The ruling could mean at least $45,400 for each former employee of Aveos — though the total is hard to estimate.
Lawyers say Air Canada could have to pay more than $100 million in compensation to workers who lost their jobs at maintenance centres more than a decade ago.
A 2022 ruling in Quebec Superior Court found the airline violated federal law by failing to keep three centres operational when Aveos — the contractor that ran them — shut down in 2012.
Air Canada has filed an appeal, which has not yet been heard.
This week, the judge decided on a formula to calculate lost wages and other damages for the 2,200 former employees of the shuttered plants, located in Montreal, Winnipeg and Mississauga, Ont.
Elodie Drolet-French, a lawyer representing the workers in their class action, says the compensation will likely top $100 million — at least $45,400 per employee — though she qualifies that the total is tough to gauge.
Air Canada spokesperson Christophe Hennebelle calls the projections “pure speculation,” noting that the calculation method did not name a final compensation amount.
“We have appealed the first part of the judgment on the principle of liability. We are considering whether to add points to the second judgment, which will not apply anyway if our appeal in the first part is successful,” Hennebelle said by email.
“The judgment merely sets out a calculation method and then calls for individual proof for each member. It is completely silent on the quantification of the total amount. Any assessment at this stage is therefore pure speculation.”
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.