Canada's government stepped in four times to aid seven companies last year, stopping strikes using an obscure Labour Code provision. A similar decree on Sunday failed, however, as Air Canada's flight attendants refused to obey and stayed on strike for three days.

Air Canada and the union representing 10,000 flight attendants resumed talks late Monday for the first time since the strike began over the weekend. The strike is affecting about 130,000 travelers a day at the peak of the summer travel season.

Air Canada said it will gradually begin restarting operations, but warned that complete restoration of operations could take up to a week.