Trudeau says up to Air Canada and pilots to reach a deal as deadline approaches

As the deadline approaches on a potential shutdown of Canada’s largest airline, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it’s up to Air Canada and the union to reach a deal to avoid disrupting travellers and businesses.

Speaking at an event in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., on Friday, Trudeau said he wouldn’t tip the scales toward either party.

“I know every time there’s a strike, people say, ‘Oh, you’ll get the government to come in and fix it.’ We’re not going to do that,” said Trudeau.

“We have and we will protect the Canadian economy. But first and foremost is putting all the pressure on the people who need to feel that pressure — unions and the employers.”

He said the government won’t intervene unless it becomes clear that no negotiated agreement is possible.

The airline and pilots will be in a position starting Sunday to issue 72-hour notice of a strike or lockout. The airline has said the notice would trigger its three-day wind-down plan and start the clock on a full work stoppage that could come as early as Sept. 18.

The airline’s cargo service has already stopped accepting certain items such as perishables, but says so far it hasn’t had to cancel any flights because of the labour negotiations.

Air Canada has said a shutdown would affect the more than 110,000 passengers that fly with it daily. Even a partial closure will take time to return operations to normal.

The airline is offering travellers scheduled to fly between Sept. 15 and 23 to change their flight for free, and said it will notify all travellers of any impact in advance of their flight.

Numerous business groups have called on the government to intervene in the matter, including the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Canadian and U.S. Chambers of Commerce.

“The Government of Canada must take swift action to avoid another labour disruption that negatively impacts cross-border travel and trade, a damaging outcome for both people and businesses,” said the chambers and the Business Council of Canada in a statement Friday.

The potential shutdown comes after both of Canada’s major railways saw lockouts in August that were quickly resolved through government action, as was a strike by WestJet mechanics on the Canada Day long weekend.

Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon, who met with the pilots and union Thursday to emphasize the importance of them figuring out a deal on their own, has said there are significant differences between the Air Canada dispute and the one with the railways.

Negotiations, which have stretched more than 16 months, are mostly stuck on the question of pay as the union pushes for some of the steep wage gains made by pilots at U.S. carriers.

The airline says the union is being inflexible with “unreasonable wage demands,” prompting the call for the government to be ready to intervene. It says it has proposed wage gains of more than 30 per cent plus benefits improvements.

The Air Line Pilots Association union, representing more than 5,200 pilots, has said it is corporate greed that’s holding up talks, as Air Canada continues to post record profits while expecting pilots to accept below-market compensation.

It says about a quarter of pilots report taking on second jobs, with about 80 per cent of those taking them out of necessity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press