What options does the federal government have on the WestJet strike?

Invoking Canada Labour Code tool is possible, but comes with risks

For the third summer in a row, the federal government finds itself grappling with an airline labour dispute that is upending Canadians' travel plans — and this time, it's unclear if its labour code power will be able to end the work stoppage.

On Sunday morning, WestJet flight attendants officially went on strike after their union and the airline were unable to reach a deal for a new contract.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) issued a 72-hour strike notice last Thursday, which the airline responded to with a 72-hour lockout notice of its own. Now, many Canadians are seeing their flights cancelled on one of the year's busiest travel weekends.

The federal government has a few options at its disposal. The most expedient option — but also one unions have rallied against in recent years — is invoking Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code.

That gives the federal labour minister unilateral authority to order the end of a work stoppage to "maintain or secure industrial peace." Section 107 has been in the Canada Labour Code for more than 40 years.

WestJet flight attendants strike after airline, union fail to reach a deal

Since 2023, the federal government has invoked Section 107 10 times, and several of those times it used the power to halt or pause strikes or lockouts and mandate binding arbitration.

Union officials have argued the Liberals' heavy-handed use undermines their ability to bargain with employers, since employers can slow-walk negotiations in the hopes Ottawa will intervene before the disruption becomes too damaging.

Those frustrations came to a head last summer, when the federal government invoked Section 107 to put an end to a dispute between Air Canada and its flight attendants by having the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) step in and arbitrate.

But the union representing the airline's 10,000 flight attendants defied the CIRB and said its members would remain on strike until Air Canada returned to the table to continue negotiating.

WestJet strike: Airline and union negotiate while frustrated travellers scramble

Both parties came to a deal just hours after the union's defiance. In the aftermath, Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske told CBC News that the union's defiance "means that Section 107 effectively is dead."

There is no indication thus far the federal government is considering invoking Section 107. On Sunday morning, Jobs Minister Patty Hadju said in a statement "the federal government will always maintain that the strongest deals happen at the table."

When asked by CBC News about whether it would invoke Section 107 or use legislation to get flight attendants back to work, a spokesperson for Hadju said her Sunday morning statement stands.

Other options at Ottawa's disposal

Instead of invoking Section 107, the federal government could table back-to-work legislation, although that would likely take time since MPs aren't scheduled to return to the House of Commons until Sept. 21, unless recalled earlier.

In a news release Wednesday, the NDP urged the Liberal government to refrain from intervening if a strike takes place.

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"Collective bargaining has always been the best way for workers to bring home a fair, livable wage," NDP MP and labour critic Don Davies said in the news release. "When the government intervenes with unfair strikebreaking tactics, it tips the scale in favour of big corporate executives and against workers struggling just to get by."

Conservative MP and labour critic Kyle Seeback said in a letter to Hajdu this week that collective bargaining works best when both parties are able to negotiate freely without government intervention.

He said last year's intervention in the Air Canada strike "undermined confidence in the collective bargaining process and denied workers the opportunity to fully exercise their rights" under the Canada Labour Code.

The federal government can also appoint federal mediators, which it did on July 13. An additional special mediator was appointed two days later.

Benjamin Lopez Steven is an associate producer for CBC's The House and a digital writer with CBC Politics. He was also a 2024 Joan Donaldson Scholar and a graduate of Carleton University. You can reach him at benjamin.steven@cbc.ca or find him on X at @bensteven_s.

With files from The Canadian Press, Peter Zimonjic