Deadline looms for Air Canada and its pilots to reach a deal

The countdown is on for Air Canada and its pilots to reach a deal, as both sides will be in a position to issue a 72-hour notice of a strike or lockout at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday.

The airline has said the notice would trigger its three-day wind-down plan and start the clock on a full work stoppage. That means a stoppage could start as soon as Wednesday.

Negotiations with the the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents 5,200 Air Canada pilots, have been underway for more than 14 months. In the days leading up to the deadline, both the union and the company have said they remain far apart on the central question of pay.

Air Canada on Thursday called for the federal government to be ready to intervene and order both sides to binding arbitration. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said he wouldn't tip the scales toward either party.

"I know every time there's a strike, people say, 'Oh, you'll get the government to come in and fix it.' We're not going to do that," Trudeau said at an event in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que. "We have and we will protect the Canadian economy. But first and foremost is putting all the pressure on the people who need to feel that pressure — unions and the employers."

Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge, together operate nearly 670 flights per day. A shutdown would affect some 110,000 travellers a day.

The ongoing contract dispute is already having an impact on cargo. Air Canada has stopped accepting certain cargo items, such as live animals and perishables, which is affecting seafood exports from Atlantic Canada to Europe and the United States, said Duncan Dee, former chief operating officer at the airline.

"Both management and the union have to have to get serious about avoiding this strike at all costs, because the impact is severe," he told CBC News Network. "The clock is ticking, and we need to proceed with some degree of certainty so that more Canadians aren't inconvenienced."

Dee said he expects Air Canada to start cancelling long-haul flights this weekend to ensure its planes are not overseas if a work stoppage begins.

The deadline comes just months after WestJet mechanics went on strike for two days in July — a situation Dee called a "black eye" for the Canadian airline industry. A second strike, he said, would show the industry can't be relied upon.

"There has to be a better way to manage these disputes," Dee said. "Holding Canadian air travellers and Canadian shippers hostage is not the right way."