Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to Motion No. 130. The motion presented by the hon. member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik calls upon the Government of Canada to explore federal-provincial jurisdictional issues in the areas of labour law and transportation law as they pertain to independent truckers in Quebec.
The hon. member is obviously very concerned about the recent protest actions of Quebec truckers and I understand his concern. I wish to commend him for bringing forward this motion. I agree that the issues being raised by the Quebec truckers are serious and ought to receive serious consideration by members.
However, I have some problem with what the member is seeking to achieve by way of his motion. I wonder, too, if the motion is premature.
Perhaps some historical background to the actions of the Quebec truckers would be helpful. About a year ago Quebec truckers started to blockade major highways in the province and border points with New Brunswick, Ontario and the United States. The truckers, mainly local bulk operators, were protesting the upcoming deregulation of the interprovincial trucking industry. They were also protesting the deregulation requirements of the NAFTA, rising fuel prices and their inability to negotiate wages and working conditions.
In response, the PQ government agreed to set up a committee of experts to study the industrial relations questions raised by the truckers. This committee was headed by a widely respected industrial relations professor and included representation from the parties involved.
There were renewed blockades in September and October 1999, after which the PQ minister of transport, Guy Chevrette, announced that round table discussions would be held to bring all parties together. Surprisingly, the PQ minister also said that 80% of the truckers, that is, 8,000 of the 10,000, fall under federal jurisdiction. How he arrived at this conclusion is not clear, and is not correct.
It should also be noted that major unions in Quebec have undertaken organizing drives among the truckers. Apparently, about 30 certification applications have been received by the Canada Industrial Relations Board from the Teamsters and the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, or CSN.
From this brief historical view we learn two things. We learn first that Quebec truckers have legitimate grievances regarding the deregulation of the trucking sector, regarding their labour relations status and regarding rising fuel prices. We learn second that a process has been established to address their grievances.
If a process has in fact been set out to study the truckers' concerns, would it make sense for the Government of Canada at this time to launch the kind of examination suggested by my colleague's motion? I think not.
It may be that at some future date such a study ought to be undertaken, but I do not think the government would be doing anything useful if it were to accept the hon. member's suggestion at this point. It is better to let the process already established run its course and see where it leads.
I want to speak for a moment on the industrial relations aspect of this matter. There are at least two significant industrial relations questions. The first concerns federal jurisdiction over labour relations and working conditions encompassing any undertaking that connects a province with another province or extends beyond the limits of a province. The Canada Labour Code makes this very clear. Quebec truckers, when they travel to New Brunswick, Ontario or the U.S., fall under federal jurisdiction and, contrary to Minister Chevrette's contention, we do not yet know how many Quebec truckers do this.
Second, in his motion the member uses the phrase “independent truckers” to refer to the protesting truckers. Again, we do not yet know who are the independent truckers and who are dependent truckers. The Canada Labour Code states that the definition of employee includes dependent contractors, and the term dependent contractor includes owner-operators of trucks who work under contract to employees in the federal jurisdiction. The code permits employees, including dependent contractors, to unionize for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment with their employer.
On the other hand, truck drivers who are self-employed and who are independent owners of their vehicles are not considered to be employees under the federal labour code and therefore cannot benefit from its provisions.
These are two key issues that must be sorted out if a durable solution acceptable to all stakeholders is to be found. The member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik and I, I am sure, are in agreement here. Where we differ is how to sort out what is being done.
In my view, the Canada Industrial Relations Board is the appropriate body to determine whether a person is a dependent or an independent contractor and whether he or she is working for an employer in the federal jurisdiction. As I mentioned, there are about 30 certification applications from Quebec unions being reviewed by the board. I have great confidence in the board's capacity to come up with the right decisions on these applications.
The committee of experts which was established by the PQ government, to which I referred earlier, submitted some important recommendations regarding industrial relations in the trucking sector. The PQ government will need to consider these recommendations very carefully.
The committee recommended that the right of association be granted to owner-operators and that the Quebec labour code recognize the self-employed truckers' right of association. Also, this committee recommended that round table discussions be held to study the problem of the industry.
Two sessions have already been held and it appears that all stakeholders involved in the trucking sector are prepared to work hard to come up with ways to address their issues. Representatives from Transport Canada and the labour program of Human Resources Development Canada were present, as were representatives from the union and major trucking associations. This group is expected to issue a report on its deliberations next month.
The point I am trying to stress is simply that a two track process is already in place that deals with the legitimate concerns of my hon. friend. We have the CIRB process and the process set up by the PQ government. Perhaps I could prevail upon my colleague to be a bit more patient.
I shall end by commending my friend and colleague for bringing forth his motion and drawing our attention to the problems of Quebec truckers. It seems to me that at this time all that should be done is being done. I do not think that further federal involvement is called for at this point, but like the member I shall be following the matter very closely and will call for additional federal action should it further warrant.