Ottawa seeking more data from airlines, asks them to self‑audit pay records
Ottawa needs more detailed pay information from airlines and unions before it can determine whether Canadian flight attendants are doing unpaid work, Employment Minister Patty Hajdu says, according to a report.
The federal government on Thursday released initial findings from a probe launched six months ago into allegations raised during collective bargaining between Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants, the Canadian Press (CP) reported. More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike in August 2025, disrupting travel plans for thousands of passengers.
Central to that labour dispute were claims from the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) that flight attendants were not being paid for some duties on the ground, including pre‑ and post‑flight tasks, CP reported. Employers in federally regulated sectors, including airlines, must pay at or above the federal minimum wage.
Hajdu’s department said it did not find evidence in this first phase of the probe that compensation practices in the airline sector fall below minimum wage standards, CP reported. However, the report said compensation practices for many part‑time and entry‑level flight attendants warranted “closer examination,” according to CP.
In 2025, Ottawa launched a probe into the issue of unpaid work in the airline sector.
Airlines say findings confirm compliance
The federal government has asked airlines to self‑audit their pay records to ensure flight attendants are paid in line with the Labour Code, and the head of enforcement and compliance at Hajdu’s department is expected to bring airline and union representatives together in Ottawa later this month to review minimum wage requirements, CP reported.
Airlines have welcomed the preliminary results. Air Canada vice‑president of corporate communications Christophe Hennebelle said in an email that the carrier “welcomes the outcome of the federal government’s investigation” and that it confirmed “there is no unpaid work at Air Canada,” according to The Canadian Press.
“‘The findings confirm that the credit‑based pay structure is compliant with the [Labour] Code, and that the compensation framework for flight attendants across the airline industry meets the code’s standards,’ Hennebelle said,” CP reported. He added that Air Canada will “fully participate” in future phases of the probe.
Porter Airlines director of communications and public affairs Brad Cicero also said the Toronto‑based carrier views the federal review as confirmation that the credit‑based model is “appropriate.” He said Porter will review Ottawa’s request for additional data “and determine how we can best support further review,” according to The Canadian Press.
Credit‑based pay model under scrutiny
The report said compensation for flight attendants at most Canadian airlines is based on a “credit‑based model,” CP reported. Rather than a simple hourly rate, the system combines time spent in the air with per diems and other benefits to determine total pay.
Hajdu told CP that while it is reasonable to review whether this system is still working as intended, it is a model that airlines and unions have accepted over decades of collective bargaining in Canada.
Hajdu said federal investigators heard accounts from union members that they were not fully compensated for delayed flights, but those claims could not be conclusively confirmed using payroll records. “‘That’s not to say it isn’t true. That’s just to say that the records aren’t matching,’ Hajdu said,” according to the report.
She said the department requested more precise pay data from both airlines and unions. “‘We asked both the unions and the employer to provide more detailed, granular data about the pay itself. And we just didn’t get sufficient information to really fully determine, one way or another, the validity of the argument,’” Hajdu told CP.
Union alleges ‘abuse of unpaid work’
CUPE was not happy with Ottawa's report, saying it falls far short of what’s needed and Parliament should adopt interim NDP leader Don Davies’s private member’s bill, C‑250, which would ensure flight attendants are paid their negotiated hourly rate for all hours worked.
“The government’s only proposed solution is to have airlines do wage compliance self-audits. You don’t ask the fox whether they can be trusted with the henhouse, but that’s exactly what the government is proposing to do here,” said Mark Hancock, CUPE’s National President.
According to CUPE, a 2022–23 survey found that flight attendants in Canada work an average of 35 unpaid hours each month, while an Abacus Data poll from August 2025 showed nine in 10 Canadians want an end to unpaid work in the airline sector. The union represents 20,000 flight attendants at 11 airlines across the country, including five where new contracts are up for negotiation this year.
