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Labour Minister Patty Hajdu failed to substantiate the grandiose claim that a legal strike by Air Canada flight attendants jeopardized life-saving medicine and organ tissue deliveries. Hajdu has a history of fabricating stories to justify strike bans, according to Blacklock’s.

Hajdu stated, "Shipments of critical goods such as pharmaceuticals and organ tissue should continue to reach their destinations," as she called the airline strike "simply unacceptable."

Neither Hajdu’s office nor the labour department identified the source of her claim that emergency health care was imperilled by picketing flight attendants.

On Saturday, Minister Hajdu attempted to force flight attendants into binding arbitration just three hours into a lawful strike, marking the eighth time in a year, a record for any federal government. Cabinet invoked section 107 of the Canada Labour Code in an attempt to end the legal picket.

CUPE's national president, Mark Hancock, called the government's order unconstitutional and a violation of their right to strike. This order permits cabinet to act “to maintain or secure industrial peace and promote conditions favourable for the settlement of industrial disputes.”

A May 23 labour department briefing note, Section 107 Referrals, cautioned against frequent use of the strike ban, stating it's "not taken lightly." Labour lawyers, in a Federal Court filing, argued Section 107 violates freedom of association.

Hancock stated they are already challenging Section 107 in court. “Rights have to mean something,” he said. “Real negotiations cannot happen if only one side is banking on the government taking away the rights of another party, and that is what has happened here.”

Minister Hajdu backtracked on Tuesday on social media, stating, “Nobody should be expected to work for free.” Twitter immediately fact-checked her post, noting she invoked section 107 of the Labour Code.

“Canadians have already sacrificed a lot in this uncertain economy, and this labour disruption is adding to their worries and financial burden,” Hajdu told reporters Sunday, rejecting the idea that her government is anti-union, despite claiming, “Strikes are very disruptive.”

CUPE defied the Canadian Industrial Relations Board’s Monday order to end the illegal strike, with Hancock stating he'd accept jail time. “If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it.”

Air Canada will resume flights on Tuesday after reaching a tentative agreement with its 10,000 flight attendants, who have been on strike since August 16. Agreement details were not immediately available.

In 2021, the labour department similarly claimed a longshoremen strike at the Port of Montréal was “literally a matter of life and death” due to disruptions of pandemic medicine deliveries. However, internal government documents showed no COVID-19 vaccines at the Port and that the shippers' main concern was spoiled fruit.

In 2018, Hajdu cited anecdotes to end a lawful strike by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, claiming a homeless disabled man named Jack was evicted after his benefits cheque was delayed, causing precarious situations for vulnerable Canadians.

The labour minister’s office provided no documentation of contact with a person named Jack, and both postal workers and management confirmed that benefits cheques were delivered during the strike due to a longstanding agreement.