Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
1. Experts warn against accepting refunds during Air Canada strike
A passenger rights expert says accepting the refund could trigger the airline to “wash their hands” of any further obligations to rebook you for another flight. Regulations say that if you have a ticket booked with Air Canada, they must cover the cost for a new ticket with another airline. The Air Canada flight attendant strike goes into effect late Saturday night. Hundreds of flights are being cancelled.
If Air Canada cancels your flight, don’t accept a refund, passenger rights expert says https://t.co/gsFkKwGKNy
— CTV News (@CTVNews) August 15, 2025
2. Canada Post, union meeting delayed
In more strike news, a meeting between Canada Post and the union representing about 55,000 postal workers has been delayed until next week. The delay comes two weeks after the union rejected Canada Post’s latest offer. Overtime work remains banned for unionized postal workers.
Canada Post and union set to meet, two weeks after workers rejected contract. https://t.co/GULR00GWfY
— CityNews Toronto (@CityNewsTO) August 15, 2025
3. New Zealand woman who made quick trip from the US into BC detained in Texas
The woman moved from NZ to Washington State four years ago. She crossed the border into BC to drop two of her three children off at Vancouver International Airport for a flight to NZ to visit their grandparents. However, she was unaware that a portion of her combination visa was still pending. Her work portion was intact but her travel portion was pending after a recent renewal. She was detained and sent to an immigration detention facility in south Texas with her young son, where they’ve not been for about three weeks.
How a quick trip to B.C. landed a woman and her child in a Texas detention facility https://t.co/2gqPJrL0lH
— CTV News Vancouver (@CTVVancouver) August 15, 2025
4. Thousands of power banks sold in Canada recalled due to fire hazard
The recall triggered by Health Canada includes ESR HaloLock wireless power banks under model numbers 2G520, 2G505B and 2G512B. Around 9,743 of the affected products were sold nationwide between September 2023 and July 2025. No injuries have been reported but five fires have been reported in Canada and nine in the US.
‘Fire hazard’: Thousands of power banks recalled for overheating risk https://t.co/W3Gbx9OYzI
— CTV News (@CTVNews) August 15, 2025
5. US justice department staffer fired, facing a felony charge for throwing sandwich
A US man who admitted to throwing what appears to be a “submarine-style sandwich" at a federal law enforcement officer has been fired from the Justice Department. He has also been charged with one count of assaulting the federal officer. The incident comes during president Trump's crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C.
Justice Dept. fires, charges staffer who admits throwing sandwich at federal agent deployed in D.C. https://t.co/fWaB2Cwr3l
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) August 15, 2025
Thumbnail photo credit: Air Canada component of CUPE/KelownaNow file pictures
