Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, committee members. Thank you for the opportunity to appear here today. My name is Chris Aylward, and I am the national executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
Bill C-4 would change health and safety protections that were put in place in 2000 after extensive consultation with labour, employers, and government. This time there has been no consultation with workers or employers or to our knowledge with federal health and safety officers. The regulatory review committee, a tripartite body that addresses emerging health and safety concerns in the federal sector, has received no complaints about the administration of the code, nor has the minister's advisory committee or the labour operations practice committee.
Our first concern is that the new vaguely worded definition of danger will result in a very narrow interpretation of what is considered to be a workplace danger.
Courts typically take a cautious approach to interpreting the definition of danger. The jurisprudence interpreting the definition of danger has evolved in the last 13 years. This jurisprudence would have no value if the definition of danger were fundamentally altered.
Our previous experience with the term “imminent” shows that it has been interpreted to mean “almost immediate”.
For our border services officers and our park wardens, the bullets would have to be whizzing over their heads for the danger to be deemed imminent. Gone is the recognition that the outcome of exposure to a hazard might not occur immediately. Gone too is the explicit language that recognizes that a worker's reproductive system is worth protecting from potential threats.
We are also concerned about the new section that allows the minister to stop further investigation of a work refusal, where she deems that refusal to be trivial, frivolous, vexatious, or in bad faith.
First, an employer could discipline workers who fear for their health and safety without an impartial investigation taking place first. This fear of reprisal would undoubtedly deter refusals to work and endanger workers.
Second, there would be no statutory right of appeal of the minister's decision. That would effectively undermine the right to refuse dangerous work. All that would be left is a narrow scope of review by the court. Judicial review, by its nature, is deferential to the first level decision-maker, in this case the minister or her delegate.
Third, workplace health and safety committees are proven mechanisms to address ongoing workplace concerns. Bill C-4 would eliminate any incentive for an employer to do meaningful consultation and collaboration on workplace issues. The employer could refer such matters to the Minister of Labour, who could silence all health and safety concerns by saying the concerns were trivial.
We have heard it said that these measures in Bill C-4 were prompted by the fact that 80% of all work refusals and appeals result in decisions of no danger. The implication is that the current definition of danger is too broad.
Decisions of no danger don't mean there isn't a problem. Decisions of no danger could just mean that the danger was less serious. In many cases, decisions of no danger were also accompanied by directions written to employers to comply with the law. In other cases, employers were asked to give assurances of voluntary compliance. In the last two years, more than 5,000 assurances for voluntary compliance have been issued per year. The link between these assurances and decisions of no danger is what this committee really needs to consider.
Another concern is that the bill would change all references to “health and safety officers” to “the minister” and allow the minister to delegate her powers to anyone she deems qualified. The current health and safety officers are neutral, trained, and specialized. They have the authority to monitor workplaces and issue directions. They help make sure employers take their responsibilities seriously and don't cut corners that could inadvertently harm their workers. With the new provisions, they could be replaced with ad hoc private entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs would be dependent on the government for their next contract and would be reluctant to issue a direction against it. There is very strong evidence that actual citations and penalties reduce the frequency or severity of injuries in the workplace.
In the last several years, the ratio of employees to federal inspectors has increased dramatically as the number of inspectors has steadily been reduced. In 2005, the ratio of employees to federal inspectors was 6,607:1. In 2007, it was 8,057:1.
Finally, I want to say a word about virtual inspections. Clause 212 of Bill C-4 will allow the minister to electronically administer or enforce the provisions of the code.
Let's put this in context. We've steadily lost health and safety officers across the country. There are more demands for intervention, and the officers have new administrative burdens and pressure from management to do the work from their desks to save travel dollars.
Realistically, how can an officer investigate a safety complaint without meeting with the parties in the workplace to assess the circumstances? Where is the data that shows replacing a visual inspection with a virtual inspection won't lead to an increase in injuries or loss of life on the job.
In conclusion, we ask that the proposed changes to the Canada Labour Code be withdrawn from Bill C-4. Any proposed changes should be subject to thorough tripartite consultation before any legislation is introduced.
Thank you.