Canada’s largest pilots’ union is accusing Labour Minister Patty Hajdu of undermining constitutional rights by routinely shutting down lawful strikes, warning that federal intervention has become so common it is warping the collective bargaining system.Blacklock's Reporter says in a submission to the Commons human resources committee, the Air Line Pilots Association International said the government’s growing reliance on strike bans has changed employer behaviour and weakened negotiations across federally regulated sectors.“Government intervention to end labour disputes in the federal sector has now become commonplace,” wrote the association, which represents 13,500 Canadian pilots.“As a result, employers now expect the government to intervene and are no longer interested in bargaining in good faith.”The committee is examining cabinet’s unprecedented use of Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, a provision that allows the labour minister to take any steps deemed necessary to “maintain or secure industrial peace.” Hajdu and her predecessor invoked the clause eight times over a 15-month period to end strikes and impose binding arbitration..Pilots told MPs that repeated use of Section 107 has tilted negotiations in favour of employers. “Its continued use as a routine tool tips the scale in favour of employers and erodes the principle of fair and free collective bargaining in Canada,” the submission said.The association called for Section 107 to be repealed, arguing it strips workers of their constitutional right to strike and can be triggered unilaterally by the minister at the request of employers. The clause was intended for rare and extraordinary circumstances, the union said, not as a default response to labour disputes.“Section 107 of the Code has been normalized through its routine use by the Minister,” pilots wrote, adding that its misuse has undermined workers’ constitutional rights and destabilized labour relations nationwide..Hajdu rejected claims the government is hostile to labour during November 25 testimony before the committee. “What we have done since we took office in 2015 is actually strengthen the rights for unions,” she said.Conservative MP Colin Reynolds, a union electrician representing Elmwood–Transcona, questioned why cabinet increasingly bypasses Parliament when intervening in strikes. “Traditionally Parliament would convene to end a strike and through that process would provide a rationale to Canadians,” Reynolds said, asking why the government repeatedly relies on Section 107 instead. Hajdu replied she understood the concern.
