The federal Liberal government is defending its decision to intervene to resolve a labour dispute at Canada’s largest airline amid criticism from unions and opposition parties

After months of stalled negotiations, 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday morning. The federal government stepped in hours later to order binding arbitration, forcing an end to the strike — or so they thought.

The federal government ordered Air Canada and its flight attendants into binding arbitration on Saturday, putting an abrupt end to a strike and lockout that began less than 12 hours earlier with grounded planes and thousands of Canadians struggling to find alternate ways home.