In the news today: Air Canada labour trouble; two terrorism cases in court today

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Air Canada attendants vote for strike mandate

Air Canada flight attendants have voted to give their union a strike mandate.

The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees says members voted 99.7 per cent in favour.

The mandate does not mean that a strike is guaranteed, only that union members support the measure if the bargaining team decides to call for a work stoppage.

The vote kicked off July 28 and finished earlier Tuesday, after the airline and union concluded the conciliation process without reaching a deal.

The two sides have been in contract talks since the start of the year.

Judge to rule on bail in Quebec City land seizure

A judge will rule today on whether to grant bail to three men facing terrorism charges in an alleged plot to forcibly seize land in the Quebec City area.

Simon Angers-Audet, 24, Raphaël Lagacé, 25, and Marc-Aurèle Chabot, 24, face charges of facilitating a terrorist activity, and other charges related to the illegal storage of firearms and possession of explosives and prohibited devices.

There is a publication ban on details of the bail hearing, which heard from an RCMP officer, the three accused and several of their family members.

Quebec court Judge René de la Sablonnière heard evidence and arguments in July and was expected to rule last week, but informed lawyers he needed more time.

Top court weighs appeal request in terrorism case

The Supreme Court of Canada is set to decide Thursday whether to hear the appeal of Raed Jaser, who was convicted of planning to commit murder for the benefit of a terrorist group.

It’s the latest chapter in a long-running legal saga that began 12 years ago with charges against Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier for plotting attacks, including the planned sabotage of a Via Rail passenger train.

The Crown alleged that Jaser and Esseghaier had agreed to kill Canadian citizens to force Canada to remove its military troops from Afghanistan.

The Crown’s evidence consisted mainly of intercepted communications and the testimony of an undercover U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agent assigned to befriend Esseghaier.

Salmonella outbreak linked to pistachios

Nine people have been hospitalized, and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products.

Recall warnings have been issued for some products from the brands Habibi, Al Mokhtar Food Centre and Dubai.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says 52 cases of salmonella have been confirmed across four provinces, with the illnesses coming between early March and mid-July.

Quebec has the most with 39, followed by Ontario with nine, British Columbia with three and Manitoba with one.

Barbers see more teen clients due to TikTok

Videos of barbers at work showcasing their talents are plentiful on TikTok, and young clients are taking notice.

The trend on the short-form, video-sharing platform is helping to fuel interest in barbers in Quebec, who say they are seeing more hairstyle-savvy teenagers coming through their doors.

Ophélia-Anna Nagar, a barber based in Quebec City, said she’s been seeing new clientele at her two Quebec City salons. While men of all ages have been coming to the Menz Club since it opened in 2015, it’s only in the past two years that the number of teenagers has exploded.

“We started to go viral among young people with the launch of … our content creation on TikTok with new trends,” Nagar said in an interview.

Mboko’s wild ride leads to semifinal showdown

No longer a stranger to Canadian fans, or a lightweight on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour, Victoria Mboko’s captivating run from fearless wild-card entry to National Bank Open semifinalist continues tonight in Montreal.

The 18-year-old Toronto tennis phenom, an NBO underdog who has captured the hearts and full attention of Canadians round by round at IGA Stadium, plays the ninth-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan on Centre Court with the winner earning a berth in tomorrow’s singles final.

Mboko is only the third wild-card player to reach the Canadian semifinals, and the first since Bianca Andreescu’s title run in 2019. She’s also the youngest woman to reach the semis since Belinda Bencic’s 2015 win in Toronto. Mboko started the year ranked outside the top 300 and, by the end of the NBO tourney, will be ranked in the top 50 according to WTA live rankings.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2025

The Canadian Press