About the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is responsible for providing dispute resolution and dispute prevention assistance to trade unions and employers under the jurisdiction of the Canada Labour Code. The FMCS provides conciliation and mediation assistance to parties engaged in collective bargaining and offers an extensive range of preventive mediation and grievance mediation services aimed at resolving differences and improving industrial relations during the closed period of a collective agreement. It also manages the Labour-Management Partnerships Program, which provides seed funding for innovative projects designed to improve labour-management relationships. By providing unions and employers with these services, the FMCS helps to foster harmonious labour-management relations throughout Canada.

The Service also administers the Ministerial appointment of arbitrators, unjust dismissal adjudicators and wage recovery referees under the Canada Labour Code, and conducts research to aid in the development and implementation of industrial relations policy. The Head of the FMCS reports to the Minister of Labour in matters related to the resolution of industrial relations disputes in the federal jurisdiction and advises the Minister of Labour with respect to a wide range of industrial relations matters.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service derives its authority from the Canada Labour Code (Part I). This legislation governs industrial relations in federally-regulated industries, including international and interprovincial rail, road and air transportation; shipping and longshoring operations; grain handling; uranium mining; banking; broadcasting; telecommunications; and certain Crown corporations.

The use of government-appointed third-party neutrals to resolve labour relations disputes in Canada has a lengthy history, dating back to the Conciliation Act of 1900. Over the years, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and its predecessors have provided the parties involved in collective bargaining with professional expertise crucial to the resolution of their differences. Through its conciliation and mediation assistance, the FMCS has achieved an enviable record for resolving labour disputes without work stoppage.