Anil Wasif on Flight Attendants’ Strike and the Fight for Collective Bargaining | Policy Magazine
September 1, 2025 | In a piece for Policy Magazine, Anil Wasif, MPP ’21, reflects on last month’s Air Canada strike, where 10,500 flight attendants defied a government back-to-work order in what he calls a defining moment for Canadian labour rights. Public sentiment was firmly behind the workers, with polls showing strong support for their demand to be paid for all hours worked, not just time in the air.
Wasif argues the defiance was not an attack on the rule of law but a response to a broken bargaining system. This “permanent exceptionalism,” he writes, encourages employers like Air Canada to wait for Ottawa’s intervention instead of negotiating in good faith. By holding the line, flight attendants forced both government and management to reckon with that system—securing a groundbreaking deal that includes pay for ground time and major wage increases
