Quebec union leaders say workers could face same fate as Air Canada flight attendants

MONTREAL – The presidents of two major Quebec unions fear that workers in the province could soon face the same treatment as striking Air Canada flight attendants under a provincial law passed in May. 

The law gives Quebec’s labour minister the power to end a labour dispute by imposing arbitration when the strike or lockout is deemed likely to cause serious or irreparable harm to the public.

Magali Picard with the FTQ and Éric Gingras with the CSQ said Monday that Quebec employers now have an incentive to drag their feet on negotiations while waiting for the government to intervene. 

The two union presidents drew a parallel between the new Quebec law and federal legislation that permits Ottawa to force two sides in a labour dispute into binding arbitration.

Ottawa has done just that in the conflict between Air Canada and its flight attendants’ union.

“Federal intervention … is a scenario that is repeating itself and becoming the norm in employers’ bargaining strategies. They let negotiations fester, and then they cry on the government’s shoulder, asking it to intervene under false pretences,” Picard said. “I predict that this is also what will happen in Quebec.”

Her union is affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents Air Canada flight attendants across the country. That union defied a back-to-work order on Monday, leading the federal labour relations board to conclude the strike is unlawful.

During a press conference in Montreal on Monday, Gingras said the flight attendants are experiencing “exactly what Quebec unions could experience” under the new law — namely, “an employer who drags his feet, who sits back in negotiations, and who waits for the government to intervene.”

The unions have already indicated their intention to mount a legal challenge of the new law, which will take effect on Nov. 30. 

The Quebec law expands the types of services that must be maintained in the event of a strike or lockout, “to prevent the population’s social, economic or environmental security from being disproportionally affected.” The health and public services sectors are excluded from the legislation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.