

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Canada Post has issued a commemorative envelope to mark the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force. 

The front of the envelope features a collage of photographs offering a historical overview of the aircraft and work of the RCAF. 

The back shows the RCAF's red maple leaf surrounded by white in a blue ring, which was introduced in 1965. 

Canada Post worked closely with the air force on the creation of the commemorative envelope, which is a postal collectible and is not mailable. 

The commemorative envelope is available at canadapost.ca and can be ordered through postal outlets. 

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The federal Liberal Party has announced a new, national school food program in Canada. 

The announcement was made earlier today, with the federal government set to invest $1 billion over 5 years to provide meals for 400,000 more kids every year. 

Finance minister Chrystia Freeland says they are going to get it done by working with provincial, territorial, and indigenous partners. 

“We want to get started as early as the 2024-2025 school year,” said Freeland. 

She says they hope the program can give parents peace of mind knowing that their children are having healthy food. 

This comes as the Canadian teacher’s federation launched a campaign to get a nationwide food program in the upcoming federal budget. 

The government aims to include the program in the upcoming federal budget. 

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Health Canada has ordered a recall of Fisher-Price Little People Mickey and Friends figure packs because of a potential choking hazard.

Parents are urged to immediately stop their children from using the figures and contact Mattel to return them for a refund. 

Health Canada says only the Donald Duck and Daisy Duck figures present a choking hazard risk because their heads can become detached during use. 

The figures were sold in Canada in a pack that can be identified by the model number HPJ88, which is found on the base of the Goofy figure. 

In the US, Mattel has received 3 reports of the heads detaching, but no injuries have been reported. 

There are no reports of the heads coming loose or injuries in Canada. 

Both figures are about 7 centimetres tall. The Donald Duck figure has a blue shirt with thin yellow stripes, a blue and black hat and a red bow tie, while Daisy Duck has a light purple shirt, turquoise necklace and bracelet, pink shoes and a pink bow. 

The figures have outstretched arms. 

More information can be found on the Health Canada website. 

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A three-year audit into the province’s implementation of overdose prevention and supervised consumption says it was not effective.

The audit from auditor general Michael Pickup issued seven recommendations to the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions and the Ministry of Health.

The audit found that the ministries did monitor operational performance, funding, and reported publicly on the implementation of overdose prevention and supervised consumption services.

Other positives included framework development for data collection, funding monitoring and funding adjustment and evaluation of prescribed safer supply.

However, it says deficiencies in operational guidance lacked minimum service standards and did not always reflect engagement with health authorities, people with lived and living experience and Indigenous peoples.

It also found “persistent” challenges and barriers to province-wide implementation were not addressed and there were deficiencies in target setting and evaluation. The ministries also didn’t develop strategies to address prominent barriers to implementation and did not report publicly on the performance of prescribed safer supply.

With the findings, the auditor general is recommending the ministries work collaboratively with health authorities, service providers and Indigenous peoples to make appropriate minimum-level standards province-wide.

It also will aim to update guidance for OPS/SCS to ensure it meets the needs of all these groups.

The ministries are also recommended to work proactively with health authorities to develop targets that are achievable within given time frames, create new systematic evaluation, and strategies to articulate the ministries’ and health authorities’ responsibilities for implementation and continue to work with health authorities to create community-level guidance.

The audit also asks the ministries to develop an action plan to address barriers to prescribed safer supply access, and ministries report regularly to the public and health sector partners on whether the program is effectively meeting its objectives.

The ministries have accepted all the recommendations.

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Heavy-hitters from the federal NDP were on the Island Wednesday, pushing the federal government to help feed struggling Island families.

Party leader Jagmeet Singh, along with Island MPs Rachel Blaney (North Island - Powell River) and Gord Johns (Courtenay-Alberni), visited Courtenay’s LUSH Valley to talk about families struggling with rising food costs. Singh says the Liberal government has failed to deliver on a promised school food program.

"In this upcoming budget, one of our specific demands is that the federal government finally commit to a national school lunch program. We want to make this happen across the country," he said.

Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns says without a national program, community groups like LUSH have picked up the slack.

"I know I speak for many people when I say that we're grateful for this work," he said. "But it's crucial to point out that it should not fall to organizations like LUSH Valley to do this work without support from all levels of government."

Executive Director of LUSH Maurita Prato says the entire non-profit sector is struggling to maintain programs because in the current economy fewer people are making charitable donations. She says for LUSH to maintain its programs, it will need more access to government funding and grant programs.

LUSH partners with 25 local farms in the Comox Valley and 30 community groups to provide school food boxes to needy kids and families. The organization also educates people about cooking, and helps with school gardens and community kitchens.

— With files from Justin Waddell

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You can expect to see a lot fewer monarch butterflies returning to BC this spring, judging by bad news from Mexico.

Environment Canada researcher Greg Mitchell was there this winter for the annual Monarch butterfly count. Monarchs from all over North America, including BC, migrate south every fall to winter in a few hectares of forest in central Mexico.

Mitchell says the winter population this year is the second-lowest count ever recorded, describing their wintering grounds in the Oyamel Fir Forests of Mexico as an ‘empty cathedral.’

Monarch populations have declined drastically in recent years, raising concerns about the survival of the iconic species, which ranges all across North America. A decline in milkweed thanks to increased herbicide use is believed to be a major factor, along with climate change and habitat loss.

One way people in Canada can help is to plant milkweed in their gardens. The plant is crucial for Monarch butterflies -- it's the only plant on which they lay their eggs, and the only plant newly-hatched caterpillars will eat. The toxins in the milkweed plant are absorbed by the caterpillars, making them, and later their butterfly form, taste terrible to predators.

Adult Monarchs also need a variety of flowering plants to provide the nectar on which they feed. You can obtain milkweed, native plants and wildflowers from your local garden center or native plant society.

Visit Environment Canada's website about the butterflies for more information.

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Efforts to restore five Island estuaries are getting international acclaim this week.

On Wednesday the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, endorsed the Enhancing Estuary Resilience project as an official contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Federal fisheries minister Diane Lebouthillier says the endorsement shows Canada is succeeding in building healthy ecosystems and fish stocks in BC.

"Understanding the impacts of sea-level rise and other effects of climate change on coastal estuaries is vital to improving the health of wild fish stocks in BC. The Nature Trust of British Columbia’s important work to monitor, assess and restore this crucial habitat for Pacific salmon, in collaboration with First Nations partners is central to our goal of protecting the Pacific salmon population," she said in a news release.

The project is headed by the Nature Trust of BC. The goal is to restore estuaries in the Quatse and Salmon Rivers on the North Island, as well as the Nanaimo, Englishman and Cowichan Rivers.

To be endorsed and to have our project attached to the Cultural Heritage Framework Programme demonstrates how impactful a project can be that engages meaningfully with indigenous communities to facilitate co-design, develop capacity, enable greater diversity and showcase the integration of science and cultural knowledge and heritage," said Tom Reid, Nature Trust of BC's West Coast Conservation Land Manager, in the release. "This recognition is a reflection of all of our partners’ commitment throughout the coast of British Columbia to working together in a meaningful and collaborative way to ensure these ecosystems are resilient into the future, not only to support fish and wildlife but also the coastal communities that rely upon them.”

The project involves 12 First Nations, local governments, environmental groups and academic institutions, and has already restored some parts of the rivers to their pre-industrial states.

for more information about the different projects, visit the Nature Trust of BC's "Estuary Resilience" website. 

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An NDP bill to keep women safe is making its way through parliament.

According to the NDP, the bill would be used to protect people facing domestic abuse by putting coercive behavior into the criminal code.

Adding it means abuse patterns like threats, humiliation, isolating someone from support, and depriving them of independence would be criminalized.

NDP MP Laurel Collins says while intimate partner violence looks different for each person, the consequences are gut-wrenching.

“Criminalizing coercive control would be a step that would have a huge impact on women’s lives,” said Collins.

The bill comes as over 95 percent of victims have reported experiencing coercive behavior and control, which could lead to mental health concerns, serious distress, fear, and isolation.

The bill was pushed through by all parties, with it now being studied.

The NDP adds that if the study is done quickly, the bill could soon be voted into law.

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A threatened Island seabird’s recent win in court is good news for endangered birds across Canada.

Now, federal environment minister Stephen Guilbeault must reconsider his ministry’s duties to protect all endangered birds, including the threatened marbled murrelet, which nests in the mossy branches of old-growth trees along the coastline.

The minister issued a “protection statement” for the birds in 2022 after the south Island Fairy Creek blockade to protect old growth trees got national attention. However, last week Justice Paul Crampton ruled it wasn’t good enough. He says that critical habitat needs to be protected for threatened birds, not just their nests.

“This decision is a win for the endangered and threatened birds that call Canada home, whether they nest high in old-growth trees in British Columbia or on islands in Atlantic Canada," said Ecojustice lawyer Andhra Azevedo in a statement after the court decision. "For almost 20 years of the Species at Risk Act, federal ministers have avoided their legal duties to protect critical habitat while habitat loss and degradation have continued to be the primary threats to most of these bird species. Now, the Federal Court has confirmed that the law requires the federal government to do more to ensure the survival and recovery of these species.”

Ecojustice brought the case to court last fall on behalf of the Sierra Club of BC and the Wilderness Committee.

RELATED: Environmental groups take Feds to court over endangered seabirds

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Softwood lumber producers in BC will soon have to pay more in duties to access the US market.

The US Department of Commerce is increasing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber from 8% to nearly 14%. Federal trade minister Mary Ng says the duties already hurt customers on both sides of the border, and this will make housing even less affordable for Americans.

The BC government also weighed in, echoing Ng’s disappointment. In a joint statement ministers say the duties lead to higher prices and unstable markets on both sides of the border. They say Canada and the US need to work together to build a stronger forest sector.

The increased duties will kick in sometime in summer.

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Canada is challenging the latest round of duties imposed on softwood lumber exporters by the United States.

Federal trade minister Mary Ng said yesterday Canada has filed a challenge through the Canada – United States – Mexico Agreement, the successor to the NAFTA free trade agreement.

Ng says the duties of around eight per cent set by the US are unwarranted and unjust. She says they don’t only harm Canadian lumber producers, but also US customers and businesses that need Canadian lumber.

She says Canada is open to discussing a resolution that provides stability and predictability for Canadian producers. Meanwhile, she says Canada will continue defending the softwood lumber industry on Vancouver Island and across the country.

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Heavy rainfall, forest fires, widespread smoke and sudden temperature changes are at the top of Environment Canada’s list of the biggest weather events of the year.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, senior climatologist David Phillips says the Canadian landscape took a big hit from extreme weather and climate-related disasters.

“You’ve seen the scenes, scorched earth, charred buildings, smoking tree trunks, debris flows everywhere from major storms, dry riverbeds, fields and neighbourhoods underwater for a long time and that hellish orange hazy sky that seemed to permeate the air,” said Phillips.

“This is what climate change looks like and it’s not pretty. There were no province or territory that was immune, no Canadians untouched by the extreme weather of this year.”

The list kicks off with a tornado about 70 km from Calgary on Canada Day, generating winds up to 275 km/h. Phillips said it was the most powerful tornado in 35 years.

Quebec’s very wet July rolled in at No. 9 along with cold spells across the country despite it being a warm year at No. 8.

No. 7 was an ice storm that hit Montreal in April causing $330 million in damage and following was Hurricane Lee with its powerful winds.

Dry conditions in the west and wet conditions in the east came in at No. 5 while the fatal deluge in Nova Scotia was fourth. Coming in at No. 3 was the hottest year not only in Canada but also around the world. It was the warmest year in 76 years for our country; even the northern parts saw temperatures hit 38 degrees.

Taking the second spot on the leaderboard was the enormous quantity of smoke from massive wildfires that spread across the country, into the U.S. and would also make it to countries like Greenland and Germany.

“Two-thirds of the people in the Northwest Territories left home,” said Phillips. “Canadian cities, many of them, competed for the most polluted city in the world. Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto at times.”

Phillips adds there were over 1,000 hours of smoke in the skies in northern Saskatchewan and B.C.

Taking the top spot were the unprecedented wildfires, burning mass quantities of forest including five per cent of the boreal forest.

Phillips added the fires started early this year and stayed late to create the brutal fire season for the country. He says it was two and a half times worse than the previous worst year.

“Fires were everywhere and that was the difference this year. We were fighting fires in the north, the west and the east, sometimes all at once,” said Phillips. “June 6, there were out-of-control fires in all the provinces except for Prince Edward Island and Nunavut.

“How do you move men and women and machinery and hoses when you’re dealing with fire fronts in so many areas?”

While lightning was down this year, Phillips says the Donnie Creek fire in northern B.C. was caused by a few small strikes.

Looking back on the year, Phillips says the evidence of climate change is made even more real by the disasters and shows what could be in store for the future.

“If the climate continues to warm at the hands of human beings, I think we should expect to see more wildfires. Larger, and burning more area,” said Phillips.

“I think the evidence is clear and consistent and more certain that human-caused climate change is making weather extremes, more extreme and leading to more catastrophes. In the past it used to be an extreme and then separated by decades of normal weather.”

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The Royal Canadian Air Force will be getting new unmanned aircraft soon, according to the Department of National Defence.

During a news conference at CFB Comox, Marie-France Lalonde, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence says Canada will be getting a fleet of 11 MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft.

The fleet will be purchased from General Atomics, a U.S-based company.

Lalonde says the total value will be nearly $2.5 billion.

“This will include all our specialized equipment, initial weapons, in-service support, training devices, courses, infrastructure, software, and hardware,” said Lalonde.

“On a variety of missions when time is of the essence, this new aircraft can fly with real-time information and rapid response options.”

She says that the aircraft will be the size of a fighter jet, with a wider wingspan, with hopes of having it certified to the same standard as a piloted aircraft.

Along with being able to carry out missions over much longer distances, it will also be used to protect Canadian and allied troops, with the fleet to be stationed at 19 Wing in Comox and 14 Wing Greenwood in Nova Scotia.

Lalonde adds they are anticipating up to 700 jobs while working on the project, with 25 personnel to be added to 19 Wing.

The first aircrafts are expected to arrive in 2028, and for the full fleet to be online by 2033.

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This year was one of the worst ever for Canadian families struggling to put food on their tables.

The new Food Price Report from Canadian universities shows that faced with rising food prices, people tightened their belts and spent less. Food bank usage also hit record highs across the country with 2 million visits, nearly an 80% increase from before the pandemic.

On the Island, food banks have reported an increase in clients, including many people with jobs who can’t keep up with rising costs.

“The year 2023 posed significant financial challenges for Canadian families, one of the toughest in recent memory,” Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, project lead, professor, and Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.

The report predicts food costs for an average family of four will rise next year by around $700, less than this year’s thousand-dollar increase.

The report looks at what’s driving price increases, and highlights inflation, global conflicts disrupting supply chains, and ongoing ripple effects from the pandemic as causes.

It also takes aim at the federal carbon tax, particularly its increasing effects on farmers. The tax is currently at $75 per tonne but by 2030 it will be $170. The 2023 report shows by 2030, a farmer with 5,000 acres will be paying $150,000 purely in carbon taxes. Most farm equipment runs on diesel fuel and natural gas, with no alternatives available, and unavoidable carbon taxes may cause prices to increase across the entire supply chain. However, the report points out, not much in-depth research has been done on the effects of charging the tax to farmers and food producers, or the transportation sector.

“It would be misleading to assert that carbon pricing has a direct and straightforward impact on retail food prices, and it would be equally misleading to claim otherwise. Multiple factors come into play, including consumer behaviour and supply chain dynamics,” it says.

Next year’s prices are expected to increase on average in BC by around 6%, the same as this year. Increases are mainly driven by baked goods, meat, and vegetables. Dairy price increases were lower than expected, and will be less than 2% next year.

The report looked at federal legislation being crafted to create a code of conduct for Canadian grocery companies. It found other countries which have introduced codes have had food prices go down as a result.

On the bright side, the report also predicts there will be a mild reduction in prices next year for some essential food items.

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The aging Aurora surveillance planes at 19 Wing in Comox are being replaced by new Boeing-made aircraft, the government announced today.

The federal government has struck a 6 billion dollar deal with Boeing to purchase 16 P-8A Poseidon multi-mission aircraft. The same type of aircraft are in service with the US Navy and other Canadian allies. They are earmarked to replace the 40-year-old Auroras in service in BC and Nova Scotia as maritime patrol aircraft.

In a statement, the federal government says the planes are needed "to defend Canadian interests in our maritime approaches, the Arctic, and internationally, the RCAF needs to be able to identify, detect, track and potentially engage advanced surface and sub-surface threats using an array of highly sophisticated sensors and weapons. The RCAF must have self-protection systems that afford our aviators a measure of survivability against known threats. The P-8A meets these requirements. It will protect Canadians, enhance our Arctic security and national sovereignty, and enable Canada to meet its NATO, NORAD and other obligations well into the future."

In total 16 planes will be delivered, the first arriving in 2026. All are expected to be in service within 10 years.

They will take over the Aurora’s role in protecting the longest coastline in the world by detecting security threats, illegal fishing, drug trafficking, and polluters along Canadian coastlines.

“In today’s complex global environment, Canada requires a military that is capable of protecting our country well into the future," said federal Defence Minister Bill Blair in a press release. "We are committed to ensuring that our current and future aviators have the most advanced equipment possible to do just that. Canada requires a multi-mission fleet to contribute to the safety and security of Canadians and protect the sovereignty of a country with the longest coastline in the world. The Boeing P-8A Poseidon is the right aircraft to fulfil this role.”

The aircraft aren't just for surveillance. The government says they can perform maritime and overland surveillance with integrated Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), anti-submarine and anti-surface capabilities.

"These aircraft are not just airplanes, but complex weapon systems capable of transporting and launching multiple sonobuoys, torpedoes, and anti-ship weapons to protect Canada’s water on all three coasts," says the government.

In a statement Boeing says the purchase "will benefit hundreds of Canadian companies, and bring decades of prosperity to Canada through platform sustainment delivered by our Canadian industry partners."

Boeing says the purchase brings benefits of nearly 3,000 jobs and $358 million annually in economic output to Canada, according to a 2023 independent study by Ottawa-based Doyletech Corporation.

"This is a very important day for the Royal Canadian Air Force and for Boeing," said Charles "Duff" Sullivan, managing director, Boeing Canada. "The P-8 offers unmatched capabilities and is the most affordable solution for acquisition and life-cycle sustainment costs. There's no doubt the P-8 will protect Canada's oceans and its borders for future generations."

Boeing says the P-8 has proven capabilities for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief response.

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There’s no relief coming after all for BC softwood lumber exporters, after the US International Trade Commission ruled today duties will stay in place.

The trade commission published its decision today that revoking duties would be harmful to American lumber producers, who have complained for decades that Canada's Crown lands and stumpage systems give Canadian companies an unfair advantage in the marketplace.

Federal minister of trade and export Mary Ng says Canada is disappointed with the decision, and that duties on Canadian exports are unfair, unjustified, and harm Canadian businesses and communities.

She says the duties also hurt American customers facing housing supply and affordability challenges who need Canadian lumber.

Provincially, Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests, and Jagrup Brar, Minister of State for Trade, issued a statement condemning the duties, pointing out that a NAFTA panel ruled against them earlier this fall.

"These duties are hurting people on both sides of our shared border, creating uncertainty for forestry professionals and communities here at home, and making it more costly to build homes in the U.S. Both parties will benefit when we work together to make a stronger forest sector for Canada and the United States," they say. "B.C. will always defend the 56,000 hard-working people in our forest industry against these restrictions. In B.C., we are building a forestry sector focused on sustainability and we continue to provide markets around the world with the highest-quality timber.

"We will also always stand firm against any unfair actions taken against our forestry workers. This includes relentlessly pursuing our claims through all available avenues. We continue to work with the federal government, provincial partners and our forest industry, and we are determined to see a just outcome for B.C.'s forest sector."

The average duty faced by Canadian producers is currently just under 8%.

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With the number of international students in BC returning to pre-pandemic levels, Stats Canada released a report today about where they are coming from and what they are doing when they’re not in class.

The report found at least 25% of all post-secondary international students are not attending a publicly-funded institution. Some are attending private universities, which don’t have data available. Others are working while in the country on study permits.

Most international students come from India and China. Indian students made up 35% of enrolled students, but nearly half of all permit-holders who aren’t attending classes.

The data also shows nearly half of students granted study permits who didn't study, left Canada.

Stats Canada cautioned the latest figures are from 2019, and may not represent the post-pandemic situation.

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Canada’s independent environmental auditor says DFO remains in the dark when it comes to the data it needs to manage fisheries.

A report to Parliament this week by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development says the federal fisheries ministry has been slow to modernize how it collects and manages information. As well, DFO still hasn’t fulfilled commitments made during an audit seven years ago.

“Without dependable and timely catch data, the department does not have the important information it needs to support the sustainable management of fisheries, and it runs the risk that fish stocks are overexploited,” the report adds.

The audit found that because of information gaps, the fish catch information used by DFO managers was “to a large extent not dependable.”

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