Sure. I just want to say first of all that we support the amendments put forward by Ms. May, as well as putting forward our own amendments that I'll describe in just a moment.
I want to start off by saying that I think the changes which the Conservative government is making about workplace health and safety are the most serious and dangerous changes in this bill. I'm very, very strongly opposed to them, as are many of the witnesses we heard testify before committees.
I have to say, when I first started getting involved in my union as a young person, it was as a health and safety representative in the federal jurisdiction, so on a personal level, I really valued the health and safety legislation. I saw it progressively get stronger over the years, and the changes in this legislation would in fact take the legislation back in time many, many years. Ultimately, I think it will make the workplace much more dangerous and less desirable for Canadian workers.
Fundamentally, every worker deserves a workplace that is safe and healthy, that's free from danger, free from health hazards. The obligation is on the employer to provide that safe and healthy workplace. That's their legal requirement. Working people also have rights, such as the right to refuse unsafe work, to know what they're working with, to participate in their health and safety, but how you define the right to refuse work, for example, is changing dramatically. It is becoming narrowed by this legislation. What that means is there are workplace conditions that previously would have meant that a worker can decide that it is dangerous for them and they could have had the right to say that they don't want to put themselves in that situation. With these changes, they would be obliged to continue to work.
I don't think we have an absolute epidemic of work refusals in this country. It's a pretty serious step for someone to refuse to continue to work, but when someone does refuse, it is the right that they ought to have in order to protect the integrity of their own health. It is really rolling back the clock to narrow this definition. Let's make no mistake that it will increase the risk that workers are subjected to, and it will increase the injuries. It will increase, in fact, the compensation claims and the lost time, and ultimately will be very dangerous for workers. It also doesn't make good economic sense on that basic level.
Speaking to our amendment on narrowing the definition of “danger”, we believe that providing an alternative definition that's more substantive in scope is important. Again, we think that when it comes to a person's individual health and safety, none of us wants to be put in a position where the employer is saying that you must work even though you truly believe it is going to be a serious health risk or a serious risk to your safety.
The other amendment is about the change the government is making, which is to strip health and safety officers of nearly all of their powers and concentrate them in the hands of the minister. The minister has a myriad of other things that he or she is responsible for. The minister cannot have the expertise of a health and safety officer, who is trained, who does this for a living, who is an expert, and has a track record when it comes to health and safety. It really makes no sense.
Again, as I said on a previous clause, it lacks transparency and accountability, and ultimately it would undermine the ability of people to get their rights enforced in the workplace.
Our amendment would undo the elimination of health and safety officers, while requiring that they be government employees and not be outsourced or have that power concentrated in the hands of the minister.
I want to say that one of the changes in the rules which we find is remarkable is that under the changes in Bill C-4, there would no longer need to be a physical inspection of a work site, an actual workplace; a phone call would suffice. You can just imagine this: the employer is sitting in an office and someone from the minister's office, or someone that has been delegated, phones up and says, “ Is this okay? Have you got that done? Did you do this? Are you going to do this?” “Sure, everything's fine. Good to go.”
The fact that they would not have to go there and lay their eyes right on that situation and inspect it for themselves frankly is shocking, and it's unbelievable. I just can't imagine that we would allow that situation through our laws. This is Canada, and people have a fundamental right to a safe and healthy workplace. We're strongly opposed to the changes that would be made through this bill.
We believe that our amendments and Ms. May's amendments would help correct some of these changes. Again, I would urge my colleagues across the way to put themselves in the position of someone who's trying to get a basic right enforced and that employer is sitting in the office telling an inspector over the phone that the workplace is good to go, no problem.
Hopefully, you will support our amendments.