Liberals teeing up Labour Code rewrite in Building Canada Strong bill

OTTAWA — As MPs return for the fall sitting, the Carney government is expected to table early legislation that reworks Ottawa’s power to step into strikes and lockouts under the Canada Labour Code, alongside a broader “Building Canada Strong Act” push to speed federal projects and harden supply chains.

House Leader Steve MacKinnon said the aim is not to cancel the right to strike but to “make it easier to reach collective agreements,” put federal resources at the parties’ disposal, and intervene only in “truly rare” chronic cases. The rewrite is widely expected to touch Section 107 — the clause Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu used last summer to order binding arbitration hours after Air Canada flight attendants walked out; attendants defied the order and stayed out until a deal days later. Hajdu said Saturday no government wants to intervene and the goal is fewer times Ottawa must “solve the problem” for employers and unions.

Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske warned any new power to block or end a legal strike before or after it starts would weaken workers’ leverage. Federally Regulated Employers — Transportation and Communications CEO Derrick Hynes said changes must give tools to avoid “catastrophic” stoppages, including a neutral special mediator who can issue a public report. MacKinnon, Hajdu and Canada-U.S. Relations Minister Dominic LeBlanc were set to brief Monday on legislation to “build Canada strong,” as Carney pitches “one project, one review, one year” for federal approvals.

Labour peace in ports, air and rail is an inflation story about logistics risk: fewer wildcat-style shutdowns can cool freight and fare spikes, but heavier back-to-work machinery can also shift bargaining power and feed wage settlements that feed through to consumer prices.