Agreement in principle reached between Quebec and road traffic controllers
Posted November 28, 2025 10:55 am.
Last Updated November 28, 2025 2:26 pm.
A second agreement in principle has been reached between Quebec and road traffic controllers regarding the renewal of their collective agreement.
The agreement was reached on Thursday evening between the Fraternité des constables du contrôle routier du Québec, which represents 300 members, and the Conseil du trésor, supported by Contrôle routier Québec, an agency affiliated with the Quebec auto-insurance board (SAAQ).
In fact, this is not the first agreement in principle between the parties. A first tentative agreement was reached last April, but it was rejected by 53 per cent of the members.
Negotiations had to resume after the Fraternity surveyed its members to find out what had caused dissatisfaction with the first agreement.
The new agreement addressed the issues that were still causing irritation, namely work-life balance, a “retention bonus” to encourage those who were leaving to stay, and the issue of lieutenants.
The other clauses that were part of the initial agreement remain unchanged, namely a 17.4 per cent increase over five years, in line with all government employees, as well as what had already been negotiated for the pension plan, vacation time, group insurance and evening and weekend premiums.
In an interview on Friday, Fraternity President Jean-Claude Daignault said he hoped to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, as the collective agreement expired in March 2023.
“This will be the first time in about 25 years that we will have labour peace, if the agreement is accepted by our members. Two years of labour peace, because usually, the collective agreement that was in effect would expire, and then we would have an agreement in principle during the new collective agreement that was not yet in effect. So we’ve been negotiating continuously for the past 25 years, without a single period when we weren’t required to be in negotiations. That means that if it’s accepted, we’ll have two years of labour peace,” summarized Daignault.
This agreement in principle will now have to be submitted to union directors on Monday evening. It will then be submitted to union members. Daignault hopes to do so within two weeks, to close the loop.
The issue of renewing the collective agreement is separate from that of highway patrol officers carrying weapons. Late in October, Quebec announced that road traffic controllers would finally be armed, as they had requested.
Since a decision by the Administrative Labor Tribunal concerning their safety when making unplanned interventions on the road, inspectors must remain in checkpoints.
“Since the ruling, my members have been confined to checkpoints. It was undermining morale because my members’ ability to intervene is greatly reduced. This meant that it did not create a climate conducive to achieving anything that could be perceived as positive. Now that this issue (carrying weapons) has been resolved, and we have an agreement in principle, the atmosphere is certainly much more positive, seeing that things are moving forward with the government,” concluded Daignault.
With the issue of carrying weapons resolved, his members will now have to undergo the necessary training. Daignault said he hopes to see road inspectors back on the roads “at the end of winter.”
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
