Maintenance of Activities Agreement (MOAA) Update

Maintenance of Activities Agreement (MOAA) Update

As previously stated, we had a Maintenance of Activities Agreement (MOAA) application pending with the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). Nav Canada and CANSA had agreed to a mediation session with the assistance of the Board to resolve the issue. The mediation was scheduled for mid-January 2025.

On December 30th, 2024, we successfully ratified a tentative agreement with Nav Canada. Since then, discussions have taken place between CANSA, Unifor National and the Unifor Legal Counsel. It has been determined that since there is no longer a dispute, it is very likely the CIRB will consider the MOAA unnecessary at this time as the parties will not face another potential strike or lockout for at least three and a half years as this collective agreement ends on June 30th, 2028.

Nav Canada has also expressed that they feel a decision on the MOAA now would not necessarily prevent future applications for maintenance of activities. Potential changes, such as planned technological advancements, may impact service requirements and may necessitate a re-evaluation.

I recognize the CANSA membership's frustration with the delays caused by the MOAA issue, which hindered our ability to exercise our legal right to strike. Members expressed concerns during ratification meetings about facing similar delays in future negotiations and I acknowledge these concerns, but there are significant changes ahead.

As reported during bargaining, the Canadian government passed anti-scab legislation in June 2024. With Bill C-58 becoming law, changes to the Canada Labour Code will take effect on June 20, 2025. These changes will alter how MOAA disputes are handled.

Under the new rules, parties must enter into a maintenance of activities agreement within fifteen (15) days of giving notice to bargain. If no agreement is reached within those fifteen (15) days, the parties must apply to the CIRB, which will resolve the matter within eighty-two (82) days. This streamlined process ensures that legal strike or lockout positions needed for seventy-two (72) hour lockout notices can be achieved within one hundred (100) days of a notice to bargain being issued. The Canada Labour Code allows for the notice to bargain to be submitted four (4) months prior to the expiration of the collective agreement.

As we navigate these new laws, it is our job to set the union up to best succeed. Recent case law from the CIRB shows that they are not ruling on MOAA’s when a tentative agreement has been reached because the Board finds that there is no labour relations purpose to be served by continuing with its determination of the reference since the union and the employer have ratified a collective agreement. You can find the full Board ruling here.

Given that, we have determined that there is nothing to be gained by putting time and expense into an MOAA application which will be rejected by the Board as we are not in a position to bargain. Nav Canada and Unifor

have agreed to jointly ask the Board to dismiss the Maintenance of Activities Agreement application. We will apply again as soon as we are in a position to submit our notice to bargain for the next round of bargaining.

CANSA will use the time prior to submitting the notice to bargain to prepare any changes we need to our previously submitted MOAA application to reflect Nav Canada’s changing technological environment and the work our members provide. We will be ready to submit and provide arguments to support our submission prior to beginning the next bargaining cycle.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding with this process.

Question and Answer Sessions

As this is a change in how we planned on moving forward, I will be holding another round of calls to allow members to ask any questions that they may have.

We have decided to switch to Zoom for our calls moving forward as it is easier to manage and has lower operating costs for the union. You can opt to call into the Zoom meeting via telephone if you choose. We still have our conference numbers as we are only charged when they are in use if we ever need to schedule a call that way.

We will also be combining sites per call to make managing the calls easier and to allow us to call all sites in one day, so everyone has the same information in a timely manner. If you can’t make the session planned for your region, feel free to join another session. When you ask a question, please state your name and work location for those on the call from other regions to know who is talking.

The schedule for Zoom calls will be as follows:

	10AM-11AM EST	11:30AM-12:30 PM EST	1PM-2PM EST	3PM-4PM EST
Wed Feb 12	Gander/Moncton	Montreal/Toronto	Ottawa	Winnipeg/Edmonton/Vancouver

An invite to the Zoom meeting will be sent out to you from Eric Titus shortly.

In Solidarity,

James Walker

President CANSA/Unifor 1016