Pilots raise alarm over Bill C-39, warning labour changes could weaken right to strike

Canada’s largest pilots’ union is raising concerns about proposed changes to federal labour law, warning new government powers could have significant implications for airline workers and future collective bargaining.

Captain Tim Perry, president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Canada, issued a statement Tuesday (Sept. 22) responding to Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, which proposes changes to the Canada Labour Code governing federally regulated industries, including air transportation.

The federal government introduced the legislation on Monday, Sept. 21, saying the changes are intended to modernize collective bargaining, encourage negotiated settlements and strengthen protections for workers.

“In Bill C-39, some effort was clearly made by the government to incentivize good-faith bargaining and collective agreements reached at the bargaining table,” Perry said.

“The proposed legislation includes measures unions have stood for that will improve certain worker protections, including progress on successor rights in aviation, protections against wage theft, and funding for both the Canada Industrial Relations Board and health and safety inspectors.

“However, there are some significant problems.”

Aviation labour disputes in the spotlight

The legislation has particular relevance for Canada’s airline sector, where workers and employers operate under the federal labour framework.

Among its aviation-specific provisions, Bill C-39 would extend successor rights when contracts are retendered at airports and in the air transportation industry. The measure is intended to preserve union representation and collective agreements when work moves from one contractor to another.

But ALPA’s concerns centre largely on provisions governing federal intervention in labour disputes.

The legislation would establish a framework around the government’s powers under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, which currently gives the federal labour minister authority to take measures considered necessary to maintain or secure industrial peace and promote conditions favourable to resolving disputes.

The Canadian government, for one, intervened in the August 2025 Air Canada strike by invoking Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to order binding arbitration and force operations to resume

“The Supreme Court of Canada recognizes that the Constitution protects the right to strike. While the government claims it will not infringe on the right to strike, Bill C-39 affords too much power to the Minister of Labour, and the exceptionally broad concept of National Interest is ill-defined, meaning this legislation will, in effect, disenfranchise Canadians from effectively exercising their constitutional rights,” Perry said.

“Flight disruptions are never a desired outcome for any pilot or our passengers. However, the potential for workers to withhold their labour is essential to constructive collective bargaining.”

The federal government, meanwhile, says the changes would clarify when intervention could occur in exceptional disputes with significant national impacts while protecting the right to strike.

Special mediator proposed

Another major change would introduce a special mediator process when unions and employers are struggling to reach a settlement.

Under the proposal, a special mediator could be appointed no later than day 75 of the conciliation period and would work with both parties for 21 days in an effort to reach an agreement. Bill C-39 would also extend the standard conciliation period from 60 to 90 days.

Perry questioned whether aspects of that process could ultimately undermine negotiations.

“Mandated mediation as part of the bargaining process can be valuable under certain circumstances, and we have no issue with being held to a high standard; however, appointing a special mediator and publicly filing their report as the legislation proposes may, in fact, disincentivize good-faith bargaining and invite a degree of theatre that is not constructive and could disincentivize employers from taking the process as seriously as it deserves.”

Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu defended the proposed reforms in an interview with The Globe and Mail, saying the government considered workers’ constitutional right to strike while developing the legislation.

“We did consider the constitutional right to strike when coming up with these changes,” she told the outlet.

“It was members of the Tripartite Advisory Council who told us to make sure the changes we propose do not jeopardize relationships, because 95 per cent of labour negotiations end without a strike. There are healthy relationships between unions and employers,” she added.

The government similarly says roughly 95 per cent of labour disputes in federally regulated sectors are resolved without a work stoppage with assistance from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Explaining the proposed public reporting requirement for special mediators, Hajdu said greater transparency could put pressure on parties that are not negotiating seriously.

“The reality is sometimes people are not bargaining in good faith. So, we wanted a transparency function that would allow union members or shareholders of a company to really understand what was going on at the table,” she said.

Airline labour tensions

The reforms arrive after a period of heightened labour activity across federally regulated transportation industries, including airlines, railways and ports.

Ottawa held consultations earlier this year on changes to federal labour relations, including bargaining timelines, workplace protections, wage theft and whether union rights should carry over when contracts are retendered. More than 100 unions, labour organizations, employers and other groups participated in the consultation process, which included 13 targeted roundtables and 319 written submissions.

Perry concluded ALPA’s response by challenging the government’s framing of organized labour’s role in the Canadian economy.

“Through this legislation, the Government seems to be suggesting that being a union member and being on “Team Canada” are mutually exclusive, when in fact strong workers' rights will build “Canada Strong.”

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