Bill C-39 (Historical)

Restoring Rail Service Act

An Act to provide for the continuation and resumption of rail service operations

This enactment provides for the continuation and resumption of rail service operations and imposes a binding arbitration process to resolve matters remaining in dispute between the parties.

Restoring Rail Service Act

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Then what happened was the Liberal government balanced the books and recorded surpluses and these guys came in and blew it all. That is what happened. Only after they added $100 billion to the national debt.

My colleague from Vancouver East talked about this being the 25th time these guys have used closure with their legislation. I want to share another statistic. In the last 62 years, back-to-work legislation has been used 37 times. In the last 62 years, back-to-work legislation has come to the chamber 37 times. These guys have brought it forward five times in the last year. I am not sure what the prize is for that, but they should be hanging their heads. They will get their prize from organized labour when the next election comes.

The government's record has been one of intervention and favouritism. Instead of being neutral and fair, the government has been just the opposite. It prepares back-to-work legislation even before a strike is due or a lockout occurs. It appoints inappropriate arbitrators and enacts back-to-work legislation that imposes even worse conditions than the parties themselves had agreed to. We saw that with the Canada Post situation. It came forward with legislation that offered a lower wage increase than Canada Post had already agreed upon. It is amazing.

It uses the Canada Industrial Relations Board as a pawn. It throws everything into the Canada Industrial Relations Board. We have seen the government's interference and interventionist actions in labour relations in the past. It has done nothing but poison the well of relations between companies and employees instead of cooling parties off. It is like consecutive episodes of Hell's Kitchen. With every preparation, it has one temperature over there for cooking, and that is burn and scorch. That is what it has done to relations between management and organized labour in this country. It has scorched relations.

George Smith is former director of labour relations at Air Canada and vice-president of human resources at CP Rail. He has been on the other side of the table, on the management side. He stated:

This has all the appearances of the federal government doing what’s best for the country but really it’s a disaster... If you are negotiating a difficult labour contract, the process is being taken out of your hands and the government will do it for you. The “showdown” element which hurts in the short run but results in a fair settlement is gone.

We would not dare believe that the government would listen to experts. It has not shown any kind of respect at all for the Parliamentary Budget Officer or any of those people. The minister does not even listen to her own officials. I asked her about that in an earlier exchange. On the legislation on the first Air Canada lockout, her officials advised against it. The officials stated:

This is an option to be used only in very extreme circumstances where there is a serious impact on the national economy – in this instance it would appear to be more of an inconvenience to travellers who would have to rely on other modes of transportation.

I questioned the minister about the advice she was getting from her senior officials this time around. Since she ignored the advice in the past, I asked if she was getting similar advice this time and ignoring it as well. Is this a crisis? The Conservatives have been in government six and a half years and had a crisis in the skills gap, a crisis in the fishery, a crisis in the environment. They should have a department of crises because they seem to manufacture crises. That is one thing they are good at: manufacturing crises.

Let us look back at the Canada Post dispute. The government legislated a lower wage rate. It forced an arbitrator to look at the financial considerations of the company and not the workers. That is another example of legislation undertaken by the government which benefits management and corporations as opposed to workers.

The minister was taken to the woodshed over the back-to-work legislation with Canada Post. She received a scathing rebuke from Federal Court Justice Martineau, who ripped the minister for her involvement. The minister wasted no time in sticking her nose into the collective bargaining process in the cases of Canada Post and Air Canada and used the threat of back-to-work legislation that hurt the process. Everyone knew that this would be the case this time as well, and therein lies the problem. The union and the company both knew the minister would not miss an occasion to try to grab the spotlight and introduce back-to-work legislation immediately.

The tabling of the legislation was one thing but the signalling of the tabling of the legislation last week is another. I am sure that the execs at CP were out golfing this past weekend because they knew what was going to happen. They knew what was inevitable this week so they probably had the weekend off. They probably managed to get in 18 or 36 holes.

When this happens it becomes a problem because the government becomes the centre of the dispute and both parties stop negotiating. It is bad for the union, it is bad for the company, it is bad for government and it is bad for the country. Yet this is a new labour relations model for the government. It is one that every expert on both sides of the issue believes is wrong.

I am going to quote George Smith again because ironically, as a former labour relations director for both Air Canada and CP, his opinion should mean something to the government. He has been unique in his perspective on how the government has dealt with both of these disputes. He said repeatedly that the government is worsening employee relations at federal employers by its constant interventions. He wisely said, “You can't legislate peace” and that the government's intervention brings long-term instability and distrust between the employees and employers that are ultimately unpredictable and unproductive.

The mess the government has created in one year of labour relations will take years to undo.

Canadians are reasonable and fair people. We can start to see that Canadians are losing trust in the government. From the F-35 fiasco to the robocall scandal, Canadians are seeing the true colours of the government. The majority reform government is taking off the sheep's clothing. I have a feeling however there are still a few progressive Conservative MPs who are feeling quite uneasy about how the government is abusing its power, whether it is against the poor and vulnerable in our society, against seniors or against the enshrined rights afforded to workers.

With the way the government has treated workers over the last year and the incompetence it has shown in handling labour relations at Canada Post and CP Rail, I cannot with good conscience support the government's legislation. Back-to-work legislation should never be seen as a success. If it represents anything, it represents failure. The action of the government has time and time again been a failure.

If the government even dreams that it is legislating peace and harmony at CP, it had better wake up and apologize to organized labour in our country.

We have seen the results. We have seen two charter challenges. We have seen two court cases. Time after time, the government has made a mess of labour relations.

We will stand with the union on this particular bill. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with the teamsters on the bill and we will vote against this back-to-work legislation.

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Madam Chair, I rise this morning, which is after midnight here in Ottawa, to support Bill C-39, An Act to provide for the continuation and resumption of rail service operations.

Each of us is aware that our economy is still recovering from the events of the last several years. We continue to fare better than many others through the global economic downturn, true, but when it comes to our ongoing recovery, we are still not completely out of the woods. In fact, it would be simple arrogance for any country to assume that it is untouchable. In times like these, a disruption in a key industry is a simple ripple that can quickly turn into a tidal wave. The strike at CP Rail is having serious consequences for our economy.

Even while we sit here this morning discussing legislation, it is still our hope that CP Rail and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, the TCRC, can find a way to settle their differences. As the House knows, according to Transport Canada, CP Rail moves almost $50 billion worth of freight every year. The House must do what it can to help find a positive solution for everyone involved.

Efficient rail services are essential for us to play a competitive role in the world's economy. Rail brings products from across the country to and from our ports, and from our ports we send goods to locations around the world.

According to Transport Canada, in 2010, CP Rail handled 74% of potash, 57% of wheat, 53% of coal and 39% of containers within Canada. This represents $5 billion worth of potash, $11.1 billion worth of grain and $5.25 billion worth of coal. Clearly, the issue we are discussing here this morning is bigger than us. It is about our place in a worldwide trade network. The railway was once hailed for connecting the country and now it connects us to the world.

I will take this opportunity to bring this back to a company in Brockville in my riding of Leeds—Grenville. It is not just about a company in Brockville. It is about companies across the country that are being impacted with the strike. I will talk specifically about the company in Brockville called Canarm. It is a global marketer and manufacturer of lighting, air moving and related products supplying residential and agricultural markets. The company has five satellite manufacturing plants in Ontario, as well as a distribution centre in Montreal. It is a privately owned company and it has over 300 full-time employees. I heard from the company last week, even before we got into this strike. What the company has been telling me over the last few days is that it is very concerned about what is going on. I will read what they sent me. It says:

On the distribution side of our business we currently have 10 containers, representing $600,000 in sales on rail with CP and not moving. We have 25 containers in Port in Vancouver which represents $1.500,000 in sales that cannot move now because of the strike. This product is all seasonal product (ceiling fans) on their way to retailers for summer promotions to Canadian consumers. Every day represents lost sales that we are not able to get back. If the strike progresses too long the retailers will be moving in to fall products and we may be forced to take the product back because it was not delivered on time. We would also be forced to lay off workers at our Montreal distribution facility because of lack of work for them.

Further, we also import component parts from the orient which are assembled in our Brockville manufacturing facility. This product is industrial commercial ventilation equipment used in the construction of condominiums and office buildings. Should the strike continue beyond the 2-3 week mark we would also be looking at layoffs here, which could put up to 75 or 80 people temporarily out of work.

Jim Cooper, the president of Canarm, said:

It is difficult enough to be a successful manufacturer in Canada today without the distraction of a national rail strike. In order to be successful we must have all elements of our supply chain working in sync. This rail strike is extremely disruptive to our business and we need to see our product moving on the rail as quickly as possible in order to continue to meet and fulfill our obligations to our customers.

The fact is that we need to move as quickly as possible so that we are not having companies like Canarm laying off employees.

As I said before, it is not just about Canarm in Brockville. It is about companies across this country that are relying on supply chain operations and the smooth movement of goods.

Here is the situation as it stands now. I want to reassure the House that the labour program has been involved throughout the process. The TCRC represents 4,200 running trades employees and about 220 rail traffic controllers. Running trades employees include locomotive engineers, conductors, baggagemen, brakemen, car retarder operators, yardmen, switch tenders, yard masters, assistant yard masters and locomotive firemen

Last fall, the TCRC and CP Rail representatives started negotiations for both units. On February 17, 2012, the Minister of Labour received notices of dispute from the employer for both units. About two weeks later, on March 2, the labour program appointed two conciliation officers to help the parties work through the process. The parties were released from conciliation on May 1 and on May 16 and on May 22, the Minister of Labour met with the parties but to no avail. On May 23 of this year a strike began.

The parties have been unable to resolve their differences even with the help from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. That is why our government is proposing Bill C-39. It would end the work stoppage and provide the parties with an interest-based binding arbitration process to help them resolve their conflict.

Today, the world's economies are interconnected. I have already spoken about how this is impacting a company, a major employer, in my riding. Yes, the flow of products and goods is a crucial part of keeping our economy strong, but it is also about keeping the world economy strong.

We are but one link in a global chain. Think about our contribution to the Asia-Pacific Gateway and trade corridor. Without rail transport, our link is weak, more than weak. Without rail transport, the chain is broken. Simply put, without rail transport our economy suffers.

Canadians want responsible leadership from their parliamentary representatives. The sooner the bill is passed the sooner Canadian businesses and investors will be reassured. I call on my fellow members to support this bill.

I also have a few questions for the minister.

We have heard from other members. We have heard from the member for Vancouver East and the member for Cape Breton—Canso. I would like to ask the minister to comment on the speeches by those members and how she felt about what they had to say.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Halton, ON]

Madam Chair, as we are in committee of the whole, I thought perhaps we would talk about some of the clauses that are in the bill. I think if people understood the legislation they would have a clearer image as to what the process is that follows.

In response to the member for Vancouver East, I have actually heard the speech before because I spent 30 hours at the table with the union. Ironically, it is the same thing they said to me at the table that the NDP said this evening here in the House. I wonder as well whether the NDP members took the time and effort, as we did on this side of the House, to consult with all parties on the issue. Did they speak to CPR management on its topics and the matters that pertain to it? That is certainly what we did in the labour program in coming up with the back-to-work legislation and helping them through the collective bargaining process.

With respect to the member for Cape Breton—Canso, I guess that not all experts and not all academics are in agreement with the position that he put forth. I can quote from Ian Lee from Carleton University's School of Business. He said, “What I'm arguing is that the government has intervened because of the huge impact it has, the externality impact it has on other industries, other communities, other workers in other parts of the country that are not a party to collective agreement negotiations. The government is quite rightly saying, 'Look, the people in these communities that are dependent on railroads, the agricultural community and resource-based communities in northern Ontario and western Canada, cannot sustain strikes because it shuts down their ability to make a living'. Parliament and the government of the day is elected to achieve the greater public good. They are weighing, I believe, the greater public good of the damage it may be causing to the particular individual relationship in that company with the union versus the greater public good of the millions and millions of Canadians across Canada who are profoundly affected”.

That is why we included clause 8 within the bill which sets out a very fair and balanced means of arbitration for the parties to come to their own decision on their collective agreements in their own time.

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Madam Chair, something that I did not get an opportunity to address is the VIA Rail track issue. VIA uses CP tracks between Ottawa and Brockville, which connect Ottawa with Toronto in terms of their service, which is a very important part of their service.

As it sits right now, VIA is not able to use the CP track between Ottawa and Brockville and it is disrupting services which is impacting my riding once again. We all talk about how important rail is to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. This is just another effect of this strike where passengers are not able to use that particular service.

We all know that we are here debating this bill tonight and expect the possible passage of the restoring rail service act. However, there are some members who argue that we should allow this strike to go on longer. I am sure, from my comments already, members know I am not one of those. There are also members who believe that we should allow further bargaining between the two parties.

Could the minister please explain the necessity to expedite the passage of this bill and how important it is to the Canadian economy?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Halton, ON]

Madam Chair, what I can say is that the time to act is now and we must pass this bill as quickly as possible.

We are now entering into day eight of the strike. As such, the economic effects will pile up more and more and the effect on the national economy will become more and more severe. That is exactly why we are sitting here tonight at the time and the hour that we are sitting here, to ensure that we have passage of this bill.

We have explained very clearly what the economic effect is and we have also indicated very clearly that we are acting in the greater good of the Canadian public in ensuring that we pass this legislation and we have the trains rolling again soon.

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Madam Chair, we heard from some members across the way who thought it was very important that they were standing up at this hour.

However, I think it is important that I am standing up here at this hour for my constituents and the jobs in my riding, which, as I said before, are representative of jobs across this country and how important they are.

I will take this opportunity to speak a little about the Forest Products Association. The Forest Products Association of Canada wrote to the minister to outline the following:

As most of the industry’s mills are located in remote areas where rail service is the only viable transportation mode, other forms of ground transportation are either too costly or unavailable to provide our companies with relief, making our sector particularly vulnerable to even the shortest disruptions in service.

It goes on to say, “In addition, the industry does not have the capacity to stockpile finished product nor can it continue production without certain input materials. As a result, any service disruption will undoubtedly lead to the industry incurring significant costs and will quickly result in mills shutting down temporarily”.

Given that we are here debating the passage of the restoring rail service act, it is clear that we need to bring an end to this strike before it can further damage the Canadian economy.

Would the minister explain what effect this work stoppage is having and will have on the fragile economic recovery?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Halton, ON]

Madam Chair, I thank the member for pointing out the effects on the forest sector. We have the same information.

I know the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Industry, the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Transport have all been contacted by their stakeholders on these very important issues, because it is just indicative of how widespread an effect the rail strike is having on our economy.

In the forest sector, as indicated, there is at least six pulp and paper mills that are captive to CP Rail, four of them are in B.C. and two of them are in Ontario. Of those six mills, it is quite likely that some mills will need to shut down as this progresses, if this is to be a prolonged work stoppage, because they are running out of storage space. In these small resource-based towns, the shutting down of such mills would have a devastating effect on the communities and the workers.

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Madam Chair, I have a few more quotes. This one is from the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada and the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association. They jointly wrote:

CP Rail plays a vital role in the shipment of both parts and components into Ontario vehicle manufacturing facilities, as well as a significant role in the shipment and distribution of finished vehicles from ports of entry to local dealerships across the country.

Their industry is presently experiencing a positive but fragile recovery. Any disruption in CP's rail service will have an immediate and dramatic impact on their collective members and their operations in Canada.

The Western Grain Elevator Association wrote that this work stoppage will have a significant impact on the grain industry. Many of their elevator locations are serviced only by CPR. In the event of a work stoppage, these elevators will have no options available to them in the transportation of grain products. This will lead to the inability to supply international customers and prohibit producers from delivering to those facilities. If this product cannot be moved in a timely way to customers, the associated lost opportunities and added costs will be significant.

Once again my question is for the minister. Could the minister please describe to this House the impact of a rail stoppage on vital industries such as the Western Grain Elevator Association and the automotive industry?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Halton, ON]

Madam Chair, I can give members some great granularity on the exact effect it is having on the automotive sector. Indeed, CP and we have been informed by both Toyota and Honda that they would be facing plant closures starting tomorrow in Alliston, Woodstock and Cambridge.

These are serious matters. People depend upon those jobs to feed their families and to ensure they can look after their families, their houses and their lives. It is important that we act quickly to ensure the passage of this bill in a fast manner so that we can avoid those kinds of third party unintended consequences from a work stoppage.

[The Chair, NDP, Denise Savoie]

It being 12:33 a.m., pursuant to order made earlier today, it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the committee stage of the bill.

(On clause 2)

Shall clause 2 carry?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

On division.

[The Chair, NDP, Denise Savoie]

(Clause 2 agreed to)

(On clause 3)

Shall clause 3 carry?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

On division.

[The Chair, NDP, Denise Savoie]

(Clause 3 agreed to)

(On clause 4)

Shall clause 4 carry?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

On division.