Order, order.
Evidence of meeting #61 for Finance in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was transfer.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #61 for Finance in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was transfer.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
Order. I'll just remind members that we are on television. We are being watched by our constituents and we should reflect that in the best manner possible.
We'll go to Mr. Marston, please.
NDP
Wayne Marston NDP Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Look, putting aside the personalities that are bubbling a little here, there's a certain tone of condescension that comes over about the amount of work that we put into this.
I'm sitting here with pages after pages of legitimate questions. Your government has put together a huge document of 400 and some pages. Part of our responsibility is to bring forward the concerns and questions we have, and to do that in a public forum, here, in front of Canadians. I'm not going to make any apology at all to anybody for doing the due diligence that's necessary on this.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Very briefly, Mr. Chair, I was just going to say that from my recollection, I think there was a proposed schedule or plan for of how we were going to study this. It was unanimous. I think it was unanimous, from my recollection of it. And if I can talk about it, I think everybody agreed to that project.
Did they not? Did we not all agree to it? I remember it was submitted around the table.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
My understanding is that the motion itself was not unanimous, but regarding our calendar—and members can correct me on this—all three parties instructed me as the chair to operate under the schedule proposed by Ms. Glover, once the motion had passed. There wasn't agreement on the motion, but there was agreement on the schedule. That's what my understanding was as chair.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
That was my point, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for that confirmation.
It was a unanimously agreed upon schedule. The motion wasn't, but the schedule was.
Why don't we get on with the business? We already know what our position is. We know what your position is. You've stated it. We have a witness who's sitting here patiently—and whom I hope, for her sake, is paid significant overtime to be here. We've been here 15 to 20 minutes. Could we get on with the business we're here to do?
Then at the end of the day, at 9:30 or 9:29, if you want to make your statement, I'd be happy to stay as long as you want. And I promise no more fishing stories, as long as you come up and go fishing with me, along with Mr. Mulcair.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
I'd appreciate that. We could sit on the beaches and eat some fish there. I think you'd enjoy that.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
I would just like a clarification. Is the extra hour we sit tonight, if that's the will of the committee, an additional hour? Is that correct?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
Yes. If the committee agrees to it, it would be an additional hour tonight.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
Can I just ask if the additional hour tonight is agreed to by the committee?
Go ahead, Mr. Hoback, on this point.
Conservative
Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK
I just want to reconfirm that there will be no motions brought forward in this last hour.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
Do I have the agreement of the committee that there'll be an extra hour tonight, to 9:30, and there will be no motions brought forward by any member of the committee?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
Look at how we all get along.
Ms. Duff, I apologize for making you sit there. We'll have you present an overview of division 22 on the Canada Labour Code.
Lenore Duff Senior Director, Strategic Policy and Legislative Reform, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Division 22 contains two elements. The first one consists of clauses 432 and 433, which amend section 115 of the Canada Labour Code, which in turn requires that unions and employers to file their collective agreements with the Minister of Labour.
There is currently no mechanism, short of prosecution, to ensure that the parties comply with this filing obligation. Once amended, section 115 will specify that parties must file their collective agreement with the minister immediately after it is entered into, renewed, or revised. It will also stipulate that a collective agreement may come into force only if at least one party has filed a copy.
Once the collective agreement is filed, its provisions will come into force on the day it would have come into force if not for the filing requirement, which essentially means that the provisions could apply retroactively.
These amendments will come into force on the date fixed by the Governor in Council.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
Thank you very much for that overview.
We'll have members' questions, starting with Ms. Nash.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
First of all, thank you for waiting patiently for us tonight.
Can you just clarify for me the rationale for this change, and would the information filed be made public?
Senior Director, Strategic Policy and Legislative Reform, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
There was always a requirement to file collective agreements, so the rationale for this was simply to try to encourage compliance with the measure. In the past, there have been some difficulties obtaining collective agreements from particular organizations.
There is a service at the labour program where people can seek information from collective agreements. It's contained in the Negotech system. There's a call centre. You can inquire about the provisions in collective agreements.