Questions and responses 45th Parliament, 1st session May 26, 2025, to present

With regard to the Minister of Labour's use of section 107 of the Canada Labour Code in relation to the recent Air Canada labour dispute: (a) what specific circumstances, risks or criteria led the minister to determine that the situation met the threshold for issuing a section 107 letter; (b) what consultations, if any, took place prior to the decision, including with Transport Canada, the Privy Council Office, Air Canada and any affected unions; (c) on what date and at what stage of negotiations was the minister first briefed on the dispute; (d) what precedents exist for the use of section 107 in comparable cases involving federally-regulated air carriers or essential-service industries, including the dates and outcomes of those interventions; (e) what analysis or briefing materials were prepared by the Labour Program or departmental officials regarding potential impacts on air-travel operations, safety, and the economy; and (f) what rationale or urgency justified the rapid issuance of the section 107 letter in this instance, including the decision-making timeline from the first briefing to the ministerial signature?

With regard to the actions of the Minister of Jobs and Families regarding the labour dispute between Air Canada and flight attendants with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, beginning with the expiration of the previous collective agreement in March 2025 and ending with the minister’s invocation of Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code on August 16, 2025: (a) what was the total number of meetings taken by the minister with (i) representatives of Air Canada, (ii) representatives of the Canadian Union of Public Employees flight attendants; (b) what was the total number of emails sent by the minister to (i) representatives of Air Canada, (ii) representatives of the Canadian Union of Public Employees flight attendants; (c) in the period between the commencement of the Canadian Union of Public Employees flight attendants’ strike at 00:58 Eastern Daylight Time, on Saturday, August 16, 2025, and the minister’s invocation of Section 107, what was the number of times the minister communicated with representatives of Air Canada, broken down by (i) meetings, (ii) emails, (iii) calls, (iv) texts, (v) encrypted messages; (d) in the correspondence in (a), (b) and (c), did the minister communicate with representatives of Air Canada her intent or openness to invoking Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, in the event of a work stoppage; (e) what steps did the minister take to ensure that the invocation of Section 107 against the Canadian Union of Public Employees flight attendants was constitutional and aligned with previous Supreme Court rulings on back-to-work legislation, including that it did not substantially interfere with collective bargaining and that it did not disrupt the balance of power between employer and employees; (f) by what criteria did the minister determine that the consequences of a work stoppage at Air Canada outweighed flight attendants’ right to strike while in a legal strike position; and (g) what measures did the minister take to work with Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees to mitigate the consequences in (f), so that the invocation of Section 107 would be unnecessary?