Air Canada strike requires government intervention, business groups tell Ottawa

Business and tourism industry representatives are asking the Canadian government to intervene and help prevent an Air Canada pilots strike as negotiations near their conclusion.

If an agreement is not reached by Sunday, Air Canada or the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents 5,200 Air Canada pilots, could declare a 72-hour strike or lockout.

The heads of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Quebec Patronage Council and the Ontario Tourism Industry Association issued statements Thursday calling on the federal government to prevent further disruptions to Canada’s transportation networks.

“Canadians and businesses across the country will suffer the consequences of disruptions to the air travel industry. They do not have a seat at the negotiating table and do not have control over the outcome. We need proactive, decisive action from all stakeholders and the federal government to ensure we avoid more damaging consequences for everyone,” said Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Andrew Siegwart, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, said: “Thousands of Canadians rely on flying for essential business, health and personal reasons. Even a short suspension of flights will leave many stranded and further strain an already stressed tourism industry.”

Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon met with representatives from Air Canada and ALPA on Thursday to emphasize the need to reach an agreement at the negotiating table.

“There is no reason why these parties can’t work together and come to an agreement,” X wrote on the social media platform. “Canadians are counting on them.”

New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said his party would “never support” any back-to-work legislation.

“We will make it clear once again that we oppose interference by Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, or any government, in workers’ affairs,” he told his party’s integration rally in Montreal.

Singh added: “If any bills are proposed regarding back-to-work legislation, we will oppose it. We will oppose it. We will never support back-to-work.”

The leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) has accused Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre of recent comments about an impending strike and opposition to back-to-work legislation of “cosplay.”

“He voted eight times to force workers back to work. This is someone who has a proven track record of hurting workers, of opposing their interests,” he said.

In a speech at a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Poilievre called for a “fair deal” and for Air Canada to negotiate “in good faith” with union members.

“I urge Air Canada to negotiate with the pilots in good faith,” Poilievre said.

“We will not support anticipating these negotiations. We stand with the pilots and their right to fight for a fair contract, good pay.”

ALPA set up a “strike headquarters” near Toronto Pearson Airport on Thursday. The union said in a statement it was doing so to support its members in the event of a strike.

“Air Canada has the ability to prevent a strike and the significant disruption to air travel that would result, but first it must take the negotiations seriously and recognize the value our pilots bring to the airline,” said First Officer Charlene Hudy, chair of Air Canada’s ALPA Executive Council (MEC).

“If Air Canada goes on strike or lockout and ceases operations, we must provide our pilots with full support as they will be redeployed around the world,” she added.

Air Canada said in a statement Monday morning that it is working on a plan to suspend operations due to the upcoming pilots’ strike.

Flight cancellations could start as early as Friday.

Air Canada President and CEO Michael Rousseau said in a statement that while there is still time to reach an agreement with the pilots, “Canadians have recently experienced the chaos that sudden airline closures have caused for the travelling public, which makes it imperative that we do everything we can to protect our customers from an increasingly likely disruption.”

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The 72-hour notice period for the closure agreement could begin anytime after midnight Sunday, with a complete halt in operations expected on Wednesday, September 18. However, some operations would have to start as early as Friday, the airline said.

Rosseau said 80 per cent of Air Canada passengers could be affected by the disruptions. The airline said it would begin an “orderly shutdown” of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations once a strike or lockout notice is issued.

Air Canada Express flights will continue to operate as third-party carriers Jazz and PAL Airlines provide the service. However, these regional partners only carry about 20 percent of Air Canada’s daily customers, many of whom end up transferring to Air Canada flights.

The airline said the disruption could affect 110,000 passengers a day.

ALPA has not announced a strike date, but pilots have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike if agreement cannot be reached on a new contract.

In accordance with the airline’s policy, customers with tickets for travel between September 15 and 23 can rebook onto any other Air Canada flight with the same departure and arrival point until November 30 at no additional charge.

Customers who wish to cancel and change their booking to a later date will have the change fee waived, but will be required to pay the difference in price.

The pilots’ union says negotiations reached an impasse last week.

Unions and aviation experts say Air Canada pilots’ wages have not kept pace with those of their colleagues in the United States.

John Gradek, an aviation expert at McGill University, said Air Canada pilots earn significantly less compared to their U.S. counterparts.

“There’s a lot of catching up to do, both in terms of working conditions and pay. U.S. carriers have significantly increased their pilots’ pay over the last 18 to 24 months, by 35 to 45 percent,” he said.

—With additional files from Sean Boynton of Global