Union leader says he would take prison over forced end to Air Canada strike
Mark Hancock said there is ‘no limit’ to what he will do to get a deal for cabin crew after a federal labour board called the strike illegal
A leader of the union on strike against Air Canada said on Monday he would risk jail time rather than allow cabin crew to be forced back to work by a federal labour board, raising the stakes in a battle that has disrupted flights for hundreds of thousands of travellers during tourist season.
“If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it. If it means our union being fined, then so be it. We’re looking for a solution here,” said Mark Hancock, CUPE national president, at a press conference after a deadline by the board to return to work expired with no union action to end the strike.
“We are in a situation where literally hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors to our country are being disrupted by this action,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa. “I urge both parties to resolve this as quickly as possible.”
Hancock said the union has not heard from the federal jobs minister or Air Canada since Friday. The third day of a strike by more than 10,000 flight attendants has stranded passengers and led Air Canada to suspend its third-quarter and full-year 2025 guidance, sending shares down nearly 3 per cent.