Air Canada strike enters its fourth day. Here's what has happened
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has defied a federal labour board order to return to work, maintaining the strike despite resumed talks with Air Canada.
A central demand of the flight attendants is compensation for ground duties, which they claim are currently performed unpaid, a grievance Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu has pledged to investigate.
While Air Canada offered a 38 per cent boost to total compensation, the union claims this equates to only a 17.2 per cent wage increase over four years, highlighting a substantial gap in negotiations.
Other major labour organisations, including the Canadian Labour Congress and Air Canada's pilot union, have expressed strong support for the striking flight attendants, indicating potential broader industrial action.
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The Independent
a few seconds ago
- The Independent
Trump expands ‘good moral character' test to become a U.S. citizen. Here's what it means
The Trump administration is taking steps to expand the 'good moral character' test for U.S. citizenship. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that officers will be told to give more than a 'cursory mechanical review focused on the absence of wrongdoing.' They will instead be ordered to organize 'a holistic assessment of an alien's behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate good moral character.' The agency stated in a Friday memo that current rules will remain in place, meaning that citizenship will not be awarded to people who have taken part in serious offenses such as murder and other violent crimes. The memo also summarized new criteria for becoming a U.S. citizen. 'U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world's best of the best,' a spokesperson for the agency, Matthew Tragesser, told The Hill. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on immigration a top priority in his second term, starting what could be the most significant domestic deportation effort in the history of the country. He has also threatened to remove the citizenship of some who have already been naturalized. USCIS revealed in April that it would review immigrants' social media feeds for antisemitism and use posts as possible reasons for rejecting applications for visas and green cards. What is good moral character? According to the new policy, immigration officers must take into account any evidence of moral character, such as an applicant's community involvement and educational level, in addition to possible negative information, including repeated DUI convictions or actions that 'while technically lawful, may be inconsistent with civic responsibility within the community, such as reckless or habitual traffic infractions, or harassment or aggressive solicitation.' Officers will also take into account any evidence of reformed characters, including paying back taxes or adhering to probation conditions. What has changed? Experts note that the new policy should be viewed through the broader prism of the Trump administration's efforts to restrict legal immigration. Former Biden administration official Doug Rand told CBS News that the Trump administration is 'trying to increase the grounds for denial of U.S. citizenship by kind of torturing the definition of good moral character to encompass extremely harmless behavior.' An associate professor of sociology at Brigham Young University, Jane Lopez, told The Washington Post that the new order 'is not necessarily a break from past practice.' However, she added that it noted the ability of USCIS officers to 'impose their subjective interpretations of this fuzzy concept in their evaluations of naturalization applicants.' She added that all applications for naturalization, permanent residency, and various kinds of visas will be evaluated by one or more USCIS officers, and they already have the ability to 'deny that application for a multitude of reasons.' While having 'good moral character' has been a requirement to become a U.S. citizen since the 1790 Naturalization Act, Lopez noted that citizenship applicants now have to prove that they have 'positive attributes' instead of just proving that they haven't been convicted of any crimes or been a part of other types of wrongdoing. The new USCIS memo states that 'family caregiving, responsibility, and ties in the United States' are examples that can be considered as positive attributes. Tragesser told The Post that officers will take into account applicants' contributions to American society, such as 'community involvement, achievements, and financial responsibility, rather than the absence of their misconduct.' An immigration law professor at the University of California at Davis, Gabriel Chin, told the paper that the most recent guidance is 'so loose and discretionary that it is obviously susceptible to arbitrary enforcement.' 'Many birthright U.S. citizens do not have sufficient educational or economic achievements that would entitle them to a visa to immigrate to the United States,' said Chin. 'If they had not been born here, they would not make the cut.' Who will it impact? Lopez argued that the new policy could 'make it harder for noncitizens to obtain legal belonging in the United States' because officers have to 'evaluate something they cannot consistently describe or define.' The guidance also argues for increased scrutiny of actions that may disqualify an applicant for aggravated felonies, in addition to other behaviors, such as illegal gambling or drug violations. The memo also states that other disqualifying actions include lawful behaviors, but which are "inconsistent with civic responsibility within the community,' such as frequent traffic violations or solicitation.
Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Chris Pratt is eviscerated on social media after vocalizing support for RFK Jr: 'What a tone deaf a**hole'
has once again found himself in the middle of a political firestorm and, this time, the internet did not hold back. The Guardians of the Galaxy star sparked outrage after publicly defending his extended family member, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during a recent appearance on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast. While Pratt framed his remarks as an appeal for bipartisanship and reason, critics online quickly accused him of excusing policies that harm vulnerable communities. On X (formerly Twitter), the reaction was swift and scathing. One user fumed: 'What a tone deaf a**hole. There's nothing funny and wonderful about cutting cancer research and funding, while firing teams of experts so rich people can get richer and sick people can die.' The criticism trended throughout the day, with more and more piling on to drag the father-of-four of legitimizing Kennedy's controversial stances. Some users connected the comments directly to real-world consequences, citing grant cuts that disrupted medical research, while others argued Pratt's statements reflect a long-running pattern of political missteps. Despite Pratt's insistence that his comments were meant to highlight shared goals, such as reducing toxins in food, many online saw his defense of RFK Jr. as reckless at best, harmful at worst. 'Policy changes rarely ever consider the actual people they hit,' one critic wrote, pointing to the way NIH funding cuts had already derailed graduate students' research. Another user summed up the mood more bluntly: 'Stop being mean to Chris Pratt you don't know his politics.' The A-list actor, who has often sought unity in divided political times, is married to actress Katherine Schwarzenegger, a cousin by marriage to Kennedy. In an appearance on Club Random, Pratt told Bill Maher - who counts Kennedy as a friend and has had him on both his talk show and his podcast - that there are parts of the 'MAHA' agenda he loves and that he wishes him well in his efforts. 'I hope there are certain things that he oversees that seem to be supported in a bipartisan way, like getting terrible, toxic stuff out of our kids' food. I think that's a great thing. And so, like, just - if you just do that, that's amazing.' He adds that when spending time with Kennedy he's willing to listen and hear him out but while he doesn't always assume everything RFK Jr. is saying is true, he refuses to hate the HHS Secretary. 'I'd hate to be so mired in hatred for the president that any success from his administration is something I'd have an allergic reaction to. To be like, 'Oh, well, if they do it, I don't want it to happen. I'll put Clorox in my children's cereal myself.' While Pratt framed his remarks as an appeal for bipartisanship and reason, critics online quickly accused him of excusing policies that harm vulnerable communities 'You know, it's like, come on, be reasonable here. There's certain things that would be a good thing to have. I want them all to be successful,' Pratt said. Maher agreed that Kennedy was a great guy, saying he loves him but has some advice for his work in Washington. 'I love him. I don't agree with everything, but I agree with, like, the overall view that what makes us sick is the toxicity,' Maher said. \'When he was here, I said my advice to you is like you need to marry your former life more with what you're doing now. Your former life, you were very admired as an environmental lawyer.' Despite the outsized caricature of Kennedy as a conspiracy theorist, Maher flatly denies he's out of the ordinary. 'And he's not crazy. I mean the people trying to – he's also got, like I said to him when he was here, 'I don't agree with everything you said, and I don't think your father would either, but your father would be so proud that you stuck to your guns like more than anybody,' he told the actor. 'I mean this guy, when this guy believes something you cannot move him off of it with your bribes. That's for better and worse,' Maher added. This isn't the first time Pratt has been accused of straddling the political divide in ways that frustrate both fans and critics. Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, which saw Donald Trump defeat Democrat Kamala Harris and reclaim the White House, Pratt penned an essay in his mother-in-law Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper. In it, he urged Americans to remain proud of their country regardless of the election's outcome. 'It's ok to take a moment to lick your wounds when you lose. Heck, go ahead and cry in the mirror,' he wrote. 'But if we become too paralyzed by defeat or too pompous in victory, allegiance to our 'team' can blind us to the fact that we are fellow countrymen.' The comments were widely slammed as vapid and noncommittal, especially as they came just days after his father-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger had forcefully endorsed Harris, warning that another Trump term would mean 'four more years of bulls**t with no results.' Pratt's attempts to present himself as above the political fray have often backfired. In 2019, he was called out by Elliot Page for attending a church with alleged anti-LGBTQ ties. Ahead of the 2020 election, he was branded 'Hollywood's Worst Chris' online for his suspected right-leaning views, sparking a wave of backlash that forced Marvel costars like Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo to come to his defense. He also came under fire in 2021 for a social media post celebrating the birth of his 'healthy' daughter with Schwarzenegger, which many took as a slight toward his son Jack, who was born prematurely with health complications.
Daily Mail
4 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Democratic lawmaker torches Trump's DC police takeover as a 'white power' grab
An outspoken Democrat ic lawmaker had choice words for President Donald Trump 's decision to take over Washington, D.C.'s police force. Representative LaMonica McIver, who serves New Jersey 's 10th Congressional District, believes that Trump's rhetoric of 'Liberation Day' is rooted in racism. 'When he says, 'Oh,' you know, 'it's Liberation Day,' and all of these things, those are, you know, ways of him saying, 'Oh, it's white power,' McIver said during an appearance last week on the Defending Democracy Podcast hosted by Democratic Party election lawyer Marc Elias. 'Those are racist remarks,' the Congresswoman told Elias. 'His number one targets are cities that are led by black mayors.' The New Jersey Democrat also complained that Trump's 'number one targets are sanctuary cities that ... support immigration.' McIver is currently facing federal charges for storming an ICE facility in her home state of New Jersey earlier this summer. She has asked for the charges to be dismissed. The congresswoman has pleaded not guilty to three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding, and interfering with federal officials related to actions in the ICE facility skirmish. 'Sic the military on the very people that they're supposed to be protecting in these cities and then expect a certain response so that it can escalate — I truly believe that that's what the president hopes for,' McIver told Elias. Democrat Rep LaMonica McIver says Trump making D.C. safer is racist and symbolizes 'white power.' — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 18, 2025 White House spokesman Harrison Fields told The New York Post that McIver, was 'an unserious person' who had a 'catfight in front of an ICE facility.' Trump announced last Monday that Washington's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was now under the control of Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Bondi shared Tuesday via a post made on X that 'there have been a total of 465 arrests, 68 guns seized, and charges for homicide, narcotics, and firearm offenses' since the DOJ started policing the nation's capital. At the direction of @POTUS, our nation's capital is a SAFER place—and we are just getting started. 52 arrests were made last night, including an MS-13 gang member, and 9 firearms were taken off the streets. Since our mission began, there have been a total of 465 arrests, 68… — Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 19, 2025 Trump's actions were spurred in part by high-profile attacks that have taken place this summer. A former DOGE employee Edward Coristine, nicknamed 'Big Balls,' was mugged in DC while out on the town. The assailants severely beat the ex-DOGE aide leaving him bloodied, according to reports. Trump said he was lucky to be alive. A congressional intern was also fatally shot not far from downtown earlier this summer.
