Leah Gazan, Winnipeg Centre
“I want the House to pass my bill. It stops the minister from ending strikes and forcing people back to work. The government uses this power to help big companies and take away workers' rights.”
“Madam Speaker, to start out, I will note that it has been over a year since I tabled my bill, Bill C-247, to protect the right to strike in Canada and to repeal the Liberal government’s go-to strikebreaking tool: section 107 of the Canada Labour Code. Section 107 lets the minister violate workers’ charter-protected right to strike by simply sending an email, which the Liberals have done 10 times in the past three years alone. In fact, with Air Canada, they sent flight attendants back to work in less than 12 hours, caving to the CEO, who had no intention of bargaining with workers, workers who, I might add, were primarily women. Every time the Liberals have used section 107, they have told CEOs everywhere that if they refuse to bargain in good faith, the federal government will come to their rescue and shut down workers’ strikes. The use of section 107 contradicts rulings by the Supreme Court and the International Court of Justice that protect the right to strike. The NDP has been clear: Section 107 has no place in our democracy. During the time we have debated my bill to uphold the right to strike, the Liberals have taken their attacks on workers’ rights to a whole other level in Bill C-39. This bill tries to justify the government’s unconstitutional attacks on the right to strike and enshrine the Liberal government’s strikebreaking tactics into law, which would cause even more frequent strikebreaking. It is no surprise that this is happening under the watch of the new governing party, which is run by the Bay Street boys. Unions across Canada have condemned this bill’s attack on the right to strike. They include CLC, Canada’s Building Trades Unions, CUPE, PSAC, CUPW, Unifor, Teamsters and more. The Liberals are not building a strong country through these attacks on workers. Instead, they are creating new divisions throughout our society at the direction of big business, including corporate giants in the U.S. and beyond. As Bea Bruske, president of the CLC, stated, “we cannot defend Canada with our hands tied at the bargaining table.” She continued, “A right you cannot exercise is not a right. Canada’s unions fought for the right to strike, and we will fight to defend it.” CUPE National has meanwhile passed a unanimous resolution vowing to defy the Liberal government’s Bill C-39 if passed unamended through Parliament. After years of violating workers’ right to strike through the abuse of section 107, this Labour Day, the Liberal Minister of Jobs had the audacity to celebrate the historical progress of workers’ rights, which was, in her words, “fought for by generations of workers and union members who organized, stood together, and pushed Canada forward.” She would have already been aware of the sweeping violations of collective bargaining rights contained in Bill C-39, which her government presented in Parliament just weeks later. This is exactly the type of hypocrisy we are used to after years of the Liberals’ attacks on collective bargaining rights. They say they support workers, only to violate their constitutional rights and prevent them from reaching fair deals through collective bargaining. If the Prime Minister cared about workers, he would be protecting and advancing collective bargaining rights, which are workers’ tried and tested means of bringing home a livable wage. This starts with repealing section 107 and ending attacks on the right to strike. Workers across the country are watching whether the government will support their rights and vote in favour of this NDP bill. I know that NDP members of Parliament will continue to stand up without qualification for the right to free collective bargaining and the right to strike in Canada.”
Madam Speaker, to start out, I will note that it has been over a year since I tabled my bill, Bill C-247, to protect the right to strike in Canada and to repeal the Liberal government’s go-to strikebreaking tool: section 107 of the Canada Labour Code. Section 107 lets the minister violate workers’ charter-protected right to strike by simply sending an email, which the Liberals have done 10 times in the past three years alone. In fact, with Air Canada, they sent flight attendants back to work in less than 12 hours, caving to the CEO, who had no intention of bargaining with workers, workers who, I might add, were primarily women. Every time the Liberals have used section 107, they have told CEOs everywhere that if they refuse to bargain in good faith, the federal government will come to their rescue and shut down workers’ strikes. The use of section 107 contradicts rulings by the Supreme Court and the International Court of Justice that protect the right to strike. The NDP has been clear: Section 107 has no place in our democracy. During the time we have debated my bill to uphold the right to strike, the Liberals have taken their attacks on workers’ rights to a whole other level in Bill C-39. This bill tries to justify the government’s unconstitutional attacks on the right to strike and enshrine the Liberal government’s strikebreaking tactics into law, which would cause even more frequent strikebreaking. It is no surprise that this is happening under the watch of the new governing party, which is run by the Bay Street boys. Unions across Canada have condemned this bill’s attack on the right to strike. They include CLC, Canada’s Building Trades Unions, CUPE, PSAC, CUPW, Unifor, Teamsters and more. The Liberals are not building a strong country through these attacks on workers. Instead, they are creating new divisions throughout our society at the direction of big business, including corporate giants in the U.S. and beyond. As Bea Bruske, president of the CLC, stated, “we cannot defend Canada with our hands tied at the bargaining table.” She continued, “A right you cannot exercise is not a right. Canada’s unions fought for the right to strike, and we will fight to defend it.” CUPE National has meanwhile passed a unanimous resolution vowing to defy the Liberal government’s Bill C-39 if passed unamended through Parliament. After years of violating workers’ right to strike through the abuse of section 107, this Labour Day, the Liberal Minister of Jobs had the audacity to celebrate the historical progress of workers’ rights, which was, in her words, “fought for by generations of workers and union members who organized, stood together, and pushed Canada forward.” She would have already been aware of the sweeping violations of collective bargaining rights contained in Bill C-39, which her government presented in Parliament just weeks later. This is exactly the type of hypocrisy we are used to after years of the Liberals’ attacks on collective bargaining rights. They say they support workers, only to violate their constitutional rights and prevent them from reaching fair deals through collective bargaining. If the Prime Minister cared about workers, he would be protecting and advancing collective bargaining rights, which are workers’ tried and tested means of bringing home a livable wage. This starts with repealing section 107 and ending attacks on the right to strike. Workers across the country are watching whether the government will support their rights and vote in favour of this NDP bill. I know that NDP members of Parliament will continue to stand up without qualification for the right to free collective bargaining and the right to strike in Canada.