Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
A Canadian citizen who died recently in Ukraine has been identified as a volunteer fighter, nicknamed “Beaver”, who was part of a special operations group within the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Emile-Antoine Roy-Sirois had travelled to Ukraine with the goal of helping the country fight against invading Russian forces.
He was with three other foreign fighters, two Americans and a Swede, when they were ambushed by a Russian tank in the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine last week. Their unit commander confirmed they were all killed.
A fellow volunteer fighter who claimed to have been serving in Ukraine with Roy-Sirois and the three others who were killed posted on Facebook last week that “they are all heroes who risked their lives for others. God Bless all 4 of them and give them everlasting peace and happiness. My heart feels broken.”
Roy-Sirois left for Ukraine early in the war, telling his mother, Marie-France Sirois, that he had to go, despite her protests.
“It is with great sadness that we learned the news of the death of Emile-Antoine Roy-Sirois in Ukraine,” The Ukrainian Canadian Congress said in a statement. “Our thoughts and hearts are with the family. We will be eternally grateful for your sacrifice, and proud of you, our Quebec hero!”
Global Affairs confirmed the death of a Canadian in Ukraine on Sunday, stating that “consular officials are in contact with the family and are providing consult assistance,” but stopped short of confirming the identity.
A North Carolina family is mourning as well. Luke Lucyszyn, a fellow foreign fighter, was one of the four killed by the Russians with Roy-Sirois.
"He didn't go there to be a hero. He went there because he wanted to help people,” his mother Kathryn Lucyszn said.
The 31-year-old, a father of two, went to Ukraine in early April. His parents tried to dissuade him, but he wouldn't listen.
“He said he couldn’t leave until the rest of the battalion left with him,” his mother said.
"Just a week before he was killed he kept sending us notes: ‘Mom, we don't have the right equipment … Can you send me a tactical vest?’"
The families of both Roy-Sirois and Lucyszyn are now hoping to bring the bodies of their loved ones back home.
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
Three officers on a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded in a shootout Monday at a North Carolina home, police said.
A Calgary elementary school principal has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities announced Monday.
The Vancouver Island Health Authority is downplaying what staff describe as a cockroach infestation in a medical unit of Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
One of the winners of a historic US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears will avoid what could have been a long, ugly and revealing trial with a settlement of the lingering issues in the court conservatorship that controlled her life and financial decisions for nearly 14 years.
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2023 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.