OTTAWA Shortly before 10 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2020, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne peeked at his mobile phone during a particularly intense teleconference. A BBC report of a plane crash outside Tehran airport flashed on his Twitter feed.
What a tragic start to the year, the minister thought as he turned back to the high-level government teleconference seized with assessing the fallout of the Iranian missiles that had blasted two American military bases in Iraq, where several hundred Canadian soldiers were stationed.
Four days earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a military drone to obliterate Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad airport. Iran was retaliating, stoking fears the Canadian military trainers in Iraq might become collateral damage. No one in Ottawa had yet heard of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which had just lifted off from Tehran’s airport.
WestJet cuts routes, CEO slams feds incoherent COVID rules
Danielle Bochove and Kait Bolongaro, Bloomberg News
WestJet to cut capacity, furlough employees VIDEO SIGN OUT
WestJet Airlines Ltd. said it would reduce capacity by a further 30 per cent in February and March, affecting the jobs or pay of roughly 1,000 employees and bringing the number of domestic and international flights it operates down to levels not seen in almost 20 years.
The cuts come after Prime Minister Justin Trudeauâs government ordered travelers to present a recent negative COVID-19 test before being allowed to board flights into Canada. The new rules took effect Thursday.
TORONTO — Touting the need for drastic action, Quebec became the first province to impose a curfew Wednesday as soaring COVID-19 infections across Canada intensified the strain on hospitals and . . .