The mediated meetings between bus lines and Teamsters Local 106, the union representing striking bus drivers in the Outaouais region, have ended in a stalemate. The meetings were the first time the two parties have returned to the bargaining table since the strike began on May 1, and followed on the heels of both parties requesting a mediator from the provincial Ministry of Labour last week.

Denis Ouellette, a representative for the Teamsters, said that in their first meeting, both SOGESCO and Autobus Campeau (another company they're negotiating with) came with the same offers they had made before the strike. He said he suspects the companies are trying leverage the situation to get more money from the provincial government.

Ouellette said that given these initial meetings, he wasn't optimistic that a resolution would be reached before the end of the school year.

The public relations firm representing SOGESCO, the parent company of bus lines Autobus Lasalle and Bigras Transport, has declined interview requests, but issued a statement on the negotiations on May 19.

"Considering the disparity between school contracts from one region of Quebec to the next, including, unfortunately, the Outaouais region, differences in income of several thousand dollars mean that employers are unable to pay their employees equitably due to a lack of funding," the statement reads. "Quebec government officials gave instructions in September 2022 to set up a committee to review the terms of the Outaouais contracts. Employers are calling on the ministère de l’Éducation to quickly review the conditions in the Outaouais region so that they can offer drivers their fair share."

The full interview with Ouellette is available below: