National

Metro Vancouver residents scramble for another ride as bus strike drags into Day 2

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Jan, 2024 10:43 AM

Hundreds of thousands of Metro Vancouver residents are without a bus ride again today as striking transit supervisors carry on with their 48-hour strike.

There is no bus and SeaBus services due to ongoing job action at CMBC by CUPE 4500. SkyTrain (Expo, Canada Line, Millennium Line), WCE and HandyDART service not expected to be impacted. Visit https://t.co/Viw4DNrYh1 or call 604-953-3333 ^CK pic.twitter.com/IHJEfDB2rV
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) January 23, 2024

The dispute between more than 180 members of CUPE Local 4500 and Coast Mountain Bus Company has stopped 96 per cent of the region's buses as well as the SeaBus across Burrard Inlet.

B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains says his ministry is considering appointing a special mediator in the dispute, although he also urged both sides to start talking again.

Union spokesman Liam O'Neill says members aren't happy about taking the action and they tried to pressure the employer without affecting the public but Coast Mountain is unwilling to deal with a wage discrepancy and is trying to bully the union.

Coast Mountain president Michael McDaniel says the union won't adjust its demand for wage increases and the company has offered more overtime pay and improved benefits and committed to hiring more supervisors.

The strike is expected to end in time for the morning commute Wednesday, although O'Neill says action will escalate if Coast Mountain doesn't come back to the table with a better offer.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Boat capsizes, 61 year old dead

RCMP say a 61-year-old man was alone when the tugboat he was piloting capsized off Vancouver. Mounties say they received a report of a body washing ashore on Tower Beach on Monday afternoon on the U-B-C endowment lands.

Boat capsizes, 61 year old dead

Southern B.C. sees snow at higher levels as incoming rainstorm meets arctic cold

The first major snowfall of the season could blanket higher elevations of Vancouver Island with up to 10 centimetres of snow as an eastbound rainstorm meets a westbound blast of arctic air over British Columbia's south coast. Environment Canada has posted special weather statements for inland, northern and eastern parts of Vancouver Island, warning that rain could fall as snow on the highest elevations of Highways 4, 19, 28 and the Malahat Summit as the two systems brush, although no snow was expected at sea level.

Southern B.C. sees snow at higher levels as incoming rainstorm meets arctic cold

Five people, including shooter, dead after shootings in Sault Ste. Marie, police say

Five people – including three children and a shooter – were found dead in the northern Ontario city of Sault Ste. Marie after shootings at two homes, police said Tuesday, calling what happened a tragic case of intimate partner violence. Sault Ste. Marie police said the shootings that took place Monday night had left the community in deep mourning.

Five people, including shooter, dead after shootings in Sault Ste. Marie, police say

Magnitude 3.9 quake recorded off B.C. coast, no tsunami or damage expected

A minor earthquake has struck off the coast of British Columbia. Earthquakes Canada says the 3.9 magnitude quake was registered just before 11:00 p.m. PDT. The epicentre was 198 kilometres west of Port Hardy, south of Vancouver Island. It was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometres. No tsunami is expected.

Magnitude 3.9 quake recorded off B.C. coast, no tsunami or damage expected

Freeland says feds will strike 'challenging' balance in fall budget update

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday the government's fall economic statement will focus on housing and affordability within a fiscally responsible framework. "That is a challenging balance to strike. Our government is committed to doing it," she said. The federal government's financial statements were published Tuesday, revealing the deficit for the 2022-23 fiscal year came in at $35.3 billion.

Freeland says feds will strike 'challenging' balance in fall budget update

BC's final cruise ship sets sail today

Big numbers are being reported for B-C's cruise industry. The Port of Vancouver says its final cruise ship of the 2023 season is setting sail today. It says the 2023 cruise season in Vancouver has been the port's biggest season on record, with an estimated 1.25-million passengers this year.