YVR business as usual, so far, as Air Canada pilot talks near deadline

Air Canada says some operations will start to be affected Thursday as time is running out before a potential shutdown because of a labour dispute with its pilots.

On Thursday, the airline called for the government to be ready to intervene to avoid major disruptions a shutdown would cause for its more than 110,000 travellers a day.

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It says some services, such as cargo and vacation packages, will start to be affected, while a full shutdown could happen on Sept. 18.

“The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) warns that a work stoppage at Air Canada could have a devastating impact on small businesses and the Canadian economy,” a spokesperson said on Friday.

“CFIB is urging all parties to ensure service remains in place as a new collective agreement is negotiated. If Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association can’t reach an agreement, the federal government must be prepared to step in and impose binding arbitration or back-to-work legislation.”

At Vancouver International Airport (YVR) Thursday morning, passengers told 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver that the looming job action is certainly front of mind.

“We’re looking at it carefully with our preparations,” one traveller said. “We’ll just have to see how the day goes.”

Another pair of travellers explained to 1130 they actually bumped their flight to Scotland to Thursday to try to avoid the effects of a possible shutdown.

“We were supposed to go on Tuesday coming up, and today we should be able to get where we want,” he said.

“But of course, it will cost us for the extra accommodations and things like that, and time off work,” he added.

Speaking at an event in Quebec on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it’s up to Air Canada and the union to reach an agreement.

“Every time there’s a strike, people say, ‘Oh, you’ll get the government to come in and fix it.’ We’re not going to do that,” he said.

“I’m not going to put my thumb on the scale on either side. It is up to Air Canada and the pilots union to do the work to figure out how to make sure that they are not hurting millions of Canadians who rely on air travel, thousands and thousands of businesses across this country who will be hurt if they can’t get the work done at the bargaining table.” 

However, Trudeau also didn’t completely rule out an intervention. Speaking in French, through an interpreter, he said, “We won’t intervene. We won’t take action until we get to a point when it’s clear that no negotiated agreement is possible.”

The airline and pilots will be in a position starting Sunday to issue 72-hour notice of a strike or lockout. The airline has said the notice would trigger its three-day wind-down plan and start the clock on a full work stoppage.

The airline says the union is being inflexible with “unreasonable wage demands.”

The union has said that it is corporate greed that’s holding up talks, as Air Canada continues to post record profits while expecting pilots to accept below-market compensation.

–With files from Mike Lloyd.