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Politics

    • Holiday travel mess shows why Canadian air travel industry needs competition: NDP

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    OTTAWA -

    New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says the holiday travel woes that left thousands of passengers stranded at airports or struggling to find flights home show why there should be more competition in Canada's airspace.

    In a press conference Wednesday, Singh said the lack of choice for passengers is also making flying less affordable, and he's calling on the Liberal government to find ways to make the airline industry more competitive.

    The Canadian Transportation Agency requires domestic air service operators to be majority-owned and controlled by Canadians, limiting options for travellers -- especially in rural or remote areas.

    Over the holidays, hundreds of people were stranded in Mexico when Sunwing cancelled flights, and the airline has stopped flying from Saskatchewan entirely until next month.

    Air Canada is discontinuing flights from Saskatoon and Regina to Calgary this month after it discontinued flights from Yellowknife to Edmonton last year.

    Singh called on Transport Minister Omar Alghabra to ensure there is better oversight.

    "We need to make sure people have access to being able to get around the country, and that it is affordable," Singh said.

    "And right now, for many people, it is not at all. It's something we need to look at and find solutions for."

    A spokeswoman for Alghabra's office said the government is doing everything it can to support travellers.

    "All options are on the table to ensure that what happened over the holidays does not happen again," Nadine Ramadan said in a written statement.

    Singh also said the NDP wants the CEOs of Sunwing and Air Canada to answer questions at a future transport committee meeting.

    Liberal member of Parliament Peter Schiefke, who chairs the House of Commons transport committee, tweeted on Tuesday that he plans to call a meeting but has not yet done so.

    Although standing committees usually meet on a previously adopted schedule or at the call of the chair, a meeting can be called at the written request of any four of its members.

    The chair would then be required to call a meeting to consider the written request within five calendar days.

    This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2023.

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

    A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    A West Vancouver company has been ordered to repay a homebuyer's $1-million deposit after it failed to complete construction on the property in time.

    During the campaign, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad has repeatedly said people are "dying on the streets" in the province – and on Tuesday he claimed to have witnessed that very thing in downtown Vancouver while he was on his way to the leaders' debate.

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    Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.

    Canada

    • Jennifer Johnson, Lacombe-Ponoka legislature member, has been welcomed back into the United Conservative Party (UCP).

    • During the campaign, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad has repeatedly said people are "dying on the streets" in the province – and on Tuesday he claimed to have witnessed that very thing in downtown Vancouver while he was on his way to the leaders' debate.

    • A bill restricting the sale of long-bladed weapons was introduced in Manitoba Wednesday by Justice Minister Matt Wiebe.

    • American actor and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo is weighing in on British Columbia politics, lauding the B.C. Green Party's stance on fossil fuels ahead of the Oct. 19 election.

    • Saskatchewan's highest court has granted Dillon Whitehawk an appeal and a new trial has been ordered for the 2019 deaths of Jordan Denton and Keenan Toto.

    • A 42-year-old Winnipeg man has been charged with human smuggling following an investigation near a Canada-U.S. border crossing in Manitoba.

    World

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    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • What the 5 stages of grief are, and how to get through them

      While there's debate among experts about the stages of grief, 'people who are in the pain of grief are just saying, ‘Help me,'' death and grieving expert David Kessler said. Here's what the five stages of grief are, and how you can consider and process them in whichever order you experience them.

    Sports

    • There was a time J.T. Miller struggled to work his way into an NHL lineup. Now the 31-year-old is a stalwart centre for the Vancouver Canucks — and he's set to play his 800th regular-season game Wednesday.

    • Sam Montembeault made 47 saves, Cole Caufield scored the game-winning goal and the Montreal Canadiens opened the NHL season with a 1-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday at the Bell Centre.

    Autos

    • video

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      Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.

    • Mercedes-Benz has partnered up with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) and the provincial government to launch a new “incubator programâ€. One of the first three locations is Windsor, with the other two going to Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo.

    Local Spotlight

    Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

    Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.

    A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.

    Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

    A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

    Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

    Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

    Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.

    • It all happened within a matter of seconds. Christopher Taylor was biking near an East Vancouver park on a leisurely Sunday morning when he looked left to see a police cruiser barrelling toward him.

    • The parents of a teen who died of a suspected drug overdose are calling on the government to improve addiction and mental health care.

    • On the heels of a commanding performance at the only televised leaders’ debate of the 2024 provincial election, the leader of the BC Green Party was scheduled to speak at a lively rally after making a public safety announcement in downtown Vancouver, but lost her voice and missed it at the last minute.

    • William Osler Health System is apologizing for an incident in which an elderly Sikh patient’s facial hair was shaved 'without consent and without medical necessity' by staff at Brampton Civic Hospital.

    • Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is expressing regret for not attending a massive vigil held earlier this week where the city’s Jewish community commemorated one year since the October 7 terrorist attack. But her explanation isn’t adding up, event organizers say.

    • As hurricane Milton slams into Florida, many Canadians living in the storm's path are preparing to evacuate or hunker down.

    • Calgary police say more charges are expected against a man accused of intentionally starting a fire that caused an explosion in northeast Calgary over the weekend.

    • One person is dead following a motor-vehicle collision in Calgary's southwest on Wednesday evening.

    • Halloween is right around the corner, but residents of a South Kanata community say they've been living in what feels like a horror movie for over a month.

    • As the LRT's new north-south line prepares to open, many Barrhaven transit users will still have to use buses and transfer to commute downtown.

    • The City of Cornwall says it has “parted ways†with Mathieu Fleury as the city's chief administrative officer, though the details of his departure are unclear.

    • Three young people aged 17, 19 and 20 were arrested after shots were fired late on Tuesday near Old Montreal.

    • Sam Montembeault made 47 saves, Cole Caufield scored the game-winning goal and the Montreal Canadiens opened the NHL season with a 1-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday at the Bell Centre.

    • Residents are once again calling for the removal of the bike path along Terrebonne Street in NDG to be taken down because of disruptions to traffic and parking.

    • Residents of communities like Allard say there are traffic snarls on local roads every morning, leading to dangerous driving.

    • On Wednesday, Edmonton police posted video of a large encampment found excavated under the High Level Bridge in August.

    • Connor McDavid is slated to skate with a familiar offensive duo while Leon Draisaitl will line up with two of the newest Edmonton Oilers hired guns Wednesday night at Rogers Place to open their National Hockey League (NHL) season.

    • A 14-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy near a Halifax mall earlier this year.

    • Premier Tim Houston said he was notified on Monday morning that funds had been allegedly stolen from the Pictou East Riding Association.

    • A 42-year-old Winnipeg man has been charged with human smuggling following an investigation near a Canada-U.S. border crossing in Manitoba.

    • A bill restricting the sale of long-bladed weapons was introduced in Manitoba Wednesday by Justice Minister Matt Wiebe.

    • A Winnipeg landlord is facing $9,000 in penalties following a mass eviction at a Winnipeg apartment block this summer.

    • A Saskatchewan Party candidate publicly apologized on Wednesday after it was revealed that he used a racial slur in caucus offices a year and a half ago.

    • RCMP in the Esterhazy area are searching for suspects after the driver of a stolen vehicle fled from police on Monday.

    • For Scarlett Hicks, everyday life is challenging, as the two-year-old lives with a long list of medical conditions.

    • One person was struck by a GO train, near the Kitchener station, on Wednesday morning.

    • A former employee of CTV Kitchener has found a few memories buried in the walls of our old home at 864 King Street West.

    • Lithium batteries, found in everything from cellphones to electric vehicles, have become a part of our daily lives – but recent fires have prompted concerns about their use.

    • A Saskatchewan Party candidate publicly apologized on Wednesday after it was revealed that he used a racial slur in caucus offices a year and a half ago.

    • Healthcare workers rallied outside St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon Wednesday, advocating for better conditions in emergency rooms.

    • Milton is shaping up to be a monster of a storm, expected to strike Florida as a Category 3 hurricane, just weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the region.

    • BREAKING

      BREAKING

      Western University and workers represented by CUPE 2361 have reached a tentative agreement. Members could be back to work as early as Oct. 17.

    • This latest crash was the second fatal and third serious accident at this intersection in the past couple of months - when asked, locals said that the intersection is 'kind of blind.'

    • It's the end of an era in downtown London. The Budweiser Gardens rebrand is underway.

    • A Barrie man accused of assaulting a police officer in late September, which then became the topic of conversation in parliament last week, has been denied bail.

    • Provincial police are investigating reports of an armed robbery in Amaranth Township that sent one person to the hospital in critical condition.

    • The jury reached a verdict on Wednesday in the 1994 Katherine Janeiro murder case, finding her former boyfriend, Bruce Ellis, not guilty.

    • Brett Iler pleaded not guilty to six charges Wednesday as a result of a double fatal collision in the 2022 RetroFest Classic Car Cruise.

    • video

      video

      Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.

    • The team responsible for rescuing a man found on the metal deck beneath the main roadway of the Ambassador Bridge is one of only four such teams in the province.

    • Abbas Motalebizadeh is a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria’s Mechanical Engineering Department and on Wednesday he was at the Victoria International Marina to test the Inner Harbour for microplastics.

    • During the campaign, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad has repeatedly said people are "dying on the streets" in the province – and on Tuesday he claimed to have witnessed that very thing in downtown Vancouver while he was on his way to the leaders' debate.

    • American actor and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo is weighing in on British Columbia politics, lauding the B.C. Green Party's stance on fossil fuels ahead of the Oct. 19 election.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • Thousands more Lethbridge residents will soon be without a family doctor.

    • Alberta's police watchdog says the Medicine Hat police officers who were involved in an in-custody death in August 2023 acted reasonably and with appropriate force in dealing with a suspect armed with a machete.

    • Charges have been laid against a 44-year-old man following a traffic stop in Brocket, Piikani Nation RCMP said Tuesday.

    • An annual international mining conference is underway in Greater Sudbury, Ont., marking the first time the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Conference of Mining Regions and Cities has been held in North America.

    • Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    • A woman in Greater Sudbury, Ont., said "It doesn't get more Canadian than this" when she spotted a black bear dumpster diving at a Tim Hortons last month.

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