Overview

• Canadian Union of Public Employees flight attendants have refused a federal return-to-work order and plan to challenge it as unconstitutional, extending the walkout into its third day.
• The Canada Industrial Relations Board declared the stoppage illegal and extended the current collective agreement pending binding arbitration to set new contract terms.
• Air Canada has suspended its limited restart, canceled hundreds of flights and warned that full network restoration could take 7 to 10 days, offering affected passengers refunds or alternate bookings.
• Negotiations remain deadlocked after eight months of talks over a proposed 38% total-compensation increase over four years and longstanding unpaid ground-time work.
• The strike has grounded about 100,000 to 130,000 passengers daily and threatens late-summer and cross-border travel just weeks before the U.S. Labor Day holiday.