One Win, and Now the Rewrite: Don’t Watch Their Lips; Watch Their Hands
As Parliament returns to Ottawa, every worker in this country should be watching. Big changes to the Canada Labour Code are coming, and if history tells us anything, they could tilt the playing field even further in favour of corporations and employers.
My friends, there is a pattern. Whenever workers in federally regulated industries use their one real source of power, the right to strike, Ottawa steps in and takes it away. Postal workers were legislated back to work in 2018. Port of Montreal dock workers were legislated back in 2021. Since 2024, the federal government has used Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code eight times to curb work stoppages and send disputes to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. Railways, airlines, ports, the post office. Every time, the employer got labour peace without having to move an inch at the bargaining table.
Then came August 2025. Air Canada flight attendants walked out. The government invoked Section 107 within hours, and the workers said no. They defied the back-to-work order, stayed out, and forced Air Canada back to the table. They reached a tentative agreement after the airline had refused to make a deal earlier in the dispute.
One win. One single win in a decade. And what do we get? A government suddenly eager to “modernize” labour law. When Ottawa moves quickly to fix a system after workers beat it, that is not reform. It is a rewrite designed to give big employers what they want.
The signs are not good. We will need to see the actual legislation, but reports from Ottawa say the bill could strengthen Section 107 and give the minister explicit authority to direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board to end a work stoppage and order arbitration. We will need to wait and see what is in the bill.
We need to be concerned when the employer lobby is already praising that direction. Federally regulated employers, such as those in transportation and communications, have called for a government-appointed “special mediator” who could issue public reports on bargaining and help shape government action. That may sound neutral. It is not necessarily neutral when the report can be used to turn public opinion against striking workers.
When the employer side is smiling before a bill is even tabled, workers should check their pockets. Feel the employer’s hands in there. I bet you will soon enough. For any worker who thinks their working life is not political, it is time to flip on the light switch and get out of the dark.
One thing is certain, in my opinion: none of this will encourage employers to bargain in good faith. Why would Canada Post, a railway, an airline, a port operator, or a major telecommunications company make a fair offer when it knows the government may end the strike and refer the matter to an arbitrator? All an employer has to do is run out the clock, let the pressure build, talk about the economy and supply chains, and wait for Ottawa to come to the rescue. Just like always.
And again, here is the bill taxpayers may quietly get stuck with. Depending on what this legislation says, another court fight is likely. Workers have had to defend the Charter right to strike in court before. If Ottawa again pushes beyond constitutional limits, unions may have no choice but to sue, spending members’ dues on years of litigation while government lawyers use our own tax dollars to fight against workers’ constitutional rights.
Workers pay twice: once at the bargaining table, and again to defend rights the Charter is supposed to guarantee.
Ministers say the bill will not touch the right to strike. Don’t watch their lips. Watch their hands when it is time to vote.
Read the bill when it comes out. Check what it does to Section 107. And remember who won the only fair fight of the last ten years: workers who refused to go back, won a deal, and may now see the rules rewritten so corporate employers get their way.
Workers need to decide: lights on or off. Remember: watch their hands, not their lips.
