Both sides told the federal review that bargaining works, except for disputes that spill economy-wide
Employers and unions in federally regulated industries want opposite outcomes from section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, the provision Ottawa has used to push striking workers back to railways, ports, and postal facilities.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) published a report Wednesday on what stakeholders told it about labour relations over the spring and summer, The Canadian Press reported.
The findings will shape legislative changes to the Code before Parliament's fall session.
Both camps told the review that collective bargaining functions well in the vast majority of situations and that reforms should be targeted rather than sweeping, according to The Canadian Press account of the report.
Participants said the framework handles poorly those highly complex disputes that produce sprawling economic disruption beyond a single industry.
Most employers, the department said in the report as carried by The Canadian Press, asked for stronger government powers to intervene when disputes in federally regulated industries threaten the national interest.
Work stoppages at major railways and ports can damage Canada's reliability as a trading partner, employers argued, at a point when US trade restrictions are escalating and Prime Minister Mark Carney is looking to reorient Canadian exports to overseas markets.
Unions opposed any measure that would curtail the right to strike in pursuit of a deal.
According to The Canadian Press, the report said the groups backed measures that strengthen bargaining relationships and lead to negotiated agreements.
They flagged concerns about proposals that could prolong bargaining, "infringe on workers' right to strike, or increase government intervention in labour disputes."
Both sides supported measures that increase certainty in bargaining, the publication reported.
Section 107 drew the sharpest division.
The measure refers disputes to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) and has been used to curb work stoppages at Canada Post, the CN and CPKC rail companies, and the British Columbia and Montreal ports, with Air Canada flight attendants defying an attempt to use it to end their strike in 2025, per The Canadian Press.
Employers were broadly supportive of having such a tool available, while labour groups called it overreach and some unions argued the section should be repealed outright or restricted to narrow circumstances.
A proposed special mediator role, which would give a neutral party's opinion to government, employers, and workers before a dispute escalates, met mixed reaction.
Employers were broadly in favour, the outlet reported, while some unions endorsed the idea with reservations, fearing the mediator's report could form the basis of a collective agreement and hold employers back from negotiating in good faith.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) said in its launch release that the consultation opened on April 17 under Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu and Secretary of State (Labour) John Zerucelli, with written submissions due May 25.
The release noted the government had been analysing the recommendations of the Industrial Inquiry Commission on labour relations at Canada's West Coast ports since receiving its final report in May 2025.
A second, targeted round followed on July 3, 2026, and the department's second-phase consultation document said a key takeaway from the first round was that changes should be carefully targeted rather than applied in an overly broad manner.
Union positions were staked out well before Wednesday.
The federal government has used section 107 eight times since 2024, after four decades in which it was never applied that way, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) said in its May submission release.
The CLC warned Ottawa against using the review to weaken collective bargaining. President Bea Bruske said the right to strike "only matters if employers believe workers are actually allowed to use it."
The United Steelworkers (USW) recommended repeal of section 107 in its own submission, backing Bill C-247, and argued the provision is duplicative of other health and safety provisions in the Code.
Employer groups pressed the opposite case.
Recent disruptions at CN and CPKC, the British Columbia and Montreal ports, and Canada Post cost small businesses a median of $10,000, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said on June 9.
Of those with a view, 92 percent support designating supply-chain-critical federally regulated workplaces as essential service providers.
The government needs tools to intervene and stop supply chains "from being held hostage" during union disputes, said Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB executive vice-president of advocacy.
The release urged Ottawa to protect its section 107 powers and to weigh economic harm in maintenance of activities decisions.
The Business Council of Alberta, in its published submission, asked for reforms that strengthen early dispute resolution and improve bargaining certainty, noting that back-to-work legislation and section 107 authorities have become increasingly common ways to end federal disputes.
