The Canadian postal workers union the CUPW is taking the Trudeau government to court over the legislation it used to forcibly end the rolling strikes by its members against Canada Post.

The CUPW said that it plans to file a constitutional challenge in Ontario Superior Court, arguing Bill C-89 violated the rights of workers to bargain new contracts.

“You cannot legislate labour peace,” CUPW national president Mike Palecek said in a statement announcing the court challenge. “This law violates our right to free collective bargaining under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

The legal action comes the day after the Canadian government appointed a mediator to bring the labour dispute to an end.

According to the CUPW Canada Post created a ‘false emergency’ over a backlog of parcels but the union denies there is a huge backlog.

Canada Post’s latest statement on their website on the state of play of delivery over the holiday season says:

“Significant and uneven parcel backlogs persist across the country and continue to challenge our operations as heavy holiday parcel volumes arrive daily. Understanding the central role we play in delivering the holidays for Canadians and Canadian retailers, it is our priority to deliver as much as possible before Christmas. However, existing backlogs, along with other complicating factors such as protest blockades at our facilities and any potential severe winter weather events, means delivery will be hampered and unpredictable through to January.”

The company has increased its fleet with 1400 rental vehicles for additional deliveries and an additional 500 to keep product moving through the network.

“As the backlog is uneven across the country, we are also moving volumes between major centres in an effort to get parcels to their destination faster,” it adds.