With Parliament set to open Monday, the Liberal government is preparing to table legislation to overhaul federal labour laws, iPolitics has learned.

Multiple government, industry and union sources said the bill will likely be introduced early in the fall sitting, with Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu holding calls Friday with union leaders and industry.

One labour source said they suspected today’s announcement for funding supports for skilled trade workers was designed to soften the blow of the coming bill.

The sources spoke anonymously as they’re not authorized to speak publicly on these matters.

One of the big question marks looming over the bill is the future of a controversial section of the Canada Labour Code that gives the government broad powers to make orders impacting federally regulated sectors. The government has used s. 107 to squash strikes and lockouts in the past few years, including most recently with WestJet and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).

That section was one of several topics part of the government’s consultations on labour laws held through the spring and summer.

A Liberal source said the bill could lower the threshold for when the government could intervene in disputes.

The question is whether that will be done via s. 107 or by the creation of a special mediator role. The role was one of several recommendations made in the spring 2025 industrial inquiry commission, which the government ordered to explore what was driving labour disputes at the West Coast ports.

Industry wants the government to create the role and give the mediator the power to issue a report and possibly, order binding arbitration. Unions oppose further incursions into the bargaining process.

The commission report also recommended changing the process for certifying bargaining agents for workers at the ports. Currently, longshore workers can choose to negotiate as a single bloc or decide to negotiate by employer type or geographic region.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, which represents longshore workers in negotiations, is structured as a council of individual locals that have their own leadership. The ILWU has chosen voluntarily to bargain on a B.C.-wide basis in the past, but wants to retain the option to choose in the future.

The commission recommended against this and called for the government to require geographic certification for future negotiations.

More to come…