UPDATE 5-Ottawa steps in to block Air Canada strike

* Strike could have started ThursdayBy Allison MartellTORONTO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The Canadian government will step in to make sure a strike at Air Canada will not start on Thursday morning as scheduled, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt said on Tuesday.Raitt told CTV news she would refer the dispute between Air Canada and its flight attendants’ union to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board on Wednesday, a move that would suspend any strike action for an undefined period.”What that does mean is that while the matter is before the CIRB there cannot be a work stoppage,” Raitt said in a CTV interview.She said she did not know how long it would take the CIRB to rule on the dispute, but Air Canada, Canada’s largest airline, said its flights would operate as normal on Thursday. The CIRB is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal responsible for administering and interpreting parts of the Labour Code.Ottawa had warned that a strike could damage a fragile Canadian economy, but Parliament’s absence for a week had made it difficult to pass back-to-work legislation to prevent a strike by the 6,800 flight attendants.The Conservative government twice drafted back-to-work legislation to halt work stoppages at Air Canada, although union and management agreed to tentative deals before either set of legislation passed.The flight attendants on Sunday rejected a tentative deal between the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the union gave strike notice for Thursday.The union had said it was willing to resume talks, but Air Canada appeared wary, given that union members twice rejected contracts that union negotiators recommended.”We have to question the legitimacy of the union’s representation and the entire collective bargaining process. CUPE leadership have failed to secure ratification of two separate tentative agreements,” a spokeswoman said.Raitt said last month that a strike at Air Canada could strand as many as 65,000 passengers on its first day and analysts have said a work stoppage by the flight attendants would virtually ground the airline.Meanwhile, Toronto’s Pearson airport, Air Canada’s main travel hub, has faced other traffic delays due to job action by disgruntled security screening staff.Garda World Security Corp , the employer of the screening staff, said it had suspended 74 officers and begun legal action against them for refusing to honor a separate CIRB injunction to stop their work slowdown.The continued job action at Pearson brings into question how effective the government’s plan will be to halt an Air Canada strike by referring the dispute to the same board.Shares of Air Canada closed down 2.1 percent at C$1.38 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. WestJet shares were up 14 Canadian cents at C$13.04.