Mr. Speaker, I am glad to speak on the motions in Group No. 3, which includes several motions, following the speech made by my hon. colleague from Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
First of all, I want to say that I find this stage a bit restrictive, since the human resources development committee considered this piece of legislation at an almost unacceptable pace, since we were deprived of a true second reading stage and since we have now reached report stage without having had the opportunity to criticize the bill as much as it deserves.
The bill contains provisions concerning the representativeness of the board. The minister clearly stated his willingness to have a representational board. However, it is extremely disquieting to read in this bill a clause that says: "The members of the Board other than the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairpersons are to be appointed by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister after consultation by the Minister with the organizations representative of employees or employers that the Minister considers appropriate"-therefore, the minister can appoint whom he pleases-"to hold office during good behaviour for terms not exceeding three years each, subject to removal by the Governor in Council at any time for cause".
If what we want is a representational board, we have to stipulate right from the start that the organizations involved will appoint their own representatives. Otherwise, the board will never be able to claim to be representational and the minister will have to eat humble pie.
I think it was extremely important to clarify this particular point, because the government would have us believe that this will be a representational board, but it is even more important, as the hon. member for Hochelaga-Maisonneuve mentioned, to ensure that parliamentarians make their presence felt and exert continuing control over this new organization, this newly appointed Canada Industrial Relations Board.
There is one amendment in this group of motions that I have to criticize. It was put forward by the third party who wants board expenses to be reimbursed in equal parts by the parties to the dispute. This provision is extremely dangerous since the board will have to carry out its duties whenever needed and not only according to the capacity of the parties to pay.
This would introduce an unspeakable bias, because it could very well be that a small union with few members, that was able to emerge only after a very long fight, may not be able to afford the services of the board, while the employer or the group of employers could easily afford them. This would fly in the face of common sense, because the search for a harmonious settlement or, at least, a final settlement in accordance with the the rules governing labour relations, as well as the board's judicious intervention, cannot be dependent upon the parties' ability to pay. There is something absolutely absurd and regressive in this idea which, I think, is not even worth considering.
The provisions included in this grouping lead me to talk about another amendment which has been put forward by our party. This amendment to clause 34 is designed to allow the board, in cases where an employer representative has been appointed, to revoke the appointment of this representative for reasons other than what is specified in the bill. I invite the minister's representative to listen carefully because this small amendment could be most useful.
In clause 34, on page 15, the bill specifies a reason for revoking an appointment. It reads as follows:
On application by one or more employers of employees in the bargaining unit, the Board may, if it is satisfied that the employer representative is no longer qualified to act in that capacity, revoke the appointment of the employer representative and appoint a new representative.
It need not be because the employer representative is no longer qualified to act in that capacity. This requirement could complicate things for the board. It could be for another reason, which should be left to the board's judgment, without requiring it on top of that to be critical of someone that should not be there, but not for the reason that he is no longer qualified.
I make this comment in the hope that the minister's parliamentary secretary will take note. It is a minor point, but one which could be useful to the board's work.
I will take the few minutes remaining to me to return to this deeply disturbing issue of the board not being representational. The board is being transformed, supposedly to make it more representational. But, if we rely on the terms on the bill, and not on the good faith of the minister, the board will not be representational.
I predict a rocky road for this board that is nonetheless so vital to labour relations in Canada. When the minister has full latitude to decide who will make up the board, and then to pronounce it representational, how can anyone think that a employer or employee organization would feel it was well represented when someone from this organization could appear on the board, unless it was someone appointed by the organization? All this is possible under the bill as it now stands. It makes no sense at all. I can tell you that I was not at all surprised by all the intense lobbying from organizations on this issue.
There is still time for the government to redeem itself, but it seems to me that the fact that the board is not representational is a very serious obstacle, when it has been announced like this, and when they want to transform its role, as they are doing here.