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What's at stake in the federal workers' strike?

Some government services are on hold as thousands of public servants go on strike across Canada. We’re explaining what it’s all about and what the impacts could be.
People wave red and yellow union flags in front of a politician's office.
Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) workers and supporters walk a picket line near the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council in Ottawa on April 19, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Picket lines have been set up at major government buildings and ministers' offices across the country as more than a hundred thousand public servants go on strike.

After nearly two years of bargaining without a contract, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) says Ottawa has failed to propose a reasonable agreement and wage increases that keep apace with inflation. But the government says the union's demands are untenable. Meanwhile, Canadians could see delays in accessing government services as passport office workers, immigration processing staff and most Canada Revenue Agency employees will be off the job in the biggest labour action the federal government has seen in nearly 20 years.

Today, J.P. Tasker, a reporter with CBC's parliamentary bureau, walks us through the points of contention, how the government is responding and the possible consequences.

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