Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part in debate on Bill C-19. The most controversial aspect of the examination of the Canada Labour Code is, without a doubt, the matter of replacement workers.
As we know, only two provinces have passed legislation at this time to restrict employers' use of replacement workers, or scabs as we call them in Abitibi, during work stoppages. Those two provinces are Quebec, where there have been restrictions since 1977, and British Columbia since 1993. Ontario had adopted similar mechanisms in 1993, but these were done away with in 1995.
Where sectors under federal jurisdiction are concerned, there have been numerous conflicts which have raised greater awareness of this issue, but to date the code contains no clauses banning the use of replacement workers during work stoppages.
The task force found that, despite the opposing points of view of labour and management, there was one point on which they both agreed, which was that “no one believes the use of replacement workers is justified if this is intended to do away with a union or to undermine its role, rather than to obtain an acceptable collective agreement”.
As the majority of the task force recommended, there will not be a blanket ban on the use of replacement workers. The Canada Labour Relations Board will, however, be empowered to order an employer to cease to use such workers during a strike—