Federal Labour Minister Patty Hajdu is facing questions over her justification for ending last year's Air Canada flight attendants strike after departmental officials were unable to confirm claims that the labour disruption threatened the transport of organs and critical medical supplies.Blacklock's Reporter says the issue surfaced during a meeting of the House of Commons human resources committee, where Conservative MP Garnett Genuis challenged Hajdu over statements she made when ordering 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants back to work in August 2025.“To justify sending airline workers back to work, you claimed it was necessary to prevent disruption of shipments of organs and life-saving pharmaceuticals,” Genuis told the minister. “The department had absolutely no record of those conversations.”Hajdu rejected suggestions that her statements were inaccurate.“It was,” Hajdu replied when asked if her claim was true.When the strike began on Aug. 16, 2025, Hajdu moved quickly to halt the work stoppage, arguing it posed risks beyond passenger travel.“The impact of the work stoppage that began early this morning is already being felt,” Hajdu said at the time.“It impedes the movement of passengers and critical cargo such as pharmaceuticals.”.However, internal government records obtained through Access to Information requests and released in April indicated officials had not identified any medical emergency stemming from the strike.One departmental briefing note stated that remote communities would not be directly affected because they were served by other carriers, including Jazz, Canadian North and Air North.Records also showed Air Canada, in its request for government intervention, emphasized potential damage to tourism during the peak summer travel season. The airline's letter reportedly made no mention of threats to organ transplants or medical supply chains.“August is a critical period for the tourist season,” an Air Canada vice-president wrote in the confidential correspondence.During committee testimony, Deputy Labour Minister Robert Wright said he was not involved in any briefing that raised concerns about medical emergencies.“Did you brief the minister to that effect?” Genuis asked.“Not me personally,” Wright replied.When pressed on whether any departmental officials had provided such information, Wright said officials could follow up on the matter.Genuis cited the Access to Information records and questioned whether the department had any evidence supporting Hajdu's public statements.“Blacklock’s did an Access To Information on this which revealed there was simply no evidence for that claim,” said Genuis..Hajdu maintained that she had received briefings warning of possible shortages.“There is evidence that comes in from a number of different sources,” she said. “I was briefed that there would be a shortage of medical supplies including potentially organs.”The minister did not specify whether departmental officials participated in those briefings, despite repeated questions from Genuis.“I have said three times now, I received a briefing,” Hajdu told the committee. “There were many people working on this and it was undeniably clear.”The dispute continues to fuel criticism of the federal government's intervention in the strike. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the flight attendants, argued in court filings that Hajdu's order effectively stripped workers of their constitutional right to strike.The minister's order banning picketing was issued approximately three hours after the walkout began.
