Bill C-485 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act (members' staff)

This bill was last introduced in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, which ended in March 2011.

This bill was previously introduced in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session.

Sponsor

Chris Charlton  NDP

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of Nov. 26, 2009
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act (“the Act”) to ensure that staff of members of the Senate and the House of Commons, who serve them in their capacity as Member of Parliament, Leader, House Leader or Whip, will not be prevented from being included in a bargaining unit. The enactment covers caucus staff, parliamentary committee staff, and staff in a minister’s office who are hired under the Act, but not staff in a minister’s office who are hired under the Public Service Employment Act.
To achieve its objectives, the enactment
(a) amends the Act to ensure that Part I of the Act does not apply to staff who are hired under the Public Service Employment Act;
(b) adds members of both Houses to the definition of “employer”; and
(c) excludes persons employed under the Public Service Employment Act from the definition “employee”, so that the staff in a minister’s office who were hired under that Act are not within that definition.
The enactment also prohibits lockouts by employers of their employees and imposes fines on those causing lockouts. This makes the Act consistent in its provisions respecting strikes and lockouts.
The commencement provision of the Act is amended to ensure that all of the provisions of the Act that have not previously been brought into force will come into force not later than the day on which this enactment comes into force.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations ActRoutine Proceedings

November 26th, 2009 / 10:05 a.m.


See context

NDP

Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-485, An Act to amend the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act (members' staff).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this bill to amend the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act to ensure that staff of senators and members of the House of Commons, who serve those in the capacity of member, leader, House leader or whip, enjoy the benefit of being permitted, if they so choose, to organize a union, to belong to a union and to enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining.

These are rights and privileges that are considered fundamental in modern democratic societies such as Canada. In fact, we work long and hard to ensure that those rights are protected and advanced for all working people.

I hope that all members representing caucuses in the House of Commons will see fit to support the bill. It is a matter of simple justice.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)