Air Canada Union Chief: I'll Go to Jail

Air Canada has resumed talks with the labor union representing 10,000 of the airline's flight attendants, who remain on strike despite a government order to return to work. The Monday night development came not long after Canadian Union of Public Employees president Mark Hancock doubled down on the union's decision to defy the Canada Industrial Relations Board's ruling that the strike is illegal, saying at a press conference Monday, per the BBC, that the union is willing to accept whatever sanctions may come. "If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it," he said. "If it means our union being fined, then so be it."

The talks are the first the airline has held with the union since the strike began last weekend, the AP reports. Reuters says the two sides had not been in discussions even longer than that, and these talks are the first in almost a week. Meanwhile, about 130,000 travelers per day continue to be affected, as Air Canada has canceled at least 1,219 domestic flights and 1,339 international flights since last Thursday. Passengers reported being left stranded, forced to pay for extra lodging, and scrambling to book on other airlines amid the peak of the summer travel season. "I, for one, will never fly Air Canada again," says one. "I'll take a boat if I have to."