Human Resources Committee on May 2nd, 2016

[John Mortimer]

We have absolutely none that I know of.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Okay, but you're an employee rights organization?

[John Mortimer]

Let's talk about what the labourers said about the union cards.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

You have no employees—

[John Mortimer]

Let's talk about what the PSAC did to Jeff Birch.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Sir, you have no employee representation on your board. Is that a fact?

[John Mortimer]

That's absolutely correct, other than the employees of those organizations, who are also employees.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

What about employee rights organizations and labour lawyers who specialize in defending employee rights, such as the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers? Why don't you have any employee representation—

[John Mortimer]

When employees—

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

—on your board?

[John Mortimer]

—call lawyers to try to get help against their union, the members of CALL say, “We're not going to help you because we act for unions, and we're not going to act for you against the union.” Then, when you call the management side of the bar, this is what they tell workers: “We act for management and we don't act for workers”.

It is almost impossible as a unionized Canadian to get an expert labour lawyer to represent you down at the labour board in this country, because they won't take your file.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

I would understand—and actually have a little more sympathy for you, to be perfectly transparent—if you just came out and said, “We are anti-union and we are anti-employee.” But you won't say that, will you?

[John Mortimer]

No, because I'm not going to lie.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Let's talk about the bill. I think it was in 1959 and introduced by JFK. Do you think that was anywhere close to the current legislation that's in play right now in the U.S.? Do you think it's fair—

[John Mortimer]

It's only had one modification since 1959.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

There were two, sir, from George Bush and George Bush, Jr.

[John Mortimer]

There were the 2003 amendments.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

But you came out and basically compared that to JFK, to that legislation back then?

[John Mortimer]

Everything has a starting point in terms—

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Do you want us to believe that?

[John Mortimer]

—of legislation and the comprehensiveness of it.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

But for the record, you didn't for one second—

[John Mortimer]

John F. Kennedy led the charge to clean up the corruption in American unions, just as the Charbonneau commission exposed was going on in these unions in Quebec. Ken Pereira bravely exposed what went on. People have been criminally charged for what went on in Quebec, okay?

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

[Inaudible—Editor]

[John Mortimer]

Kennedy was actually a very brave man in that day and age given the level of corruption that was going on in American unions.