OTTAWA — Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu says upcoming legislation will help reduce the number of times the federal government has to intervene in strikes.

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill Saturday, Hajdu did not provide many details about expected plans to amend the Canada Labour Code.

However, she said no government wants to intervene in a strike and that parties are better off if they can solve problems themselves at the negotiating table.

“The government already has the power to intervene,” she said. “The point is to reduce the times that the government is forced to solve the problem for employers and unions.”

Employers and unions have disagreed strongly on the use of Section 107 of the labour code, which has been used increasingly to curb work stoppages in key industries by referring disputes to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Employment and Social Development Canada said in a report earlier this month that employers and unions are divided over how much power Ottawa should have to intervene in labour disputes.

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon told reporters Saturday that the legislation — which could be introduced in the House of Commons as early as next week — isn’t targeting the right to strike.

“What we want to do is make achieving collective agreements easier,” he said.

Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said in a statement that the right to strike is in the national interest.

“Canada’s economic security depends on workers having the power to bargain for better wages, working conditions and job security,” she said. “Any new power to prevent or shut down a legal strike, including before it begins, would weaken that power. Canada needs workers with our elbows up, not our hands tied.”

Derrick Hynes, CEO of Federally Regulated Employers—Transportation and Communications, said changes to the Canada Labour Code must include new tools to avoid “catastrophic” labour disruptions.

“The inclusion of a neutral, third-party special mediator who can provide a public report on bargaining and inform government actions would be a significant step forward,” he said.

Hynes added that in the rare circumstance where the impacts of a labour disruption on the Canadian economy are so extreme that they run counter to the national public interest, and an agreement is unlikely to be struck, cabinet must have the ability to impose binding arbitration “before the damage is done.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney met with his Liberal caucus in Ottawa on Friday and Saturday as MPs prepare to return to the House of Commons next week.