Flight attendant union asks jobs minister not to intervene in Air Canada negotiations

More than 10,000 flight attendants are poised to walk off the job around 1 a.m. ET on Saturday, followed by a company-imposed lockout if the two sides can't reach an eleventh-hour deal.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees released a statement on Friday afternoon urging Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu "not to intervene" in negotiations by invoking Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, "thereby permitting collective bargaining to continue and allowing the parties to negotiate a resolution."

Air Canada had previously asked CUPE to consider binding interest arbitration, which would bring an arbitrator into the negotiations to make decisions on key agenda items that the two sides haven't been able to agree on.

After CUPE declined that request earlier this week, Air Canada then asked Hajdu to make a referral under Section 107 that the negotiation be sent to arbitration. Hajdu gave CUPE until noon on Friday to respond.

"We thank the union for their response. We strongly urge the parties to work with federal mediators and get a deal done. Time's precious and Canadians are counting on you," Hajdu's press secretary said in a statement to CBC News.

Air Canada warned Friday it is cancelling around 500 flights previously scheduled to take off today in anticipation of the work stoppage, with a full stoppage looming Saturday.

The airline said on X that as of noon on Friday, 294 flights had been cancelled and more than 55,000 passengers had been impacted.

It said it would notify customers of cancellations through email and text message, adding it recommends against going to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking and their flight still shows as operating.

An Angus Reid Institute poll released on Friday suggested that four in five Canadians — about 84 per cent — believe it's "unfair" that Air Canada flight attendants are only paid for work when the plane is in the air. This is a key sticking point in negotiations that led to the impasse.

The weighted survey came from a randomized sample of 1,507 Canadian adults, with a margin of error of +/- 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.