OTTAWA — The federal Liberal government is intervening to resolve a labour dispute at Canada's largest airline that scuttled hundreds of flights, stranded travellers and threatened the economy.

Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants to resume operations and resolve the dispute through binding arbitration.

Hajdu said she made the call after meeting with both sides Friday night, finding that talks had broken down and the parties remained too far apart to resolve the conflict quickly enough.

"Now is not the time to take risks with our economy. A work stoppage would cause thousands of Canadians to be stranded abroad and across this country and this is simply unacceptable," Hajdu s

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