In the news today: Air Canada flying again; Canada Post, workers pick up negotiations
Air Canada's North American routes ramp up today
Air Canada flights within North America are expected to ramp up this morning as the airline continues its operational restart following a three-day flight attendants' strike.
The company resumed flights Tuesday afternoon after a complete halt to Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge routes that began early Saturday morning.
It said it was focusing on outbound international flights to start.
The airline has cautioned that a return to full, regular service would take seven to 10 days as aircraft and crew are out of position, and that some flights will continue to be cancelled until the schedule is stabilized.
It is offering customers with cancelled flights a full refund or credit for future travel if they cannot be rebooked on a competitor's flight.
Section 107 of labour code is 'dead': union leader
A rare show of defiance by Air Canada flight attendants in the face of a back-to-work order from the government has proven the ineffectiveness of the section of Canada's labour code that allows a minister to order the end to a strike or lockout, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress said.
On Aug. 16, just hours after flight attendants hit the picket line after failing to reach a new contract deal with the airline, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu invoked section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to order binding arbitration and get the flight attendants back on the job. The section grants the minister the power to act to 'maintain or secure industrial peace.'
Flight attendants ignored the order and remained on strike until a deal was finally reached early Tuesday, a move Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske lauded as effective.
'It sets a precedent (that) you can defy, and you will find a solution at the bargaining table,' Bruske said Tuesday in an interview with The Canadian Press. 'It sets a precedent for the reality that (section) 107 is no longer effective, it is effectively dead.'
Canada Post, union head back to bargaining table
Canada Post and the union representing postal workers are set to return to the bargaining table today.
Plans to rekindle talks late last week were delayed due to a lack of federal government mediators.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers claimed labour unrest at Air Canada was pulling attention from the postal service's dispute, which has stretched on for more than a year and a half.
A few weeks ago, unionized postal workers rejected the Crown corporation's latest offer that would have included wage hikes of around 13 per cent over four years and added part-timers to the workforce.
Enbridge, Cenovus target of greenwashing complaint
A shareholder advocacy group has filed a greenwashing complaint with Alberta's securities watchdog alleging Cenovus Inc., one of Canada's biggest oilsands producers, and Enbridge Inc., the country's biggest crude pipeline operator, have misled investors in their environmental disclosures.
Investors for Paris Compliance, which seeks to hold publicly traded companies accountable for their climate commitments, argues the companies have breached the Alberta Securities Act 'with long-standing and widespread inaccurate and incomplete disclosure' related to net-zero commitments.
'By extensively using net-zero terminology in their communications, Cenovus and Enbridge have led reasonable investors and the public to believe that their business models are aligned with the net-zero energy transition, which in fact threatens both their existing business and fossil fuel expansion plans,' the group said in its submissions to the Alberta Securities Commission.
Quebec promises changes to forestry bill
The Quebec government is renewing its promise to modify a forestry bill that has provoked blockades and growing tension in the province.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafrenière said Tuesday evening that the forestry reform bill must be amended to take into account the rights of First Nations.
His social media statement came after a six-hour meeting with First Nations leaders and representatives of the forest industry.
He and Natural Resources Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina are expected to meet today with the Assembly of First Nations Quebec–Labrador and the office of Premier François Legault.
Alberta flips on controversial disclosure policy
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government is again shifting its expense disclosure policy after critics from across the political spectrum accused her of dodging responsibility.
In early August, the province quietly published new rules axing a requirement for Smith, her ministers, senior staff and deputy ministers to publicly post receipts for expenses over $100.
Marisa Breeze, press secretary to Finance Minister Nate Horner, said in a Tuesday email that cabinet has directed Horner to see that the previous expense posting policy is reinstated — but with a tweak.
'Cabinet recognized the importance of an expense posting policy that achieves both security and transparency,' she said.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published AUg. 20, 2025
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2 minutes ago
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Heavy-handed use of labour code has painted federal government into a corner, unions say
The federal government's repeated use of the Canada Labour Code to force picketing employees back to work has undermined its ability to end strikes while setting it up for a fight with Canada's labour movement, union officials and experts say. Their comments come days after federal Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu's failed move to send striking Air Canada flight attendants back to work and have the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) step in and arbitrate their dispute with the airline. The union representing the airline's 10,000 flight attendants defied the CIRB, saying its members would remain on strike until Air Canada returned to the table to continue negotiating. "The fact that we didn't back down — the government and the company got the message that we weren't going to react to their demands, their threats, legal action, jail time, whatever it was," CUPE national president Mark Hancock told CBC News. "When they finally figured out that the only place a deal was going to be found was at the table, that's when they came back to the table." Hancock noted that while eight months of negotiations between the airline and the union couldn't land a deal, once it was clear the union was not going to respect the CIRB order, both parties came to an agreement in just seven hours to end the strike which began Aug. 16. Federal labour ministers can exercise their authority under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to direct the CIRB to end a strike and take over arbitration of a labour dispute. Section 107 has been a part of the code since 1984 and was rarely used, but in the last year the Liberal government has invoked multiple times. It used the provision to end a labour dispute between the union and Canada's two largest railway companies, a labour disruption at ports in Montreal and Vancouver, and to send striking Canada Post workers and the Crown corporation into binding arbitration. "The last couple of years [Section 107] seems to be the government's go-to when a difficult round of bargaining is occurring," Hancock said. "I think this experience this past week has shown them that 107 is not effective." Provoking a general strike Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske told CBC News that she thinks the Liberal government made a mistake in using Section 107 so often, and will now have to face the consequences of an emboldened labour movement. "They underestimated the workers' demand for a fair collective agreement, and the fact that they were prepared to defy an order by the CIRB in order to make that happen," she said. "The union's defiance of the directive from the CIRB means that Section 107 effectively is dead," Bruske added. "It means that workers understand that the employer always has a better deal to offer" and will push for it. 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"Everybody in the labour movement, regardless of what union you come from, whether you're private or public sector, or you're a trades union, we are on the same page," Bruske said. "Section 107 is a high priority and it's got to go." Hancock agrees, saying that at least if a union is legislated back to work, there is a democratic process because it's debated and voted on in Parliament, whereas Section 107 avoids that step by giving power directly to the minister. LeVasseur points out that is particularly handy during minority parliaments when the party in power may not have the votes to get back-to-work legislation passed, but it comes with the criticism that Charter-protected rights are being violated. "In this case … very few people decided to take away our members' rights to free collective bargaining in this process," Hancock said. "We will continue to work with others in the labour movement to make sure Section 107 is never used again in any union in and around bargaining."
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13 minutes ago
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