Poilievre urges ‘fair deal’ for Air Canada pilots ahead of possible strike

As Air Canada pilots prepare for a potential strike next week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a “fair deal” and for the national carrier to negotiate in “good faith” with the union workers.

Either Air Canada or the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents 5,200 Air Canada pilots, could issue a 72-hour lockout or strike notice unless a settlement is reached by Sunday.

The 72-hour shutdown notice period could begin anytime after midnight on Sunday, with operations expected to come to a complete halt by Wednesday, Sept. 18. Air Canada has said it will begin cancelling flights and operations as soon as this Friday.

“I would call on Air Canada to negotiate in good faith with the pilots,” Poilievre said at a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday.

“We’re not going to support preempting those negotiations. We stand with the pilots and their right to fight for a fair deal, good wages.”

0:58 Air Canada bargaining parties should ‘knuckle down and get a deal’: MacKinnon

Poilievre blamed the now defunct Liberal-NDP supply-and-confidence agreement for Canadian pilots making less money than their American counterparts.

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“I don’t understand why it is that Canadian pilots are paid so much worse than American pilots,” he said.

“After nine years of the NDP-Liberals, U.S. pilots make a lot more money and pay a lot less taxes and pilots at Air Canada are simply trying to make up for the ground they lost as a result of the government-caused inflation,” Poilievre added

Federal Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon said on Tuesday he’s still “very optimistic” a strike by Air Canada pilots can be averted through negotiations.

1:56 How will Air Canada passengers be affected by a potential strike?

— with files from Global News’ Uday Rana and Sean Boynton. 

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