Liberals looking to give minister explicit authority to end strikes: sources

A WestJet flight attendant is seen on strike at Pearson International Airport in Toronto last month. Sources tell CBC News the Liberal government plans to amend the Canada Labour Code to give cabinet strengthened powers to end work stoppages. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press)Social SharingThe Liberal government's marquee fall legislation is expected to strengthen a controversial section of the Labour Code, two senior government sources tell CBC News. 

The Carney government plans to amend the Canada Labour Code to explicitly allow the minister responsible to direct the Canada Industrial Labour Relations Board (CIRB) to end work stoppages and order arbitration.

Changes to Section 107 of the Labour Code are expected to be part of the Carney government's bill, set to be called the Building Canada Strong Act and tabled next week.

"We will have very significant economic legislation as a centrepiece of this session," said Government House leader Steve MacKinnon on Friday ahead of a two-day Liberal caucus retreat. 

The changes to Section 107 will codify a power the government already has and uses: the ability to end a strike and take over arbitration of a labour dispute by directing it to the CIRB. However, sources say writing it into law could increase private sector confidence, as Ottawa seeks to reassure that Canada is a safe place to invest.

The sources say the focus is on "high-potential disruptive labour issues" in industries that have serious implications for Canada's exports, like ports and railways.

Two senior government sources shared some details of the legislation, expected to include sections on trade corridors, collective bargaining and proposals to speed up federal project approvals. CBC News is not naming the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The section of the law, which has been on the books since 1984, was rarely used until recently, when the Liberals under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used it to end disputes including between the Teamsters union and Canada's two largest railway companies, as well as other instances, including sending employees back to work at ports in Montreal and Vancouver.

Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu invoked Section 107 to force Air Canada flight attendants back to work after they walked out in August 2025.

The federal Liberals have increasingly used the once-obscure section of the legislation to force picketing workers back on the job. 

However, unions contend that this heavy-handed use of the law undermines their ability to bargain and violates workers' rights. The move has been challenged in Federal Court.

The new measures will also empower the labour minister to appoint a "special mediator" who will issue a report in instances where unions in federally regulated industries can't come to an agreement with the employer.

The sources said that the use of Section 107 will be a "last resort" following reports from the special mediator.

But any move to strengthen the section of the Labour Code is likely to upset unions.

Speaking to CBC's Power and Politics on Friday, Hajdu said the coming legislation won't contain anything to limit the ability of unions to strike and will focus on a fraction of cases that lead to a "labour disruption."

"But there are some relationships between employers and unions that have become increasingly fractious, and the tools in the Canada Labour Code just aren't strong enough to actually help people get to those agreements together without a high degree of risk around labour disruption," Hajdu said.

Still, Hajdu said the Labour Code's tools to mediate disputes need to be modern, robust and include the ability to "put the pressure where it belongs, which is at the table between the parties."

Kate McKenna is a senior reporter with CBC’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa, where she covers federal politics. She previously worked for CBC’s The Fifth Estate and in the Halifax, Montreal and Charlottetown newsrooms. Her investigative and breaking news coverage has won five RTDNA awards. She is the author of No Choice: The 30-Year Fight for Abortion on Prince Edward Island.