VIA Rail violated the Canada Labour Code when it terminated the employment of a locomotive engineer in January 2022 because of his vaccination status, a federal arbitrator has ruled. Arbitrator Graham Clarke ruled that VIA Rail, a Crown corporation, didn’t have “just and sufficient cause” to fire the engineer for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, according…

Top executives from VIA Rail Canada faced questions today from MPs on the House of Commons transport committee about prolonged travel delays over the 2022 holiday season that left passengers on some trains stranded for over 18 hours. Martin Landry, VIA’s interim president and CEO, told the committee that VIA had storm-response plans in place…

VIA Rail Canada has issued a statement to apologize for train delays and cancellations from Dec. 23 to Dec. 26, 2022, caused by a severe winter storm and a train derailment that left some passengers stranded overnight on stalled trains. “We didn’t meet your expectations and for that we apologize,” said Martin Landry, VIA’s interim…

VIA Rail gave its executives handsome bonus raises while the Crown corporation lost millions of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic and requested taxpayer-funded bailout, records show. The records, obtained through Access to Information and released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), show that 650 VIA managers received a total of $6,434,642 in taxpayer-funded bonuses in 2020, reported…

VIA Rail gave its executives handsome bonuses while the Crown corporation lost millions of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic and requested a taxpayer-funded bailout, records show. The records, obtained through Access to Information and released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), show that 650 VIA Rail managers received a total of $6,434,642 in taxpayer-funded bonuses in 2020,…

The federal government is looking into strengthening passenger rights regulations following extreme travel delays experienced by Sunwing Airlines customers over the holiday season, says Transport Minister Omar Alghabra. “I had a meeting with Sunwing Airlines President and his team. I expressed to him the frustration that I felt on behalf of Canadians, and I know many,…

Opposition MPs are calling on the Liberal MP chair of the House of Commons transport committee to convene an expedited meeting that will include an appearance by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra to discuss the significant flight and train delays and cancellations over the holiday season and the handling of the travel disruption by the companies…

Taxpayer-funded Crown corporation VIA Rail will run at an estimated operating deficit of $411 billion this year, according to the company’s newest corporate plan. Despite layoffs and service cuts to try and slow steep losses, the railway is expected to continue to lose money for at least two more years, according to the report. The…

Companies involved in the travel chaos over the holiday season will be invited to testify before MPs, the chair of the Commons’ transport committee said on Jan. 3. “I will be convening a meeting of the Transport Committee and will be calling on VIA Rail and Sunwing to appear,” tweeted Liberal MP Peter Schiefke. “Canadians…

Officials with Via Rail and Unifor Council 4000 and Local 100 have announced a tentative deal has been struck just ahead of a deadline that would have seen some 2,400 workers walk off the job. A late-night statement from Via Rail says the deal, which still has to be ratified by the union, will be…