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Air Canada says it is suspending service to Cuba effective Monday as the Caribbean island’s major airport warns it will run out of jet fuel.
The airline will fly empty planes to pick up approximately 3,000 customers already in Cuba and return them home in the coming days, Air Canada said Monday in a statement.
“Air Canada took the decision following advisories issued by governments (NOTAMs) regarding the unreliability of the aviation fuel supply at Cuban airports,” the statement reads.
“For remaining flights, Air Canada will tanker in extra fuel and make a technical stops as necessary to refuel on the return journey if necessary.”
This comes days after Canada’s federal government issued a travel advisory for Cuba, warning that an ongoing shortage of fuel could affect resorts and flights.
Cuba has historically relied on Venezuela to provide much of its jet fuel, as Reuters points out, but the Caribbean island country has not received any crude or refined products from its top ally since mid-December, when the U.S. moved to block the South American country’s exports.
Read more on the CBC.
The Opposition Conservatives are calling on the federal Liberal government to reduce taxes on severance packages for laid-off General Motors workers in Ingersoll, Ont.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre penned a letter Sunday, co-signed by labour critic Kyle Seeback and local MP Arpan Khanna, addressed to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne calling for an exemption to the withholding taxes that ding severance pay.
The Conservatives argue taxes on a big chunk of GM’s lump-sum severance payments could deprive out-of-work employees of “tens of thousands of dollars,” adding “insult to injury.”
What’s the truth here?
As Marco Vigliotti explains, it depends on how much severance workers are taking home, and if they can wait for tax season for a refund.
Conservative convention organizers are urging delegates who may have walked off with pricey voting devices to return them to the party so it can avoid incurring significant unexpected costs.
In an email to delegates last week that was subsequently shared with CBC News, Wayne Benson, the party’s former executive director, said “several” keypads and smart cards that were distributed for votes on policy changes have not been accounted for in the days since the convention in Calgary wrapped up.
“We are seeking your assistance with locating several LUMI Connector Keypads (valued at close to $1,000.00 each) and more than 220 Smart Cards used at the Saturday Plenary Sessions,” the email from Benson reads.
Those keypads, which look like an old Blackberry, were used to register yes or no votes on proposed changes to the party’s policy playbook, which were carried out live on the convention floor. The smart cards, which resemble a calling card, tracked the province and territory of each registered delegate.
There were roughly 2,700 of each on hand to record votes on dozens of proposed changes.
CBC also has that one.
In Other Headlines
Internationally
A South Korean official who suggested the country “import young women” from “Vietnam or Sri Lanka” to boost its birth-rate has been expelled from his party.
Kim Hee-soo, the head of the southern Jindo County, said the woman could be married off to “young men in rural areas” during a town hall last week.
The suggestion comes as South Korea continues to grapple with the lowest birth-rates in the world, which could see the country’s 50 million-strong population drop by half in 60 years.
But Kim’s statement, which was televised, did not go down well – triggering a diplomatic protest from Vietnam, days of public anger and his expulsion from the ruling Democratic Party.
Attempts by Kim to defuse the outrage with an apology a day after the town hall appear to have failed.
The town hall had been called to discuss a potential merger between the province where Jindo County is located and a nearby city – something regions with shrinking populations are looking at for administrative reasons.
BBC reports.
Elsewhere, Israel’s security cabinet has approved a series of sweeping measures to expand its powers across the occupied West Bank, including easing the sale of Palestinian land to Israeli settlers and expanding the powers of Israeli authorities in areas under Palestinian control.
Eight Muslim-majority countries have denounced Israel for trying to impose “unlawful Israeli sovereignty” in the occupied West Bank, after it approved controversial new measures expanding its control and making it easier for Israeli settlers to buy land.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called the Israeli decision dangerous, illegal and equal to de facto annexation, urging US President Donald Trump and the UN Security Council to intervene.
The Hamas group called on Palestinians in the West Bank to “intensify the confrontation with the occupation and its settlers”.
More from Al Jazeera.
In Other International Headlines
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The Kicker
The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada has removed its latest Valentine’s Day post, which roughly translated to: “My tail and my heart get excited when you practice your second official language” — but the word queue in French is also slang for penis.
The message quickly garnered reaction from politicians in Ottawa and Quebec, with Federal Official Languages Minister Marc Miller criticizing the office.
“With Valentine’s Day approaching, dachshunds and all, the joke might have been quite good if it worked in French … but the Commissioner’s Office needs to lead by example instead of simply ‘translating,’” Miller wrote in French in a post on X last Friday.
Have a great night!
