Ambulance cooperatives and companies prevailed; the Administrative Labour Tribunal (TAT) ordered the paramedics’ unions, which were set to launch new labour actions, to withdraw their call for action and to comply with the list of essential services on which it had already ruled.
Several paramedic unions in Quebec were set to escalate their pressure tactics starting Tuesday.
Their members were to refuse to provide availability to staffing agencies. Additionally, in certain regions, they were to refuse to work overtime.
Related:
These new pressure tactics were to be added to the indefinite strike that began several months ago. However, the strike has had little impact in the eyes of the public, since the majority of paramedics’ duties are considered essential services.
In the case of the unions affiliated with the a Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux, which is part of the CSN, the strike began in July 2025.
In the case of the l’Association des travailleurs du préhospitalier (ATPH), the strike began in September 2025.
Ambulance service employers had therefore asked the TAT to intervene, given the imminent implementation of these new pressure tactics, which, in their view, risked compromising a service to which the public is entitled.
And the court ruled in their favor, noting that it had already ruled on which essential services must be maintained when the strike began. The court had then “held that all regular services would be provided, with the exception of those expressly excluded. The two new forms of pressure outlined in the union’s call to action are not among the services specifically excluded,” it concluded.
Administrative Judge Benoit Roy-Déry also points out that the court had already ruled on the list of services to be maintained when the two strikes were called in July and September 2025. At that time, it had “held that all regular services would be provided, with the exception of those expressly excluded.” The two new forms of industrial action called for in the union’s directive are not among the services specifically excluded.”
This does not mean that paramedics will be required to work overtime or make themselves available to staffing agencies as they did in the past. The administrative judge notes, however, that these must be individual choices.
“It should be noted that paramedics are not prohibited from ceasing to volunteer for overtime work for personal reasons of their own that do not stem from a union directive. They may also refuse to work for a private staffing agency if this decision is based on an individual choice that is not related to a union directive,” concluded Roy-Déry.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
