The CEO of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce has sent a letter to the federal government’s Minister of Labour about the potential work stoppage at WestJet. The pilot’s union announced a 72-hour strike notice Monday evening and the company followed suit with a lockout notice.

Jason Aebig says because Air Canada discontinued regional air service between Saskatoon and Calgary, WestJet is now the sole provider of comparable air service to Saskatoon and to Saskatchewan. He suggests to the Minister, if a settlement can’t be reached and there is a strike or a looking, it would take Saskatoon off the radar, crippling the city’s visitor economy and making travel to and from more expensive and difficult. Aebig adds that large meetings, conferences and other events would be negatively impacted as would the hotels, restaurants, attractions and hospitality workers who rely on business and leisure travel to support their families.

He urges Minister Seamus O’Regan to initiate legislation to sustain air services through rounds of collective bargaining to safeguard the interests of the travelling public and cities like Saskatoon.