🗞️ UnfAir Canada

Good morning Halifax,

At least once a day I think about the time in 2011 when Air Canada cancelled my flight to Toronto and I had to miss Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball. The disappointment changed me on a cellular level—and I’m worried  for the many people that are going to miss out on fun because of the Air Canada drama.

If you haven’t been following along closely, here’s the tea 🫖

Air Canada’s flight attendants have been calling for better wages and to be paid for the work they do while the aircrafts are actually on the ground. The CUPE flight attendants union have been in stalled negotiations with Air Canada—claiming that the carrier's wages are below inflation, market value and the federal minimum wage.

On Saturday, flight attendants were like “eff this” and walked off the job and Air Canada was forced to ground its fleet, starting with long-haul flights last Thursday night.

So then the big, bad federal government was like “oh no you don’t” and invoked a contentious section of labour law to intervene and stop the strike—section 107 of the Canada Labour Code gives the minister the power to order the end of a work stoppage to "maintain or secure industrial peace."

Until recently, section 107 was a relatively unknown piece of legislation until the Liberals found it in a dusty book somewhere and started throwing it around like rice at a wedding—sending unionized employees back to work at ports, rail yards and Canada Post.

Unions are taking the federal government to court for its repeated use of section 107—arguing it violates Canadians' constitutional right to strike and sours the bargaining process. Which, yeah, that’s exactly what it does.

In response to the labour minister playing the ol’ 107 card, flight attendants were like “we’d rather go to jail than comply with your bullshit order” and did this under the bargaining table:

@samc.project.ltd

Tf 😂#kids #parents #table #fyp #middlefingerup #todaykids #generasihappytiktokchallenge #restaurant #lol #bodypositivity #viral #meme #pov

Defying a legal back-to-work order could result in fines for the union or workers being fired. It could also lead to criminal prosecution in some cases, but even so, picket lines remain outside of airports in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. 

This whole thing just sucks for everyone involved—the union and travellers I mean—not evil UnfAir Canada. But I really do hope none of you miss anything even close to as important as a Lady Gaga concert as a result of the strike.

Have a safe and wonderful day down here on the ground…that’s on fire.

Love and light!

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: ☀️ 20°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 22°

Next Day: ☀️ 20°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

💨 Here is Halifax’s Air Quality Index and the smoke report.

NEWS

Halifax gets its first "fake Indian wedding" — all the joy, none of the family drama

The sights, sounds, and spirit of a traditional Indian wedding are coming to Halifax — minus the pressure from matchmaking aunties — as Desii Nights Entertainment presents The Grand Fake Indian Wedding on Aug. 22 at Maxwell’s Courtyard.

Complete with dhol players, DJs, red carpets, food, fashion, and full wedding flair, the event promises a vibrant cultural celebration for the South Asian diaspora and beyond. The twist? There’s no actual wedding, just an open invitation to experience one of India’s most iconic celebrations — in party form.

The Coast’s Warren D’Silva spoke with Raj Saluja—event planner and founder of Desii Nights—about his inspiration for the event and what “wedding guests” can expect from the experience.

🤔 Need To Know

⛈️ Nova Scotia will avoid the brunt of a now-major hurricane when the storm tracks through Atlantic Canada—Hurricane Erin was classified as a Category 4 storm as of Monday with maximum sustained winds around 225 km/h.

🔥 The Long Lake wildfires continue to grow at a rapid pace and may force some evacuations, according to officials—in a post to Facebook, the province says the fires are now 2,063 hectares in size and that while no homes have been damaged thus far, a few campers and trailers have been lost.

🔌 A power outage impacted about 4,700 customers in an HRM neighbourhood early Monday morning—Nova Scotia Power’s outage map showed the disruption affecting customers in areas including Fairview, Bayers Lake and Fairmount.

🎭 One Night Only! On August 31st, Shakespeare by the Sea presents their annual unrehearsed show: Unrehearsed Romeo & Juliet! Get your Pay-What-You-Can tickets while you still can!*

🌞 From sunny patios and street art to headline events, shopping, and more, Downtown Halifax is where it’s all happening this summer. Find what you're down for here.*

🐦‍⬛ Thousands of songbirds. One tragic night. Icarus, Falling of Birds immerses you in poetry, music, and towering puppetry—an unforgettable outdoor journey through beauty, loss, and the wild.*

*Sponsored Post

🗞️ In Other News

⛺ As wildfires burn and officials caution about the risk of more fires breaking out, community organizations and government departments are trying to get people living in the woods to leave—many, however, cannot be convinced.

🚪 Thirty-eight people experiencing homelessness in Halifax could soon have an apartment to call home as a result of a very affordable housing project—Ozanam Place would not have been possible without $11M in federal funding from the now-lapsed rapid housing initiative program.

🎞️ The Atlantic International Film Festival is hosting its 45th annual festival next month in Halifax—this year’s festival features 60 films, seven of which are world premieres.

🎓 Employees that are part of the Dalhousie Faculty Association will be locked out beginning on Wednesday if a deal is not reached with the university—according to the lockout notice, those within the association will not have access to the school starting at 9:30am.

🗓️ Things To Do

Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:

🗓 Freedom of the City: An honour granted to military or paramilitary groups in recognition of their service to a municipality. Since 1998, the 78th Highlanders have exercised this privilege by marching through the streets of Halifax. Take in the special squad inspection inside the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. Don’t miss this unique historic celebration. | Aug. 20 | 11am |

🗓 Matt Mays The Sundown Salute: This special concert is an outdoor celebration of Matt Mays shows at the iconic Shore Club on The Cove. The tour features special guests The Sheepdogs & Kathleen Edwards | Aug. 21-23 |  From $109 |

🗓 Halifax Live Comedy Club presents Michael Harrison: Michael’s comedic pursuits have garnered him his own Drybar comedy special, a half hour comedy special that aired all across Canada on the Comedy Network, a comedy album called “Freak Laugh”, and an Amazon special called “Overcritical”. He has also performed at several prestigious comedy festivals including Just for Laughs in Montreal and the New York Comedy Festival. | Aug. 22 and 23 | 8pm | $20 |

Have an event to share? Let us know at [email protected].

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢➡️ The Atlantic Sail container ship arrives in Halifax from Liverpool at 5:20am and leaves for New York at 4pm.

➡️ The Algoma Acadian oil tanker leaves Halifax for Saint John at 6am.

🚢➡️ The Vistula Maersk container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 6:15am and leaves for Bremerhaven, Germany at 6pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥦 Calling all vegetarians! Run, don’t walk to 2 Doors Down for the Warm Broccoli and Seared Halloumi: served with garlic yogurt sauce, pickled turnip, sunflower and sesame seed dukkah.

🍖 And for the meat eaters, enjoy the Lamb at Reta’s: fresh herb salad, labneh pistachio gremolata. 

👀 In Case You Missed It

⚖️ The Canadian Bar Association is warning Tim Houston that recent comments from his office risk blurring the public's perception of "the important distinction" between the roles of elected politicians and the judiciary.

🥼Nova Scotia's Health Department has started working on a plan to open a clinic specifically for people going through menopause—The Menopause Centre of Excellence would be the first clinic of its kind in Atlantic Canada.

That’s it!

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