As Air Canada strike looms, NDP will ‘never’ support back-to-work bill: Singh

The NDP will 'never support' back-to-work legislation as an Air Canada pilots strike looms, party Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters on Thursday.

The NDP will “never support” back-to-work legislation as an Air Canada strike by pilots looms and concerns grow of a work stoppage, party Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters on Thursday.

“We’re going to send a clear message again that we are opposed to Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, or any government, interfering with workers,” he said at his party’s caucus retreat in Montreal.

Singh added, “If there’s any bills being proposed on back-to-work legislation, we’re going to oppose that. We’re going to fight back against that. We’re never going to support back-to-work.”

The NDP leader accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s recent comments about the looming strike and opposing back-to-work legislation of amounting to “cosplay.”

“He voted eight times to force workers back to work. This is someone with a proven track record of hurting workers, of opposing workers’ interests,” he said.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in Ottawa on Wednesday, Poilievre had called for a “fair deal” and for Air Canada to negotiate in “good faith” with the union workers.

“I would call on Air Canada to negotiate in good faith with the pilots,” Poilievre said.

“We’re not going to support preempting those negotiations. We stand with the pilots and their right to fight for a fair deal, good wages.”