“No contract, we do not take off,” chasing around twenty Air Canada on the Quebec region at Jean-Lesage International Airport on Monday afternoon. Air carrier planes were also grounded.
Despite the order to return immediate to work issued by the Canadian Industrial Relations Council, continuous sticking. The Canadian Public Service Syndicate (SCFP), representing on -board agents, maintains its strike, now considered “illegal”.
“There are no limits to what we are going to do. […] If that means that people like me have to go to prison, and too bad, “said Mark Hancock, the national president of the SCFP.
Stuck in Vancouver
Meanwhile, a Quebec family is stuck in Vancouver.
Since August 2, Jessyka Charon has visited British Columbia with her spouse Jean-Christophe Caron, their two nine-year-old sons and their eleven-year-old daughter.
“The initial goal was a beautiful two -week family trip to win and see this magnificent corner of the country. We were far from expecting the strike to affect us so much, ”she said to Soleil.
Jessyka was serving with her family on Friday when she learned that her Vancouver-Québec flight scheduled for the next day, was canceled.
The mother immediately calls Air Canada. It is placed on a virtual queue for nine hours.
Train, plane, car: all the alternatives are explored by Jessyka and Jean-Christophe, without success.
“Left to ourselves”
Around 3 a.m., the couple finally receives a return from Air Canada. After an hour of telephone conversation, they manage to find a solution.
The family will finally be able to leave Vancouver on August 19 towards Denver, where they will have to take a night flight to New York. There, a third flight will bring them to Quebec around noon on August 20, four days later than expected.
“Until then, Air Canada does not pay us any hotel, no restaurant. We are left to ourselves in this situation, ”denounces the mother.
Indeed, in Canada, the Regulation on the protection of air passengers Air Canada does not oblige to pay compensation for canceled flights, for meals or accommodation at the hotel, since the strike is considered a situation “independent of the will of the carrier”.
Jean-Christophe will therefore lose three paid work days.
He is not the only one in this situation. “Several employees informed us that they could not return to work on the scheduled date or that they had to cancel their holidays due to the Air Canada strike,” confirms to the Soleil La Cheffe des Affaires Publics d’Inustrielle Alliance, Chantal Corbeil.
Looking for answers
Conversely, several foreign travelers are stuck in the country. On vacation in Quebec for a few weeks, Serge has been trying to return to Yellowknife in time for his return to work on Thursday.
He presented himself at the Air Canada Comptoir at Quebec Airport on Monday afternoon because he was unable to join a representative by phone. “I hope to find a solution. Fortunately, I have family where to stay this week, but if it lasts three months, I cannot be stuck here so long, ”he confides in Soleil.
Joseph Ellouk and Fabrice Lafontaine have just completed their trip to Eastern Quebec and the Maritimes. They had to return home in France on Monday. “It is sure that it does not enchant us. It is absolutely necessary that we come back before Saturday, ”they say while waiting for their flight to Montreal.
The two French people can live with relatives for a few days before boarding the first flight available.
“Catastrophic”
All these setbacks experienced by travelers have repercussions in travel agencies. “It’s really catastrophic. We are overwhelmed, ”reacts Moscow Côté, president of the Association of Travel Agents of Quebec (AAVQ), in an interview with The sun.
Especially since the lack of offer on the market inflates the prices of plane tickets.
“About two years ago, airlines began to make dynamic prices. The fact that there is increased demand, it creates an increase, “said the president.
The alternatives are rare to allow agencies to return to the country. “Several flights are offered, but on subsequent dates. Not everyone can come back 3 or 4 days later, ”deplores Mr. Côté.
Travel agencies have a priority line to speak with Air Canada. Usually answered in five minutes, they can now wait until 5 a.m.
“This is all unfortunate. I think it would be time for the hundreds of thousands of Canadians abroad to go home. ”
Fines of $ 100,000
The union intends to continue the strike as long as Canada will refuse to resume negotiations, certifies to Soleil Air Canada’s component spokesperson Nathalie Garceau.
On -board agents risk fines up to $ 1,000 a day, while the union could be sanctioned up to $ 100,000.
Recall that the Canadian government has intervened by imposing enforceable arbitration, a process where working conditions are set by an arbitrator rather than negotiated between the parties.
The airline mentions that all Air Canada and Red Air Canada flights are canceled until the afternoon of August 19, 2025.
More than 500,000 people will be affected by the strike, says the air carrier.
