Thank you very much.
The Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization made up of business and professional people sharing a common goal: the economic development of the greater Charlottetown area. With over 740 members, the chamber represents a diverse network of small, medium-sized, and large businesses from almost every industry sector and business profession. Because Charlottetown is home to the headquarters of Veterans Affairs Canada and is a provincial capital, there are a number of federal public sector employers in our community with whom our local businesses have a vital business relationship.
It is the chamber's position that significant changes to the labour act, such as the prohibition of the use of replacement workers, fundamentally alters the basic premise for labour-management relations and potentially threatens the continuity of essential services provided by critical infrastructure workers. Such a change should not be made without a thorough understanding of what gap in the existing labour relations structure the amendment purports to resolve and a careful examination of the consequences to ensure that the overall result of the change will be beneficial.
Legislative changes that have the potential to destabilize federal labour-management relations may have serious repercussions for our members. Our members are very vulnerable to labour instability for the following reasons.
Many of our members are small to medium-sized businesses with limited capacity to absorb losses or delays arising from labour instability within federally regulated organizations, customers, or suppliers.
Because of the size of our province, chamber members are highly dependent upon the interprovincial transportation system for importing supplies and exporting product. Any labour instability related to federally regulated transportation will have a significant impact on our members' ability to conduct business.
The balance of power in labour-management relations is already shifting as the labour supply tightens and it becomes a sellers' market.
It is the chamber's position that significant changes to the labour act, such as the prohibition of the use of replacement workers, fundamentally alters the basic premise for labour-management relations. Again, any change cannot be made without a thorough understanding of what the amendment purports to resolve.
Legislative bans on permanent replacement workers exist in most jurisdictions in Canada. This means that striking workers have the right to their job once the strike is over. They cannot be permanently replaced by replacement workers who may have been temporarily hired during the strike.
The more stringent ban on the use of temporary replacement workers has been in place in Quebec since 1978, in British Columbia since 1993, and in Ontario between 1993 and 1995. The chamber suggests that consideration of the labour relations climate in these provinces would indicate that such bans on even temporary replacement workers can have a polarizing effect on collective bargaining and a serious impact on the economy.
The chamber does not believe that Bill C-257 remedies any existing weakness in the labour relations framework in Canada. Indeed, the chamber is at a loss to understand what benefits would result from the passing of the legislation. Is there evidence that replacement worker legislation reduces the number of work stoppages? Is there evidence that replacement worker legislation reduces the duration of work stoppages? Is there evidence that Canadian workers are being paid unfairly by employers?
In the 1990s, the Canada Labour Code underwent a careful review, involving thorough consultation with stakeholders, resulting in several important changes to the code, including a recourse for the unions that believe employers are abusing the use of replacement workers in order to undermine the union. Furthermore, the amendments provided protection for striking workers to be reinstated ahead of any replacement workers.
The chamber submits that there is no ostensible failing in the existing legislation that requires such a drastic change, and there has also not been sufficient study and consultation with the affected parties to fully appreciate how such a prohibition would affect all stakeholders.
Bill C-257 would create a distortion in the balance of negotiating power between employers and unions. While striking employees have the right to find work elsewhere, employers do not have the right to seek other workers. If the option to use replacement workers is removed from the labour relations model, the options for the employer would become more extreme: to have to accept the union's position; to face a complete shutdown of operations for the duration of the strike; or to go to government and seek back-to-work orders and binding arbitration.
The use of replacement workers does not undermine the power of unions in strike situations. Given the increasing difficulty in recruiting workers in even the best working conditions, finding workers who are capable and competent to perform the work and who are willing to face the negative messaging and ill will that is targeted at replacement workers is a significant challenge. Employers do not readily opt for this approach, if there is any possibility of negotiating a deal with the unions.
Bill C-257 is more drastic than existing comparable legislation in British Columbia, because it denies employees the right to cross picket lines. Furthermore, it makes no provision for essential services. Hence, strikes involving critical infrastructure workers could bring entire service sectors across Canada to a grinding halt.
In conclusion, Bill C-257 is an echo of legislation in place in the province of Quebec that has had negative effects on both labour relations and the economy in that province.
Bill C-257 is a proposal that lacks a clear purpose and a balanced benefit. The bill has proceeded to this point of review without due consultation of its potential impact on the labour relations framework in Canada. Our chamber urges the committee to recommend against the passage of Bill C-257.
This is respectfully submitted by John Gaudet, president of Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce.