Air Canada granted labour flexibility under new legislation that was promised after CSeries purchase

The authorities is granting Air Canada more flexibility over its maintenance work, proposing changes to the three-decades-old laws that govern the airline after it agreed to purchase Bombardier Inc.’s CSeries jets.

The proposed amendments towards the 1988 Air Canada Public Participation Act, introduced Thursday by Transport Minister Marc Garneau, fulfill a promise made recently once the airline announced its intend to buy as much as 75 CSeries from Bombardier.

At the time, Garneau told reporters he’d aim to “clarify” the legislation that governs Air Canada in order to allow it “to respond better to changing market conditions.”

Currently, the legislation is very specific about where Air Canada can maintain its aircraft, saying the airline is required “to keep operational and overhaul centres within the City of Winnipeg, the Montreal Urban Community and the Town of Mississauga, (Ont.).”

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Under the amendment, Air Canada would still be necessary to perform some aircraft maintenance work in each of the three provinces, but would be allowed to “change the kind or amount of all or any of these activities in each of these provinces, as well as the degree of employment in any or all those activities.”

The amendment would also give Air Canada more flexibility over where the work is done, changing a provision that required the organization to do operate in Winnipeg, Montreal and Mississauga, Ont., to Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario.

“It is important for that Government of Canada to permit air carriers equal possibilities to compete in an evolving air sector,” Garneau said inside a statement.



“The changes introduced today derive from a balanced approach which will support job creation in aerospace across the nation.”

Air Canada said hello welcomed the chance for greater flexibility.

“It is indeed time that the Air Canada Public Participation Act, dating in the company’s privatization nearly 30 years ago, be modernized to acknowledge the reality that Air Canada is a private-sector company, owned by private-sector interests, which operates in a very competitive global industry which has undergone dramatic transformation over the past 30 years,” CEO Calin Rovinescu said in a statement.

The question of where Air Canada maintains its aircraft has been a controversial one ever since Aveos Fleet Performance, which did the majority of the airline’s maintenance work, went bankrupt in 2012, eliminating 2,600 jobs.

The Quebec government filed a case that accused Air Canada of breaching its legal obligations if this transferred some heavy maintenance work away from country. The Quebec Court of Appeal sided with the government inside a ruling last November.

Then, in February, Quebec agreed to drop the lawsuit in exchange for Air Canada’s agreement to maintain its new CSeries jets within the province for at least Two decades.

The Manitoba government also ended court proceedings after the airline signed a new maintenance agreement that is expected to create at least 150 jobs in the province.

Currently, Air Canada outsources its maintenance try to two suppliers in Quebec, as well as providers within the U.S., Singapore, Ireland and Israel.

The Quebec Federation of Labour (FTQ) needs a permanent injunction to force the airline to help keep all its maintenance work in Canada.

“Clearly, we’re leading a fight for jobs against Air Canada, which may rather export them, and the Trudeau government has announced which side from the battle it’s on: It’s taking Air Canada’s side,” FTQ president Daniel Boyer said in a statement.

kowram@nationalpost.com

Twitter.com/KristineOwram