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

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it’s up to Air Canada and the union to reach an agreement to avoid disrupting travellers and businesses.

“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,” Trudeau said at an event in Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., on Friday.

“I’m not going to put my thumb on the scale on either side. It is up to Air Canada and the pilots union to do the work to figure out how to make sure that they are not hurting millions of Canadians who rely on air travel, thousands and thousands of businesses across this country who will be hurt if they can’t get the work done at the bargaining table.” 

However, Trudeau also didn’t completely rule out an intervention. Speaking in French, through an interpreter, he said, “We won’t intervene. We won’t take action until we get to a point when it’s clear that no negotiated agreement is possible.”

Air Canada says some operations will start to be affected Friday as time is running out before a potential shutdown because of a labour dispute with its pilots.

It says some services, such as cargo and vacation packages, will start to be affected Friday, while a full shutdown could happen on Sept. 18.

On Thursday, the airline called for the government to be ready to intervene to avoid major disruptions a shutdown would cause for its more than 110,000 travellers a day.

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.

The airline says the union is being inflexible with “unreasonable wage demands.”

“The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) warns that a work stoppage at Air Canada could have a devastating impact on small businesses and the Canadian economy,” Dan Kelly, president of the CFIB, said on Friday.

“CFIB urges all parties to ensure service remains in place as a new collective agreement is negotiated. If Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association can’t reach an agreement, the federal government must be prepared to step in and impose binding arbitration or back-to-work legislation.”

The union has said that 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.