Air Canada strike over? Vancouver shoots itself in the foot with Stanley Cup riots

The Star's Vanessa Lu is reporting a tentative deal has been reached in the Air Canada strike; excellent news for travellers.

The Canadian Auto Workers, which launched a strike at midnight on Monday, has called a press conference for 2 p.m. CAW spokeswoman Shannon Devine confirmed the deal, but said nothing else would be released until the briefing.

Union officials criticized the government's quick decision to end the strike.

Stay tuned for more.

VANCOUVER'S WALK OF SHAME

It's not bad enough their star players performed like chumps in the Stanley Cup finals. Now, Vancouver has suffered a black eye around the world.

Many folks don't pay attention to hockey, but lots of people have surely noticed the headlines and terrifying photos of the looting and fires in downtown Vancouver following the Vancouver Canucks' embarrassing loss Boston on Wednesday night. Don't think so? There were photos of the riots as of noon eastern time on the front pages for the websites for both the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times; papers that represent prime markets for Vancouver's charms.

It's funny. A year and a few months ago, hockey served as the icing on Vancouver's cake at the Olympics. Sure, there had been issues and some negativity about the 2010 Winter Games early on, but by the time Sydney Crosby did his magic in overtime it all had been wiped away. Vancouver positively glowed in the after-party, and the reviews from press all over the world was remarkably positive.

Not today. Not when besotted youths set fire to cars and carry on like that. Shame on them. Someone's car can be replaced. But when people behave like that, they sully the reputation of an entire city and, by association, all of Canada.

Don't think it was all that bad? Check this report from the Star's Damien Cox, who witnessed it first-hand:

"First, it wasn't a small group. We're talking hundreds, probably thousands, of citizens involved in the ugliness that erupted even as Gary Bettman was handing the Stanley Cup to Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. Having been around other sport "riots," I can tell you this was a whole other level.

Vancouver was an ugly, dangerous city last night, and people got hurt. Frightening. Not just police cars on fire. Not just looting and tear gas. Stabbings. Vicious, fights. Wanton violence accompanied by the joyful whoops and hollering of young people who apparently believed they were part of something exciting and were having a great time.

The game ended at about 7:45 local time, and by midnight weary riot police were still trying to disperse crowds. As I watched from my hotel balcony on Burrard St., a line of riot cops walked up the street, police dogs barking, police sirens wailing, a police helicopter overhead shining a light down on the street."

It's even worse than that, really. The Star's main web site has a video - posted this afternoon - that shows a man being horribly beaten after trying to stop looters. It's all over Twitter, as well.

I don't think anyone from San Francisco or L.A. is going to cancel their vacation to British Columbia because of a few idiots, but when you're in a competitive tourism market it can't help.