Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien said he is pleased that Parliament is getting involved in his city's transit strike, which was in its 51st day Thursday.

"We welcome the federal government getting involved in this particular labour activity in the city," he said at an Ottawa Chamber of Commerce event on Thursday morning, hours before an emergency debate on the transit strike was expected in the House of Commons.

The debate was scheduled for around 6:30 p.m., following a request Wednesday from Ottawa-Vanier Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger.

Labour Minister Rona Ambrose said Wednesday afternoon that she has approached the Liberal party asking for support of back-to-work legislation to end the strike. Any such legislation would require unanimous consent in order to pass quickly, which means it would need the support of opposition MPs from other parties as well.

OC Transpo, the transit company owned and operated by the City of Ottawa, falls under federal rather than Ontario jurisdiction because some of its routes pass into Quebec.

O'Brien said the city was in touch with the federal government Wednesday night and would be meeting with federal officials, councillors and staff Thursday for further discussions.

"If we do end up having them legislated back to work, we hope the arbitration process includes those things that are important for the safety of our citizens here in Ottawa," O'Brien added.

Bay Ward Coun. Alex Cullen, chair of the city's transit committee, said he is "encouraged" that the labour minister is proposing back-to-work legislation.

"It's going to be good news for the citizens of the City of Ottawa. It's been a long and difficult strike," he said.

About 2,300 transit drivers, dispatchers and maintenance workers walked off the job on Dec. 10. They are employees of OC Transpo and are represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279.

Commuters want feds to end strike

Ottawa residents commuting to work Thursday also supported federal intervention in the dispute.

"I'm glad somebody's doing something. It's miserable without it," John Reid said as he walked up Bank Street through slippery remnants of fresh snow that fell overnight.

Reid said it's about time the government acted.

Cynthia Cole said she thinks the striking union members should be forced back to work.

"I don't think they should be all holding us all hostage and being greedy for more money when everybody's unemployed and we're not getting a raise this year."

Mark Davis said he also thinks back-to-work legislation is a "great idea."

'Should be considered essential'

Transit "should be considered essential," he said.

Transit workers out on the picket line Thursday were only willing to give anonymous opinions. Many said they support the idea of being legislated back to work, as long as they get a better contract out of it.

One driver, who identified himself as Mike, said he thinks back-to-work legislation would result in arbitration, "which is excellent, because they got to go right dead centre."

André Cornellier, president of ATU 279, said Wednesday that he was against back-to-work legislation.

ATU 279 members walked off the job on Dec. 10 after failing to reach a contract with the city. The main issue of disagreement between the two sides is the city's proposed new scheduling system.

On Jan. 8, union members voted 75 per cent against an offer issued by the city on Dec. 23. The federal labour minister had ordered them to vote on the offer after a request from the City of Ottawa.

Afterward, both sides proposed binding arbitration, but were unable to agree on the conditions.

On Jan. 24, city council agreed to revised bargaining terms, and talks resumed briefly before breaking off again on Jan. 27.

On Jan. 28, the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled that the transit strike does not pose an immediate or serious danger to public health and safety, and essential services agreements between the city and the union do not need to be revised to maintain a level of regular transit service. The board had been asked by the labour minister to look at the agreements and had made its decision based on more than 3,000 submissions from the public and the two sides in the dispute.