I was flying back to Ottawa on Air Canada, then my flight got cancelled

Ottawa Citizen

a day ago

What was originally supposed to be a layover in Calgary turned out to be more than I bargained for.
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I joined the hundreds of other Air Canada passengers in the waiting area when the gate agent announced that we would start boarding in a few minutes. Unfortunately, they were still waiting for flight attendants to arrive.
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I was already anxious. When I checked in for my first flight early Thursday morning, I was warned that my flights were 'at risk' of cancellation due to labour disruptions. My first two — Portland to Vancouver, then Vancouver to Calgary — took off without any problems, so I was still holding out hope I would make it back home to Ottawa.
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But AC356, my next — and supposedly final — flight had already been delayed twice. According to the Air Canada app on my phone, it was due to 'airport limitations on an earlier flight,' which caused the scheduled aircraft to arrive late.
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Minutes passed. Several Air Canada flights started getting delayed one by one on the big TV screen above me. I watched the gate agents pace back and forth in front of the gate. One was on the phone, her brows furrowed.
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A couple sitting in front of me started questioning whether they would be able to see their family in Ottawa. Beside me, an older woman kept refreshing the Air Canada app on her phone, anxious for an update. She told me she just wanted to go home.
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'We're very sorry, AC356 to Ottawa (YOW) was cancelled because a labour disruption is impacting our operations,' the message read. 'We're doing our best to get you on your way. We're looking for rebooking options on over 120 airlines, which may take some time.'
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'We're very sorry, but after searching for flights on over 120 airlines for three days before and after your cancelled flight, we've been unable to rebook you,' it read.
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Over 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday after contract talks between the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the airline came to a grinding halt. Wages and ground pay — which pays flight attendants for the work they do while the plane is grounded — were the two biggest issues that prevented both sides from reaching a deal.
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Air Canada responded to CUPE's 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday by saying it would lock out the flight attendants and start winding down operations on Thursday with a full halt by Saturday. By Saturday afternoon, Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu ordered an end to the job action, sending the two sides to binding arbitration under the Canada Industrial Relations Board.