Quebec union seeks injunction to force Air Canada to conduct all heavy maintenance in province

MONTREAL — The Quebec Federation of Labour needs a lasting injunction to force Air Canada to conduct all of its heavy maintenance of its fleet in the united states.

The union filed a request Friday with the Quebec Superior Court calling on the airline to respect its obligations under the 1988 Air Canada Public Participation Act to keep heavy maintenance aircraft operations in Quebec.

The act will also apply to Ontario and Manitoba.

The provincial government had launched a lawsuit against Air Canada after Aveos Fleet Performance, which completed a lot of Air Canada’s aircraft maintenance, closed this year in a move that let go 2,600 employees, including about 1,700 in Montreal.

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But the federal government agreed to drop its lawsuit last month following the Montreal-based company signed a letter of intent to buy up to 75 Bombardier CSeries planes.

As part of that deal, Air Canada agreed to have heavy maintenance focus on the planes carried out in Quebec for at least 20 years, starting in 2019, but other maintenance work would continue in various parts of Canada along with places like Hong Kong, Singapore and Israel.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau has stated the end of the lawsuit would allow the us government to “clarify” the Air Canada Public Participation Act to avoid future litigation.