Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to speak today on Bill C-19, an act to amend the Canada Labour Code (part I) and the Corporations and Labour Unions Returns Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts.
In the last parliament the Minister of Labour attempted to revamp part I of the Canada Labour Code. He failed in that task when his Liberal colleagues in the other place refused to give it expeditious passage.
With the summer to address the flaws in Bill C-66, it appeared that the new and improved legislation would be a priority. It was the first item on the order paper for this, the 36th Parliament, but it took the minister another six weeks to introduce it and another seven weeks to convince his House leader to schedule it for second reading.
Reformers hoped that the delay would mean a fair and balanced bill would be forthcoming. The minister could have waited longer because the minor adjustments barely make any difference.
Anyone who only had access to the minister's press release would have been fooled into thinking that real improvements were made to the legislation. Closer scrutiny reveals, however, that the few technical changes will not make much difference to this botched attempt to modernize part I of the Canada Labour Code.
The Reform Party proposed a series of amendments to Bill C-66 that would have gone a long way toward improving industrial relations in the country. Had the government not used its majority to squash our proposals, Bill C-66 would have sailed through the House unimpeded and would have easily passed the scrutiny of the other place. Today it would be law and we could turn our attention to cutting the $600 billion national debt and giving Canadians a much deserved tax break.
Fair and balanced labour laws play an integral part in Canada's ability to attract and hold business. Uncertainty fuelled by the threat of work disruptions can scare away potential investors and cause existing industries to question whether they would be better off elsewhere. As a nation where the unemployment rate for the last four years has hovered around 9% we must take steps to encourage job creation and not scare it away.
So far the government with its dependence on high payroll taxes is doing an exemplary job of discouraging job creation. It is widely acknowledged that high taxes kill jobs. Even the finance minister of the Liberal government agrees with that.
We know government infrastructure programs and other make work projects do not create permanent jobs. Labour legislation and regulations made on a case by case basis will not create jobs either. Stable labour relations will promote investment, reinvestment and those sought after jobs.
It is in the interest of all Canadians to have reliable access to essential services, to keep employment within our borders, and to establish and maintain a reputation as a worldwide reliable exporter of goods.
This reputation is jeopardized whenever we have a work stoppage in one of our key sectors. Take the recent postal impasse for instance. Weeks of uncertainty over whether or not there would be mail delivery created havoc. Not only did it cost Canada Post millions of dollars. It dealt a severe blow to small businesses and charities that depend on the pre-Christmas period to ensure their viability.
If the Canada Labour Code contained a permanent dispute settlement mechanism, workers and management would be better off. Customers and business would be assured of a reliable mail service. Yet the government passed up another opportunity to stabilize industrial relations by not including a permanent dispute settlement mechanism in Bill C-19.
The Reform Party has a long term solution, but so far the government has refused to implement it. Final offer selection arbitration is a tool to effectively and permanently control labour issues that fall under federal jurisdiction. It is fair because it does not favour one side over the other.
Here is how it works. If and only if the union and the employer cannot make an agreement by the conclusion of the previous contract, the union and the employer would provide the minister with the name of a person they jointly recommend as arbitrator.
The union and the employer would be required to submit to the arbitrator a list of the matters agreed upon and a list of the matters still under dispute. For disputed issues each party would be required to submit a final offer for settlement.
The arbitrator then selects either the final offer submitted by the trade union or the final offer submitted by the employer: all of one position or all of the other position. The arbitrator's decision would be binding on both parties.
We are saying that rather than go to back to work legislation every time there is a work stoppage in one of these key areas, this tool should be there for management and the union to use. I submit that when this tool is used to its ultimate it is not used at all because it encourages both parties to bargain earnestly and come to a settlement.
As the minister said earlier, the best agreement you can have is one that is agreed to by both parties. I believe the final offer selection arbitration would go a long way to achieving that very goal.
In 1994 one of the first actions of the newly elected Liberal government was to legislate an end to work disruption at the west coast port, back to work legislation. In those days the prime minister did not deem it necessary to have a separate labour minister, so the human resources minister of the day included final offer selection arbitration as a mechanism to settle the dispute between the longshoremen and the port of Vancouver.
Which was it? Was it back to work legislation or was it final offer selection arbitration? It was both. Legislating the parties back to work gets the wheels moving again, but it does not do anything to resolve the issues that are still in question in the contract. They have to bring in final offer selection to resolve that. There is the precedent for the very thing we have been asking for.
In the wake of the ongoing tensions created by the need for yet another legislated settlement, the government set up an inquiry commission into labour relations at west coast ports. The 200 page report recommended final offer selection arbitration as a way to provide protection to the economy and to the interests of the public and third parties.
It is all very nice for the minister to say that he will be very stern in cases where public safety is at stake, but I think he has an obligation to protect the Canadian economy too. We are all very interested to see our employment figures improve and to see the economy improve. As a minister of the crown he should take very seriously these threats to our national economy.
Obviously this was just another inquiry commission with the main purpose of taking the heat off the government and letting it appear as if it is doing something, because the west coast ports inquiry recommended that final offer selection arbitration be included in labour legislation.
Last week the House debated my private member's bill, Bill C-233, which proposed the use of final offer selection arbitration as a process to prevent costly strikes and lockouts at west coast ports. My bill was based on the very recommendations I just spoke of from that inquiry.
We should not be too surprised at the government's reluctance to implement a permanent solution to crippling strikes and lockouts. There is a recurring and notable reticence by the government to give up control of anything. For that very reason government members think they will be seen as heroes by the voters for legislating an end to work stoppages. They could be real heroes by taking action to prevent an economically crippling work stoppage in the first place.
A costly interruption of government business is not required. While there is need for regulation by various levels of government, it is neither practical nor prudent to implement emergency measures whenever labour and management are unable to reach a satisfactory agreement.
Resolving the differences of these two groups can be achieved without interrupting the regular flow of government proceedings. A permanent and fair resolution process must be put in place, removed from the whims of government. We need permanent legislation that would provide both sides with a predictable rule and timetable by which to negotiate.
The labour-management problems at west coast ports have been studied over and over. Yet this legislation would not solve any of the problems at the ports. In fact it will actually complicate and hinder the bargaining process.
At the time of Confederation grain elevators were declared to be for the general advantage of Canada. Since then the government realized what western farmers have always known, that any dispute involving grain handling threatens the Canadian economy and our reputation as a reliable exporter.
The Liberals, I suppose not wanting to be seen as protecting the grain industry from all too frequent work disruptions, included a provision in the legislation guaranteeing the tie-up, the let go and loading of grain vessels, and the movement of those vessels in and out of port in the event of a work stoppage.
On the surface this looks like a positive measure for the grain industry, but like so many of the measures we have seen the government initiate, once we scratch the surface the cracks appear. Since one of the worst fears of grain exporters is that a labour disruption might stop a shipment from reaching the customer, this is a small step forward. It is a baby step. Contrary to the information circulated by some groups, it does not “prohibit third parties from shutting down the flow of grain in the event of a dispute”.
The government's meagre concession to grain producers falls far short of ensuring the product reaches market and farmers are not left in the lurch. The disruption in 1995 that brought rail traffic to a halt is still fresh in the minds of western Canadians.
The two year settlement imposed by the back to work legislation expired at the end of last December and some unions have yet to sign a new contract. Failure to reach an agreement could mean a strike or lockout this spring and grain shipments, regardless of the status of the legislation, could come to a standstill.
We are saying that it is fine to load the grain that gets to the port, but if a strike takes place between here and the port there will not be any grain at the port to load.
Grain represents 30% of the business of the port of Vancouver. What about the other 70%?
The negative impact of any port dispute is not limited to grain, nor is its economic impact greater than the implications of the port shutdown on the exporters and importers of other commodities, including forest products, coal, sulphur and potash, to name a few.
The inclusion of provisions such as found in section 87.7, that create an uneven playing field among various sectors of the economy, is unnecessary and not helpful in making Canada an attractive place to visit.
When representatives of groups such as the B.C. Maritime Employers Association, which represents 77 wharf and terminal operators and stevedoring firms in Vancouver and Prince Rupert, appeared as witnesses before the standing committee on human resources development during the Bill C-66 debate, they told us that the grain provision in this bill could actually worsen the already rocky history of labour disputes at the ports.
The inclusion of final offer selection arbitration in the Canada Labour Code would level the playing field and ensure grain and all other exports are not held hostage.
Another of the technical changes found in Bill C-19 relates to the government's feeble attempts to appease those opposed to the ban on the use of replacement workers. The son of Bill C-66 attempts to clarify the wording, but the end result is still a de facto ban on the use of replacement workers.
The minister says in his statement that no general prohibition of the use of replacement workers is in this bill, but I submit there is a de facto ban.
This provision still gives too much power to the new Canada Industrial Relations Board, which will be hard pressed to deny any union leader's contention that their rights have been violated.
The other issue that was to be clarified over the summer was clause 50, which amends section 109.1 of the Code dealing with union's access to off site workers.
The changing nature of today's work environment has seen an increasingly large number of people working away from the traditional workplace. The government decided to help fledgling union membership by permitting unions to acquire the names and addresses of potential new members. When the privacy commissioner appeared before the committee of the other place studying Bill C-66, he said: “What is missing, as we see it, in clause 50 is the element of consent”. That is how we see it, too.
The minister tinkered with clause 50, but the element of consent is still missing. I moved an amendment to Bill C-66 requiring employee consent before the release of any personal information, but of course it was defeated. The inclusion of consent in this bill is crucial.
Once again, the government passed off to the CIRB the authority to make decisions on a case by basis instead of showing real leadership by protecting the rights of Canadian workers. Another major flaw remaining in this legislation is the provision giving the CIRB the authority to certify a union even though a majority of the employees are opposed. How can that be?
Let me refer you to the most publicized case of how this type of provision works against employee wishes. That can be found at the Wal-Mart in Windsor, Ontario. The Ontario Labour Relations Board agreed to certify the union, even though the employees at the Windsor store voted 151 to 43 against it last May.
Canadians should have the right to join a union if the majority of their fellow employees agree. If they are opposed, membership should not be forced on them. The workers should be empowered to make the decision, not the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
A mandatory secret ballot is the only fair way to determine if the employees want union representation.
This all powerful board will emerge from the ashes, or perhaps the crumbs, of the Canada Labour Relations Board.
The Canada Labour Relations Board has been in disarray for years and a steady succession of cabinet ministers stood idly by while it struggled. In 1995 a power struggle between the chairman and the vice-chairs over who should assign and schedule cases was played out in the media.
One has to question the effectiveness of such an important quasi-judicial decision making body that was unable to resolve its own problems. It took a mediator and about $203,000 worth of public funds to settle this internal dispute. At least Bill C-19 reduces the term of employment for the chair and the vice-chairs to five years from the current 10 years. As a Reform Party labour critic I proposed this change to the Sims commission two years ago.
In light of the difficulty the government encountered in its attempt to fire the chairman of the CLRB, Bill C-19 should spell out not only the terms and conditions of employment for the board executive and members, but it should clarify exactly what it means “to hold office during good behaviour”. Maybe some expense account guidelines would not be going awry either.
The need for specific policy and enforceable guidelines is essential if the board is ever to regain its credibility. It is absolutely incomprehensible that no one stepped in when the chairman claimed $700 Paris lunches or charged for travel and meals for other international jaunts. These were deemed okay because of the chairman's position as head of the international board. Where was the benefit in this to the Canadian taxpayers? Surely there should be some stipulation for this kind of activity.
Let us look at how the board operated. In 1994 the chairman apparently informed the members that the CRLB “must address certain financial practices which do not comply with Treasury Board directives or with the spirit of the government's philosophy concerning the expenditure of taxpayers' dollars”. The auditor general found this advice was not adhered to or implemented. The chairman did not heed his own directive so why should he expect anyone else at the CLRB to do it?
Meanwhile the Treasury Board, the PMO, the privy council office and a series of labour ministers took no notice. They did nothing, even when he charged $53,000 for expenses to attend 28 meetings of the National Academy of Arbitrators.
In 1996 the task force review of the CLRB's performance concluded that decisions were not being made in a timely manner. The auditor general stated: “The problems of the CLRB are due to poor management practice, inadequate paper oriented communications, poor leadership from senior members of the board and a general lack of professionability and accountability which have created a climate which is at times venomous, harassing, stressful and which undoubtedly is eroding morale, the quality and efficiency of the board's work and the board's internal and external credibility and integrity”.
That is about as strong a directive as I have ever seen an auditor general use. The things he said leave out nothing. Board members cannot get along, the board cannot function, it does not function in a timely manner, it is not conducting its business, it is in fighting, morale is being eroded and it is stressful and venomous. That is a pretty condemning statement. I applaud the auditor general's courage in making it.
I attempted to have the chairman called as a witness before the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. I sent a formal request to the committee clerk last summer. It would have provided MPs with the opportunity to question the chairman. It also would have given Mr. Weatherill the opportunity he wanted to publicly defend himself. When a meeting was eventually scheduled for some reason it was cancelled. That reason is still unknown to me.
The auditor general's report must be seen as confirmation that things were definitely awry at the Canadian Labour Relations Board.
At this point we have to ask how well Canadian labour and business has been served by this body.
The government has to answer for the longstanding mismanagement at the CLRB. The minister must take steps to ensure that this never happens again. The board's decisions are for all intents and purposes final. While the Federal Court Act allows for a review of the board's decisions, there is no provision allowing this senior judicial body to set aside board decisions if there were legal errors or if the case was handled in an unreasonable way.
This is the situation facing one interprovincial transportation company where both the employer and the employees are dissatisfied with the board's certification ruling. The current Canada Labour Code does not provide them any recourse and Bill C-19 does nothing to help their plight either.
We cannot support Bill C-19 in its present form for the reasons I have outlined. We will be proposing a series of amendments which will go a long way toward achieving fair and balanced labour laws.