On November 30, 2025, Law 14, An Act to give greater consideration to the needs of the population in the event of a strike or a lockout (“Law 14”) officially introduced a new regulatory system governing the maintenance of services should a labour dispute take place in Québec. In a previous bulletin, we outlined the major changes introduced by Bill 89 (which became Law 14), including the notion of “services ensuring the well-being of the population” (“SWBP”) to be maintained in the event of a labour dispute.

Until recently, the obligation to maintain services during a labour dispute was limited to essential services, or those services that, if they were unavailable, would compromise public health or safety. As a result of Law 14, the regulatory system has been expanded to include the services minimally required to prevent a disproportionate impact on the social, economic or environmental security of the population, and in particular that of persons in vulnerable situations.^[1]

Law 14 introduced into the Labour Code (the “Code”) a four-step process to be followed for maintaining such services:

1. The government designates, by order, the workplaces that offer such services.^[2]
2. The certified association or employer involved files an application with the Administrative Labour Tribunal (the “ALT” or “Tribunal”) to determine whether that employer does provide services ensuring the well-being of the population.^[3]
3. If the application is allowed, the parties must agree on which...

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