[Update: tentative settlement.]

The Canadian Air Traffic Controller Control Association (CATCA) has served notice of strike action beginning tomorrow, Wednesday 20 July 2005. As far as I can tell from reading the CATCA bulletins, there is no intention of withdrawing air traffic services; instead, the controllers seem to plan to stop training new, unlicensed controllers.

That sounds like a reasonable action. It puts pressure on Nav Canada without stranding millions of summer travellers, though it may be that CATCA (local 5454 of the Canadian Auto Workers) does not have the legal right to stop providing services anyway — I don’t know the background. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that Nav Canada management does not react by doing something stupid like locking the controllers out. Hopefully, if the controllers are not allowed to withdraw air traffic services, then management is not allowed to lock them out either.

Update: Friday 22 July

Aviation.ca reports that the union and Nav Canada have reached a tentative settlement, after the union postponed the strike action for a couple of days.