Strike that could have hobbled Island supply chains averted, employer says

A company that ships goods between Vancouver Island and the mainland says a strike by its workers has been averted at the last minute.
Seaspan Marine Transportation says it has reached a tentative agreement with the Canadian Merchant Services Guild, which represents its employees. The union had been prepared to walk off the job at 3 p.m. Friday, after giving a 72-hour strike notice on Tuesday.
In a statement, Seaspan Marine said the new collective agreement still requires ratification from union membership, but it expects service to continue at its Seaspan Ferries Corporation subsidiary through the weekend.
"SFC expects to be fully operational and back on their full sailing schedule by Monday, Jan. 24," the company said in its statement.
"SFC would like to thank their customers and all affected parties for their understanding and patience over the past 3 days leading up to a potential strike."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
WATCH LIVE | Ceremony opens daylong memorial marking graves detection at site of Canada's largest residential school
A daylong memorial began Monday in Kamloops, B.C., at the site of what was once Canada's largest residential school on the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the detection of unmarked graves.

Thousands in Ont., Que. still without power after storm leaves at least nine dead
Hundreds of thousands of people remain without power after Saturday's powerful storm that left at least nine dead and caused extensive damage throughout southern Ontario and Quebec.
Monkeypox fears could stigmatize LGBTQ2+ community, expert says
A theory that the recent outbreak of monkeypox may be tied to sexual activity has put the gay community in an unfortunate position, having fought back against previous and continued stigma around HIV and AIDS, an LGBTQ2+ centre director says.
Russian sentenced to life in Ukraine's 1st war crimes trial
A Russian soldier who pleaded guilty to killing a civilian was sentenced by a Ukrainian court Monday to life in prison -- the maximum -- amid signs the Kremlin may hold trials of its own, particularly of the captured fighters who held out at Mariupol's steel plant.
First of three flights bringing Ukrainians to Canada to land in Winnipeg
The first of three charter flights bringing Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia's invasion to Canada is to land in Manitoba this afternoon.
Walk out at trade meeting when Russia spoke 'not one-off,' says trade minister
The United States and four other nations that walked out of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group meeting in Bangkok over the weekend underlined their support Monday for host nation Thailand, saying their protest was aimed solely at Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine.
Wreckage found of plane that disappeared in Ontario with Alberta men onboard, police say
The wreckage of a small plane that disappeared last month in northern Ontario with two men aboard has been located in Lake Superior Provincial Park.
OPINION | Richard Berthelsen: What kind of King will Prince Charles be? Royal tour offers hints
The Canadian royal visit took place at a time when many are starting to view Prince Charles differently, given that his destiny to be King seems to loom closer, Richard Berthelsen writes in his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
COVID-19 identified by trained dogs sniffing skin swabs: study
A new study that brought sniffer dogs to an airport to search for COVID-19 has found that dogs may be able to detect the virus with high accuracy just from smelling skin swabs.