MONTREAL — Air Canada says it acknowledges the result of Air Canada pilots’ vote in favour of a potential strike, should the company not reach an agreement through the ongoing negotiations with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).

First announced yesterday, with 98% of members participating, the ALPA reported that 98% of Air Canada pilots voted in favour of job action, if necessary, to achieve a new contractual agreement with the airline.

Air Canada’s statement confirms that such a vote is a normal step in a negotiation process and does not mean that any disruption will take place.

In fact, notes Air Canada, a strike cannot take place before the end of the current conciliation period, followed by a 21-day cooling-off period.

For more information on the bargaining process see https://media.aircanada.com/Background-on-negotiation-process

“Air Canada remains committed to the bargaining process and will continue to work towards a fair and equitable collective agreement with ALPA that recognizes the contributions of our pilots and supports the competitiveness and long-term growth of our company,” said the airline’s statement.

The ALPA has signalled that informational pickets will take place Aug. 27 across all Air Canada bases, in Toronto (2 – 3 p.m. ET at YYZ – T1 Departures), Vancouver (11 a.m. – 12 p.m. PT at YYZ – Departures), Montreal (2 – 3 p.m. ET at YUL – Departures) and Winnipeg (1 – 2 p.m. CT at YWG – Departures)

A video featuring the latest update from Air Canada’s Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Public Affairs, Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, can be found here.