Mr. Alexandre Boulerice:
This extra administrative layer does not further the goals of the proposed legislation. Since the transparency and disclosure provided for under existing pension and benefits legislation already ensure plan members and other stakeholders receive sufficient information and disclosure concerning these plans, all that this additional red tape will serve to accomplish is the unnecessary depletion of plan assets reducing the amount available to pay intended benefits to plan members and beneficiaries. These funds have fixed contribution rates and fixed resources, and therefore the cost of compliance will necessarily result in smaller benefits for workers.
If you want to talk about costs, here once again we have some highly relevant evidence on the subject regarding the consequences of Bill C-377. This evidence concerns not only the organization of work at the federal level, but also the benefits that workers could receive and the costs this may represent for these thousands of organizations. They will have to complete mountains of paper on the pretext that Canadians can then be told that such and such a contract over $5,000 was awarded to a supplier or subcontractor and that a particular benefit was given to a member because he or she was entitled to receive it.
Can you imagine if the FTQ's Fonds de solidarité, CSN's Fondaction or the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan were required to disclose all contracts or transactions greater than $5,000? That would be a serious situation.
I do not want to give anyone preferential treatment. Concerns have been expressed by the Football League Players' Association, but also by the National Hockey League Players, who are currently locked out. If we had a labour relations bill before us, we could do something else.
The National Hockey League Players' Association has sent us a letter, signed by Alexandra Dagg, the association's director of operations, that gives us a good idea of the impact this legislation will have on labour associations. This letter raises some interesting questions. It is written in English and reads as follows:
The NHLPA is a democratic, membership-based organization, governed by a Constitution. The players democratically elect representatives from every team, who then make up the Executive Board. The NHLPA financial statements are presented and approved by the Executive Board. Players also elect an audit committee who work closely with the financial staff of the NHLPA and review, discuss and approve the financial statements for presentation to the larger Executive Board. Further, consistent with the requirements of labour relations legislation, any member of the NHLPA can view our financial statement at any time. Decisions are made by the players for the players as to where NHLPA funds are spent.
Bill C-377 mandates detailed public disclosure of the financial operations of labour organizations and labour trusts. Although the Bill is framed as a taxation statute, it seems aimed at placing significant limitations on the political activities of unions. There are serious doubts as to the Bill's legality.
A little earlier, I cited Professor Barré at length on this subject. He said the following:
First, the substance of the Bill relates to labour relations, a matter which falls under provincial jurisdiction under the Constitution. Second, the bill's disclosure and reporting requirements likely would violate the constitutionally-protected freedoms of expression and the association of the union, its members and officers. These disclosure and reporting requirements are much more intrusive than the requirements placed on charities and non-profit organizations.
It's like this bill would create a Big Brother. I don't get it.