Bill C-5 explained in plain English

Bill C-5 ends an Air Canada labour dispute by requiring the immediate resumption of air service, extending the expired collective agreement, prohibiting strikes and lockouts, and establishing a binding final offer selection arbitration process to resolve remaining contract disputes.

Bill C-5 is a federal law designed to end a strike and resume air service operations at Air Canada. The bill applies to the dispute between Air Canada (the employer) and the National Automobile, Aerospace Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada (CAW — Canada), Local 2002 (the union), whose collective agreement expired on February 28, 2011. The bill has four main components: **Immediate Return to Work**: When the bill becomes law, Air Canada must immediately resume or continue air service operations. All employees must return to work when required to do so. Air Canada is forbidden from punishing employees for having participated in the strike before the law came into force. **Extended Collective Agreement**: The expired collective agreement is extended and remains binding on both parties from March 1, 2011 until a new collective agreement is reached. During this extended period, neither Air Canada nor the union is permitted to declare a strike or lockout, and employees cannot participate in a strike. **Final Offer Selection Process**: To resolve the remaining disputes between the parties, the Minister of Labour appoints an arbitrator. Both Air Canada and the union must submit their final offers on the disputed matters. The arbitrator has 90 days (or longer if the Minister allows) to choose either Air Canada's final offer or the union's final offer in its entirety. The arbitrator must consider whether the chosen offer will provide Air Canada with the flexibility needed for short- and long-term economic viability, competitiveness, and a sustainable pension plan, while ensuring terms comparable to other airlines. The arbitrator's decision becomes the new collective agreement and is binding on both parties. However, the parties can still negotiate a new collective agreement on their own at any time before the arbitrator makes a decision, which would end the arbitration process. **Costs and Enforcement**: The costs of appointing the arbitrator and conducting the final offer selection process are split equally between Air Canada and the union. Violations of the law are criminal offences. Individuals can face fines up to $50,000 per day if they are officers or representatives of Air Canada or the union, or up to $1,000 per day otherwise. Air Canada or the union itself can face fines up to $100,000 per day for violations. Fines cannot result in imprisonment if not paid; instead, they can be enforced as civil judgments.

The Library of Parliament does not prepare Legislative Summaries for bills debated under urgency and emergency. The following is a short summary: On 16 June 2011, the Minister of Labour introduced Bill C-5, the Continuing Air Service for Passengers Act, in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. Bill C-5 provides for the resumption and continuation of air service operations, prohibits strikes and lockouts and imposes a final offer selection process to resolve matters remaining in dispute between the parties. The arbitrator’s decision will be use has the new collective agreement.