The federal government ordered Air Canada and its flights attendants into binding arbitration Saturday in an effort to put an end to a strike that has upended the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of people during the height of summer season.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she had directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the parties “to resume and continue their operations and duties,” and to extend the terms of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator.
The CIRB held a hearing that went late into Saturday night to consider how to implement Ms. Hajdu’s directive and hear submissions from the counsel for the airline and the Air Canada Component of CUPE, representing the flight attendants.
The union counsel argued the board should delay implementing the minister’s order to allow time for it to try to seek an injunction from the federal court to oppose the order. Air Canada’s counsel argued it needs to implement Ms. Hajdu’s order as quickly as possible, and does not have the jurisdiction to pause a ministerial order.
The board reserved its decision at the conclusion of the hearing, but is expected to provide a decision soon on whether it will impose the order as directed, and if it does, when flight attendants would be expected to return to work.
But the news of binding arbitration offered little comfort Saturday to travellers stranded at Toronto’s Pearson Airport who were trying to find out when they would be able to resume their journey.
Earlier: Air Canada flight attendants go on strike after union, airline fail to reach a deal
While union members picketed outside, frustrated travellers inside huddled against banded barriers, waiting to speak with Air Canada representatives on the other side. Some sat in corners or against walls with stacked baggage carts. Others seemed frantic on laptops or on their phones, looking for accommodation or alternate flights, as demand, and prices, surged.
Drew Smith said he and his family drove two hours to Toronto’s Pearson airport to catch a flight to B.C. Saturday morning, only to find out that it had been cancelled.
“We’re expected to be at work on Monday,” said Mr. Smith, of Kamloops, B.C., who was travelling with his wife and their kids. He said the children were being chauffeured around the area by their grandfather, to save them from the tension inside the airport.
Abigail Jackson’s flight to Nanaimo, B.C., where she was expecting to pick up an RV from storage, was also cancelled.
Ms. Jackson said she went to the airport on Friday, hoping to find a solution ahead of the strike, and was told that her Saturday flight was still scheduled to depart.
“Four different Air Canada representatives have said different answers to me in the last couple hours we’ve been here,” she said. Calls to Air Canada did not go through, she added.
She said she was hopeful that flight attendants return to work soon.
Air Canada said it was premature to comment about resuming operations while the case is with Canada Industrial Relations Board. Earlier this week, the airline said it would take about a week to resume global operations after instituting a full shutdown.
The strike for Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants officially began just before 1 a.m. ET on Saturday, after several days of stalled negotiations and an unsuccessful last-ditch attempt at reaching a deal Friday night.
Striking Air Canada workers walk the picket line at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Saturday.PETER POWER/AFP/Getty Images
During a news conference on Saturday, Minister Hajdu said she believes the best deals are made at the bargaining table, but it was becoming clear that would not be the case with this dispute.
“Canadians are increasingly finding themselves in very difficult situations and the strike is rapidly impacting the Canadian economy,” she said.
The union accused the Liberal government of violating its Charter right to take job action. Ottawa’s decision gives Air Canada “exactly what they want - hours and hours of unpaid labour from underpaid flight attendants, while the company pulls in sky-high profits and extraordinary executive compensation,” said Wesley Lesosky, President of the Air Canada Component of CUPE.
Mr. Lesosky and other CUPE representatives have accused Air Canada of stalling negotiations in anticipation of Ottawa quashing a strike.
Picket lines were active at airports across Canada on Saturday, including Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, the union said.
Reacting to Ms. Hajdu’s announcement, a group of picketers outside Toronto Pearson Airport started chanting “Patty Hajdu, shame on you” and “Forced to fly, we won’t comply.”
Earlier this week, CUPE national president Mark Hancock said the union would support flight attendants, including if they refused to return to work.
In recent days, union representatives have said that the airline would not meet to negotiate, but the carrier said it had responded to each offer. The airline has been urging the federal government to intervene, while the union has said Ottawa should let the negotiations take place at the bargaining table.
The union issued a strike notice on Wednesday after the airline declared the two parties had reached an impasse. The airline responded with a lockout notice of its own.
What followed the next several days was a bitter back-and-forth between the two sides, with each blaming the other for failed negotiations and cherry-picking aspects of the offers on the table.
The two parties have been most vocal about disagreements on wage and unpaid work. The union has argued its entry-level workers do not make a living wage in Canada’s large urban centres and is looking for better “ground pay,” a term for wages when the plane isn’t in the air.
The union has said that, with few exceptions, workers aren’t paid unless the plane is in the air.
Air Canada said its offer would make its flight attendants the best compensated in the country.
On Thursday, the carrier began winding down its operations in preparation for a full stoppage of its Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights. Flights by Air Canada’s regional affiliates - Air Canada Jazz and PAL Airlines - were operating as usual.
Early Saturday morning, Air Canada said it had been reducing its schedule of about 700 daily flights since the strike notice on Wednesday and anticipated about 130,000 customers would be affected.
As of 8 p.m. ET Friday, about 623 flights had been cancelled and 100,100 people impacted by the then-coming strike, Air Canada said in a social-media post to X.
Air Canada flight cancellations are costing travellers more than just ticket prices
Travellers affected by Air Canada strike scramble for answers at Toronto’s Pearson airport
Are you affected by the Air Canada flight attendant strike?
The union representing around 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants began its strike early Aug. 16 after negotiations between the two sides reached an impasse, and the company has already begun to cancel flights. Our reporters want to hear from passengers that have had their plans affected by the strike. Have you had to switch your flights or change your travel schedule? Share your story in the box below.