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But Anil Verma, a professor of industrial relations at the University of Toronto, disagreed that intervening at Air Canada so quickly was necessary.

Unlike the ports or the railways, there is ample competition in the airline industry both domestically, with WestJet Airlines Ltd. and Porter Airlines, and abroad with any number of international carriers, he said. “Air Canada does not fit the category at all,” he said.

Mr. Verma said he was surprised by the move, and felt that the Tories were trying to establish a new precedent with their recently-won majority.

“In the last 10 years or so, with governments of every stripe in Western countries, like Canada, the U.S., or the U.K., the approach has been to not intervene unless it’s absolutely necessary, to let collective bargaining play out, especially in the private sector,” Mr. Verma said. He gave the Vale-Inco strike as an example, which went on for more than a year in Sudbury, Ont.

“This could be the beginning of a new thing,” Mr. Verma said.

Ms. Raitt said Ottawa’s preferred route would be for Air Canada and the CAW to work out their own deal. But the back-to-work legislation would act as a motivator, she said.

“There’s a lot of variables that could happen. But our intention is to introduce it as soon as we can. The parties should be at the table trying to get a deal,” she said.

Air Canada’s negotiations with the CAW broke off shortly before midnight Monday over concessions the airline’s management was seeking from the employees over their pensions.