The union representing workers at Wal-Mart's only unionized store in North America say they are going to continue trying to negotiate a first contract, even though the store is being shut down.

The store in Saguenay, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City, will be shut down on May 6 because Wal-Mart Canada says it isn't profitable. The closure will put more than 160 people out of work.

Henri Masse, the president of the Quebec Federation of Labour, said they still have a right to have a collective agreement imposed by an arbitrator.

However, he is ruling out a boycott of Wal-Mart stores.

Masse points out that several efforts to unionize Wal-Mart outlets are still going on in Canada. He fears Wal-Mart could use a boycott to accuse organized labour of working against its own people.

Another labour official agreed the time is not right for a boycott.

"Why would be doing this at this time?" Bob Linton, the National Communications Coordinator for the United Food and Commercial Workers union, told CTV.ca on Friday.

"It's different calling for a boycott when members are locked out of their jobs," he said.

Instead, with so many Wal-Mart stores operating in Canada, the union is taking a measured approach.

"Why would we want to take away the potential for their working life?" Linton said.

As for arbitration, provincial Labour Minister Michel Despres told The Canadian Press in Quebec City that he will impose an arbitrator if Wal-Mart and the union don't agree on one by Feb. 19.

The arbitrator can't force the Saguenay store to remain open, but does have the power to impose a contract between the two sides before the store closes.

Andrew Pelletier, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said they are going to respect the process and they have always bargained in good faith.

"The union walked away from the bargaining process, not us,'' he told CP. Pelletier said bargaining sessions had been scheduled for a few more months.

Gatineau bomb threats

Police say two Wal-Mart stores in Gatineau, Que., had to be evacuated Friday morning after the stores received bomb threats.

Gatineau police spokesman Sgt. Andre Pellerin says both outlets received a call from a male and they came within 20 minutes of each other.

A male caller apparently warned a bomb would explode before noon, but that deadline passed without incident.

Pellerin would not comment when asked if the caller talked about the store closure in Saguenay.

Masse said the union will continue their efforts to organize workers at other Wal-Mart stores.

Employees at a Wal-Mart in St-Hyacinthe have received union accreditation. They have not yet obtained a contract.

Also in the House of Commons on Friday, New Democrat MP David Christopherson demanded to know what the government would do to help the Wal-Mart workers.

Christopherson had fiery words about the retail giant.

"They've sent a message to their 70,000 Canadian workers: You don't have the right to organize, you don't have the right to collective bargaining, and you don't have the right to decent wages or hours of work," Christopherson said.

"What is the government going to do protect Canadian workers from corporate bullies."

Federal Labour Minister Joe Fontana says it's out of his hands, because retail business issues fall within provincial jurisdiction.

But he says he will lobby Quebec's labour minister to ensure employee rights are being protected.

Wal-Mart is the largest retail operator in the world. In Canada alone it operates 256 stores and six Sam's Clubs which employ more than 70,000 employees.

For several days now, Wal-Mart has insisted it is closing the store because it's not making money.

"Some of the union's demands failed to appreciate the fragile condition of the Jonquiere (Saguenay) store," said Pelletier.

The store, he said, "has been struggling economically. It's a business decision, it's an economic-viability issue ultimately, but it's been exacerbated through added pressures."

Linton says his organization wants answers.

"Let Wal-Mart prove to the Quebec Labour Commission that this store is not profitable," he told CTV.ca.

"It seems kind of funny that the one store that is organized in their empire is the only one not making money and they're prepared to shut it."

With a report from CTV's Genevieve Beauchemin and files from The Canadian Press