Labour Minister Rona Ambrose said she has asked the Liberal party to support back-to-work legislation for striking OC Transpo workers. (Canadian Press)

The federal Conservative government could order Ottawa's striking transit union back to work if it gets the support of the Opposition Liberals, Labour Minister Rona Ambrose said Wednesday, the 50th day of the strike.

"It is clear to me that this strike has gone on too long," Ambrose said in the foyer of the House of Commons after question period, adding that the strike has clearly taken a toll on Ottawa's most vulnerable residents.

Ambrose said she has asked the Liberal party to support back-to-work legislation.

She didn't say what the response was. However, unanimous consent to the bill would be needed for it to pass without debate and put a quick end to the strike.

Ambrose said that for the past two weeks, the government has offered mediation services and arbitration, "with no real response from the parties in terms of a compromise or a willingness to reach an agreement."

Moments earlier, Commons Speaker Peter Milliken agreed to an emergency debate in the Commons on the transit strike at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, after a request from Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger, who represents the riding of Ottawa-Vanier.

Bélanger said he wanted the government to be "seized by the importance" of something that is negatively affecting almost a million people and doesn't seem close to resolution — given that as of Wednesday, the two sides in the dispute weren't even talking.

"So, I think it's time that we ratchet up the pressure," Bélanger said.

Opposition parties won't say if they'd support bill

When told about Ambrose's proposal and asked whether the Liberals would support it, Bélanger would not say. Instead, he responded, "I would hope that the government would take a non-partisan approach to this and consult the members of Parliament from this region who have been receiving hundreds of messages from their constituents."

NDP MP Paul Dewar, who represents Ottawa-Centre, was also asked about the proposed legislation. He said no one has talked to him about that, and he would not say whether he would support it. However, he said that before any such legislation is introduced, he would like the labour minister to ask both sides in the dispute to name an arbitrator and bring the dispute to binding arbitration.

"That's what should happen," he said, adding that he sent Ambrose a letter Wednesday asking her to do that.

The NDP will not support the legislation, according to the Canadian Press.

Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe said his party will consider Ambrose's proposal and decide by tomorrow, but it's not in the Bloc's tradition to support back-to-work legislation.

About 2,300 transit drivers, dispatchers and maintenance workers represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 walked off the job on Dec. 10. They work for OC Transpo, the public transit company owned and operated by the city.

ATU Local 279 president André Cornellier said he'd rather the government did not legislate his union back to work.

"But if the government decides on something else, what can I say?" he said.

Cornellier accused the city of being behind Ambrose's proposal.

"The mayor and city council have friends in high places and they're trying to get their friends to get them out of the box. Shame on them."

Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien said he would not comment on the proposed back-to-work legislation.

But Coun. Diane Deans said it has become apparent that a negotiated settlement is unlikely.

"At this point, because there is no end in sight, I'd have to say I welcome the intervention of the minister," Deans said.

Labour board won't intervene

Just before noon Wednesday, the Canada Industrial Relations Board announced that it will not intervene in the strike.

A lack of regular transit service in Ottawa doesn't pose an immediate danger to health and safety to the public, the board ruled.

Randy Graham, international vice-president of the ATU, which represents the striking workers, said he thinks the board made the right decision.

"We're pleased that it's brought another question by people to conclusion," he added.

The labour board had been ordered by federal Labour Minister Rona Ambrose to determine whether "essential services" agreements between the two sides should be changed.

The board has the power to order some striking employees back to work if it believes there is an immediate and serious danger to public health or safety that needs to be rectified.

Based on more than 3,000 submissions from the public and from both sides, the board had suggested that three groups might be affected by the transit strike in a way that endangers public health and safety:

• Health-care workers.
• Individuals who can't leave their homes and require health-care workers.
• People on health treatments and drugs.

Lawyers for both the city and the union disagreed. They argued Wednesday morning before the board that health-care workers are getting to work on time, people are learning to change habits and ambulance response times haven't been affected by the strike.

In the end, the board ruled in their favour.

Currently, OC Transpo's door-to-door transportation service for people with disabilities, Para Transpo, is covered by an essential services agreement and continues to operate during the strike.

The city and the union were opposed to any further extension of essential services agreements, even though some bus drivers and members of the public have told the CBC they would like to see transit designated as an essential service.

Talks break off

While the two sides seemed to see eye to eye on essential services, they were unable to agree at the bargaining table.

The most recent talks between them ended Tuesday. The brief round of negotiations had begun Monday after city revised its bargaining position during a special council meeting on Saturday.

But Graham said the union felt the revisions were more show than substance.

"It's unfortunate," he said. "The substantive issues that have kept us apart from early December still keep us apart."

He added that those issues — scheduling, hours of work and contracting out — have "not been addressed by the employer at all."

The city disagreed.

In a news release, it said it had offered to set up a temporary joint management-union committee to devise a scheduling system that included rules requiring minimum rest times between shifts and improved service reliability.

"The city has shown that it is willing to negotiate and compromise. The only way to end this strike is for both sides to work together," Mayor Larry O'Brien said in a statement Tuesday night.

"However, we would like to see the union come back to the table with those items that they are willing to compromise on."

The city said it had also offered to remove a $2,500 one-time productivity bonus in return for an extra two per cent increase in salary for the workers over the remaining two years of their contract.