September 15, 2025 Gatineau, Quebec Employment and Social Development Canada
Flight attendants play a critical role in keeping Canadian passengers and airline crew safe as they travel; they deserve to be compensated for the work they do.
The Canada Labour Code explicitly states that federally regulated employees must be paid an amount that is equal to, or greater than, the minimum wage. The Government of Canada has been made aware of allegations regarding unpaid work and unfair work conditions in the airline sector.
On August 18, 2025, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, launched a probe on unpaid work in the airline sector. Today, we are announcing the next phase of this probe and providing Canadians with an update on the steps ahead.
The steps of the probe are as follows:
- Stakeholder outreach: The Government has reached out to targeted stakeholders in the airline sector, including employers and employees, to participate in virtual consultations in English and in French.
- Discussion guide: The Government has delivered a discussion guide to targeted stakeholders which will help support the virtual discussion.
- Roundtable on the Probe on unpaid work in the airline sector: The Government will hold virtual roundtables with targeted stakeholders on September 23 and 24, and October 2 and 3, 2025, two sessions in each official language.
- Feedback submission deadline: The Government also welcomes participants to submit feedback on the discussion guide questions. Feedback must be submitted by October 17, 2025.
- Final report: The Government will publish a What We Heard Report as soon as possible.
- Next steps: The Government will determine appropriate action based on the final report.
Allegations of unpaid work are serious. This is why we are launching this probe and are hearing from employer and employee representatives in the airline sector. The Government will always protect workers and support productive and fair workplaces.
