Bill C-409

Fairness for Flight Attendants Act

An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (hours of work of flight attendants)

This enactment amends the Canada Labour Code to provide that, in calculating the time in respect of which an employee who is a flight attendant is to be paid, the employer must include the time that the employee spends in carrying out their pre-flight and post-flight duties and in completing mandatory training programs.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Thank you very much.

We know there is a lot of Conservative leadership for workers, and a couple of pieces of legislation through colleagues. We have Bill C-228, an act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985. That was through our colleague MP Gladu. We have Bill C-241, an act to amend the Income Tax Act with respect to the deduction of travel expenses for tradespersons through our colleague MP Lewis. We have Bill C-409, an act to amend the Canada Labour Code regarding hours of work of flight attendants. That's through our colleague MP Rood. Then we have Bill C-318, an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code with regard to adoptive and intended parents. That's through our colleague here in the room, MP Falk.

Your legislation is another piece of legislation to help workers and make a difference for them.

I'm wondering if you can speak to your legislation and what impact harassment and violence in the workplace can have on individuals?

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Thank you very much, Chair.

We would like to propose an amendment to this motion, given that the main parts of this motion are identical to a Conservative member of Parliament's private member's bill that has been tabled in the House, so I would make the assumption that Ms. Zarrillo would support this amendment.

After “In the opinion of the committee, the government”, the amendment would add “must pass Bill C-409...to” before “support flight attendants”. This is just a simple amendment basically in line with what she's saying, and it's supporting the private member's bill to make sure that there is equity for flight attendants.

Canada Labour Code

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague the member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis for introducing Bill C‑378. Well done.

The bill is an exceptional piece of legislation by another Conservative MP trying to enhance the rights of workers across the country. There has actually been a long history in the current Parliament, where the NDP-Liberal government has not acted to protect workers; in fact it has been Conservative MPs who have stood up to try to make sure that workers are protected.

A number of bills have been put forward by Conservative MPs to improve the lives of workers, in addition to this fantastic bill; for example, there is Bill C-228 by the member for Sarnia—Lambton, which would actually protect workers' pensions. It has been a long-standing problem in this country that a company would go bankrupt, workers' pensions would be unsecured creditors and their pensions would disappear. In nine years of an NDP-Liberal government, no action was taken on that. It took a Conservative member of Parliament to say we need to protect workers and this has to change.

There is also Bill C-241, brought forward by the member for Essex, which would allow tradespeople to deduct their travel costs for going to work. It is common sense. If a CEO can write off the cost of their private jet, then why can a worker not write off the cost of their travel as they go out to try to earn an income. Again, during nine years of a NDP-Liberal government, this is something that had no action. A Conservative member of Parliament stood up to make that change.

I also want to mention Bill C-409, brought forward by the member of Parliament for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex. We have heard a lot from the NDP, and silence from the Liberal government, about how flight attendants were ending up working, on average, 30 unpaid hours per month. The NDP-Liberal government did absolutely nothing. The New Democrats talked a bit about it and tabled petitions and other things.

However, it took a Conservative member of Parliament to put forward a bill that would change the Canada Labour Code to define what constitutes work for flight attendants so they would no longer be sitting on a plane waiting for it to back up or waiting for it to take off, and not get paid. We heard horror stories of flight attendants who would show up for work but the flight was delayed and they would be there, would time out for their shift and then go home and not be paid. It was outrageous, and the NDP-Liberal government just let that go on for the past number of years, with no action.

This brings me right back to the fantastic bill before us that has been put forward by my colleague. This is a very serious matter. People who are the victims of harassment or violence at work are victims. They have been traumatized. The Canada Labour Code was only allowing them three months after they left work to file a complaint. These are people who are vulnerable and probably are not in a position to make that decision. Once again, a Conservative member of Parliament had to step in to make that change.

The Liberal government tried to make some changes under Bill C-65, where the victim could apply to extend the three-month timeline. Imagine that: Victims would actually have to apply to extend the deadline. The burden would be on the employee to make the justification for a new deadline. They would have to file an application, explain the trauma and ask for an exemption. The Liberals thought this would well serve the victims of harassment or violence, but it actually would have done nothing of the sort. Imagine having to give deeply personal details to someone to see whether they would let them file a complaint after three months.

It was very thin gruel for the victims. Therefore I want to congratulate again my colleague for seeing the problem, coming up with the solution and making sure that people who suffer these outrageous acts would now have up to two years to file their complaint.

It is a pattern we have seen well established in Parliament, that the NDP-Liberal government talks a very good game about protecting the rights of workers, but they do not actually deliver the results that are required. Therefore it has taken a series of Conservative bills to actually make incredible differences in the lives of workers, including the bill before us here today.

I understand that there is support for the bill to pass, which is wonderful, but it always leaves me this question: After nine years of an NDP-Liberal government, why did it take so long for it to realize this was a problem? It is because the government is really not governing the country well on this and on a whole host of other issues. As opposition members, we have a limited ability to try to clean up the messes that are left by the government, and we have done that with a series of bills that actually are going to make substantial differences.

We hope that the bill before us is going to be fast-tracked through Parliament. Let us get it to committee, get it studied and get it passed. We do not have a huge amount of time in Parliament left for it to pass, so we want to make sure that the piece of legislation can go to the Senate and receive royal assent. I hope it is going to pass through committee very quickly.

I would also hope that when Bill C-409, the fairness for flight attendants act, comes up for second reading and a vote, it also goes to committee expeditiously, because it is an incredibly difficult circumstance that flight attendants have right now across the country, and labour has not really had the friendliest of governments.

There was recently a section 107 referral by the government with respect to the resolution of the rail dispute. The right to strike is constitutionally protected; the Supreme Court said that in 2015, and the NDP-Liberal government said it was going to make a referral and take away the workers' ability to go on strike. Once again we have an NDP-Liberal government that claims to be friendly for workers, but it has taken—

Fairness for Flight Attendants Act

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-409, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (hours of work of flight attendants).

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives have been travelling across this country, and we have heard for years from flight attendants that flight attendants in Canada are not paid until their aircraft is in motion. This is unfair, and it puts many women and diverse Canadians at a disadvantage.

Conservatives believe that people should be paid for the work they do. That is why, today, I am honoured to table the flight attendants fairness act. This bill would make changes to the Canada Labour Code to require airlines to pay flight attendants for the work they do before, during and after a flight.

The lack of action from the government on this matter proves once again that the NDP-Liberals are all talk, while Conservatives take action and provide common-sense solutions.

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