Indeed, I do find those comments rather troubling in some respects, one being the uncertainty that the essential service designation would create. My colleague Mr. Barrett referenced some comments Minister Clement made on the topic. Make no mistake, the essential service designation is a matter the Labour Relations Board could review, and it has. That stems from changes under the 2005 legislation. They aren't that old. There have been cases in which the Labour Relations Board reviewed the government's decision to determine whether a designated service was actually essential. In some cases, the government's arguments were not successful.
This bill is a vengeful response to the cases the government lost before the administrative tribunals. By cutting administrative tribunals completely out of the picture, the government has left unions only one recourse, judicial review. And since a court will conduct the judicial review, it will cost not only the union money, but also the government.
The bill sets out such a unilateral approach that it's worrisome for unions. Not only does the proposed legislation give the employer an exclusive right, but it also stipulates that nothing in the bill can limit that exclusive right. It's a dual safeguard. It will be the unions' responsibility to make their cases before the Federal Court to convince the court that the minister's decision was either wrong or unreasonable. With such general wording, it will be extremely tough to convince a court to intervene in any way.
Making a successful case before the Federal Court is a huge challenge, and just getting to that point will cost more time and money.