Air Canada travellers share worries and frustrations ahead of possible pilot strike
Here's what customers had to say about their travel plans ahead of a potential Air Canada pilot strike.
For a lot of families, late August means back-to-school shopping, which for the past few years has meant bracing for the painful price of everyday essentials.
School textbooks and supplies have continued to increase in costs this year, and while the cost of lunch and snacks is about the same as it was a year ago, the price of filling a lunch bag has gone up dramatically compared to three years ago.
According to the latest consumer price index update, inflation in July slowed to 2.5 per cent compared to a year prior. And while that number is the lowest it’s been since March 2021, a falling inflation rate in 2024 doesn’t erase the past three years of accelerating costs.
The overall consumer price index is up about 14 per cent compared to three years ago, and that increase shows up in parents’ shopping carts — especially in lunch foods and snacks.
For the most part, there are no shocking jumps in costs this year compared to last year. Some items, including children’s clothing and footwear, have actually slowly come down in price, according to Statistics Canada.
But for at least one Toronto charity, an ebbing inflation has also been mirrored by a slowdown in donations, resulting in less support for struggling families.
Sarah Robinson, the founder and executive director of charity organization Toronto Cares, is currently organizing a back-to-school drive, raising funds to supply students in need with fully stocked backpacks.
She says she initially just wanted to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic, but her efforts grew into becoming a full registered charity. This is Robinson’s third year doing back-to-school drives — but she says it’s been the smallest year yet in terms of the number of students they’ve been able to help.
"The further we get from the pandemic, the more people forget about low-income families and how much support they still need," Robinson says.
She says larger donations from corporations have fallen off compared to past years, and the group has only been able pull together funding for 300 children, compared to 600 last year. That leaves many families sitting on a waitlist until more donations come through.
Robinson says it’s disappointing because of how important it is for children to feel like they fit in with their peers.
"To be able to go into school and show off your new backpack and show off your new lunch pail — that is a crucial part of their mental health," she says.
"And that's something that we really focus on is that it's not just about the financial requirements, it's about making sure these kids are feeling good about themselves when they walk into a classroom."
The cost of food has been particularly hard-hit by inflation over the past few years. Sending a student off with a sandwich will cost about the same as it did last year – but that’s only after ingredients skyrocketed in the two years prior.
For snacks, an apple a day has become less healthy for your bank account – but bananas have remained steady in cost.
The consumer price index groups "school textbooks and supplies" into one category, which shows costs are up 3.9 per cent since last year, and 7.9 per cent compared to three years ago.
The cost of stationery in particular has gone up more than 33 per cent in three years.
Not everything has gone up though, according to the index. The cost of clothing and footwear for children has actually gone down compared to last year.
And paying for cell service and internet has also become more affordable over the past few years, with cell service in particular down almost 27 per cent compared to 2021, according to the consumer price index.
Robinson says even if prices for some things have levelled off, for many families, the inflated cost of grocery bills have eaten into what would have been left for this time of year.
"As inflation has really started to spike, we're seeing families that might have been able to just get by a couple of years ago that now can't afford anything," she says. "The rising cost of all of our food has made it so that [these families] can't afford things like back to school."
For those who want to help out, Robinson says donating to local organizations is the best way to get supplies into the hands of families in need – and cutting back on your own costs might be an easy way to find the funds.
"If you're going to spend $60 on a backpack, you can buy a $40 backpack and donate the other $20 to a family that could really use the support."
Here's what customers had to say about their travel plans ahead of a potential Air Canada pilot strike.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ukraine should be allowed to strike deep inside Russia, regardless of Moscow threatening that this would draw Canada and its allies into direct war.
The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
The experience of 23-year-old Muskoka, Ont., resident Robyn Penniall, who recently had a stroke, comes as concerns are being raised about the future of health care in her community.
Kirkland Signature Greek yogurt 24-packs are being recalled in Canada due to mould.
York Regional Police say they have arrested two suspects and are looking for at least one more following an armed home invasion in Richmond Hill that saw thieves escape in the victim’s Lamborghini.
Stephen Peat, the former Washington Capitals enforcer who fought concussion issues and was homeless at times after leaving hockey, has died from injuries sustained late last month when he was struck by a car while crossing a street. He was 44.
Stuck-in-space astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said Friday they appreciated all the prayers and well wishes from strangers back home.
Jacob Hoggard will remain behind bars while he tries to appeal his sexual assault conviction at Canada's top court, a justice with Ontario's Appeal Court ruled Friday, calling the musician's attempt unlikely to succeed.
A Pokémon card shop in Richmond is coming off a record-setting month, highlighted by a customer opening a pack to discover one of the most sought-after cards in the world.
Abandoned homes line the streets of Lauder, a town that's now a ghost of what it once was. Yet inside, a small community is thriving.
Perhaps Saskatchewan's most famous encounter with Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP/UFO) – "The Langenburg Event" is now being immortalized in the form of a collector's coin.
It's been 420 days since 22-year-old Abbey Bickell was killed in a car crash in Burnaby, a stretch full of heartbreak for her family as they not only grieved her death, but anxiously waited for progress in the police investigation. Wednesday, they finally got some good news.
A Simcoe, Ont. woman has been charged with assault with a weapon after spraying her neighbour with a water gun.
The dream of a life on water has drowned in a sea of sadness for a group of Chatham-Kent, Ont. residents who paid a Wallaceburg-based company for a floating home they never received.
In 2022, Tanya Frisk-Welburn and her husband bought what they hoped would be a dream home in Mexico.
Mansour’s Menswear in Amherst, N.S., is celebrating its 100th anniversary this month
A beautiful Labour Day weekend at the lake was interrupted by some extreme weather when a tornado touched down in northern Ontario.