Claudette Bradshaw

[Canada Foundation For Sustainable Development Technology Act, April 5th, 2001]

moved that Bill C-4, an act to establish a foundation to fund sustainable development technology, be read the third time and passed.

[Pay Equity, February 16th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, last October, the Minister of Justice and I appointed R. E. Bilson, the dean of the faculty of law at the University of Saskatchewan, to chair a task force to review federal legislation on pay equity and present a report in the fall of 2002.

[Auditor General's Report, October 19th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we did keep some part time members because of the backlog. We wanted to make sure that the people who were waiting to come before our board would come before the board as soon as possible.

I would like to inform the hon. member and the Canadian public that two former members of the board have now finished their work.

[Auditor General's Report, October 19th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will know that there is a new chair of the Canada Industrial Relations Board in place. New members have been put on that board from the employer and employee side. The board is doing very well and the chair of the board is best placed to respond to these issues.

[Housing, October 17th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to tell the hon. member that our member will be voted in soon and he will be in the House very soon.

Having said that, I want to inform the hon. member that the group in Halifax and the community groups have been meeting. Their community plan is completed. I signed off last week, which means that funding will be given to communities in Nova Scotia immediately.

[Fire Prevention Week, October 5th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure today of launching Fire Prevention Week right here on Parliament Hill.

The Department of Labour has an obligation to support public awareness campaigns such as Fire Prevention Canada. One of its very important programs is “Learn Not to Burn”, and this morning a young girl from New Brunswick, a six-year-old, was awarded its medal for bravery, for saving her family from a fire in their home.

I would like to congratulate all the schools and all the firefighters for their work with our young people about fire prevention.

[Canada Labour Code, May 31st, 2000]

moved that Bill C-12, an act to amend the Canada Labour Code (Part II) in respect of occupational health and safety, to make technical amendments to the Canada Labour Code (Part I) and to make consequential amendments to other acts, be read the third time and passed.

Mr. Speaker, it feels very good to rise today to begin third reading of Bill C-12. It feels good because we are coming to the end of a long journey. I want to express my gratitude to my friends on all sides of the House for their hard work on Bill C-12 and for the quick manner in which they handled the bill.

All members recognized that we are not dealing with just another labour bill but we are in fact talking about people's health and safety on the job. Their input was serious, their questions thoughtful, their concerns valid and their suggestions helpful. Further, I want to thank previous ministers who supported the review of part II.

I also want to acknowledge with gratitude the effort of the labour and management people who were charged with extremely demanding and complex tasks, first, to review the existing legislation and identify the issues that needed to be addressed and second, to come to a consensus on possible reform to part II.

They did their jobs exceptionally well and were able to devise consensus based proposals. That could not have been easy. Again I want to thank them for their perseverance, their seriousness of purpose and their openness to alternative approaches. They demonstrated as I have said numerous times that this country is blessed with durable and effective labour relations institutions and organizations and with professional, dedicated and prudent labour relations practitioners.

We have learned over the years that progress in occupational safety and health comes only when we, the government, employers and labour, work together. We have also learned that working together, teamwork, co-operation and partnership building are not just warm and fuzzy concepts but absolutely essential ingredients for effective action. We need each other's experience, resources and wisdom if significant declines in work related accidents, injuries and diseases are to be achieved.

Over the past couple of decades, many profound changes have occurred in the workplace, in the workforce and in the economy. The fundamental objective of our reforms is to ensure that the primary federal labour law responds to those changes.

Bill C-12 represents the second phase of our three-phase initiative to modernize the Canada Labour Code. Amendments to part I of the code, which deals with the conduct of industrial relations, received Royal Assent last year.

Part III of the code—dealing with labour standards—is being reviewed now. I hope to be able to bring forward amendments early next year.

Ever since 1985, when the last significant amendments to part II were passed by the House, there have been important changes in the way we organize and do our work. Some were welcome changes and some were very worrisome. The law cannot ignore those new realities. I know we made a good start with our amendments to part I.

I feel very positive about the bill before us today to amend part II, and the review of part III is proceeding well. It seems to me that the updating of the Canada Labour Code is a fitting way for legislators to launch the second century of the federal labour program.

Part II of the code is based on basic principles. One is that employees have certain rights when it comes to their health and safety. They have the right to know about workplace hazards, the right to participate in health and safety matters and the right to refuse dangerous work. In recognizing these rights, part II also takes care not to unduly infringe on the employer's right to manage the workplace.

A second principle is that the government must empower employees and employers to assume responsibility for the regulation of their workplaces. Employees and employers ought to be equipped with the means to identify and deal with health and safety issues in their own backyard, so to speak. Of course, this is not to say that the government has no responsibility for the health and safety of employees, or that there is no room for direct government intervention, but the obligation for achieving a safe workplace rests with both the employer and the employee. Those people ought to have the authority and the primary responsibility to address those issues because they are the ones who will feel the consequences of inaction on health and safety issues.

Bill C-12 not only adheres to but also gives further expressions to these fundamental principles. How it does so will become evident as I review its main features.

The bill brings in several important changes to part II, but there are four that I think are especially noteworthy.

First, the legislation provides for an innovative, new internal complaint resolution process, by which the parties themselves, not a government officer, will solve their workplace health and safety problems.

Under this new process, if an employee has a complaint, the employee and the supervisor are required to try to resolve the matter between them as soon as possible. If they cannot do so, they can refer the problem to the workplace health and safety committee or, in the case of smaller organizations, to the health and safety representative, and the matter will then be jointly investigated.

If the parties cannot come to an agreement, or if the employer does not accept the results of the investigation or fails to act on the matter, then and only then will a government official intervene. When appropriate, he or she may intervene simply by requesting that the parties try again to resolve the issue themselves.

Of course, the health and safety officer retains the authority to act decisively if a danger exists or if the parties cannot come to an agreement. But I think we can all see the wisdom in giving the parties every opportunity to settle their problems themselves.

Secondly, the bill also strengthens the local workplace health and safety committees in a number of ways. For instance, they will be able to do workplace inspections and to participate in the implementation of changes that might affect health and safety, including changes that pertain to work processes and procedures. Where there is no corporate health and safety policy committee, they will be involved in the development of occupational health and safety policy. If this is not local empowerment, I do not know what is.

A third important feature of this bill is the requirement to establish a joint health and safety policy committee at the corporate level in enterprises with 300 or more employees. These committees will meet at least quarterly to address issues that have company-wide application. They will participate in the development of health and safety policies for the organizations. They will deal quickly with matters referred to them by the workplace committees. They will participate in studies, inspections and investigations pertaining to occupational health and safety and they will assist in planning changes to enhance workplace health and safety. They will also be able to request from the employer any information necessary to identify actual or potential workplace hazards, and they will have full access to all of the government and employer reports, studies and tests related to the health and safety of employees.

The range of issues that the policy committees can deal with is very wide and includes prevention and awareness raising activities. By requiring these committees we will ensure that health and safety issues receive the attention they deserve from the people who have the authority to make things happen. The committees will see to it that health and safety priorities make it to the corporate agenda.

Their existence will also be tremendously reassuring to employees who, for whatever reason, feel that the safety of the workplace is of little concern to the higher ups. For the local health and safety committees, the new policy committees are likely to be a motivating factor because they will see that senior people in the organization take occupational safety and health just as seriously as they do.

A fourth change to the bill is consistent with the Government of Canada's plans to encourage family-friendly workplaces.

This change expands the employee's right to refuse dangerous work, by giving to a female employee who believes that her job conditions pose a danger to her, the fetus or the baby she is nursing the right to leave the workplace until she has had a reasonable opportunity to obtain a medical certificate.

While she is seeking this certificate, her employer will have the right to assign the woman to other duties or require her to remain at work in a safe location, and she will still be entitled to the normal pay and benefits attached to her job.

If her physician determines that there is no danger to her, the fetus or child, the woman's right to cease her work will no longer be in force. If the physician confirms the risk, she will be able to turn to the protection of part III of the code.

Those are the major reforms that Bill C-12 makes to part II of the Canada Labour Code. I believe they are sound, progressive and meaningful, and that they will be effective and help to restore the downward trend in workplace casualties in the federal jurisdiction.

Before I conclude, I would like to draw the members' attention to some of the other important changes that this bill will make to part II.

First, the right to refuse will be clarified in a couple of ways. All employees who have been prevented from working because a colleague has exercised a refusal will be paid until the end of the shift.

The employee exercising the right of refusal will be paid until the matter has been resolved In addition, to ensure that the right to refuse is not used frivolously, the employer will be able to discipline an employee if he can demonstrate that the right to refuse was abused.

Over the last several years, we have become aware of the importance of ergonomics to the prevention of a wide range of physical ailments. Those of you who have spent time in front of a computer monitor will know what I mean here. We have, therefore, inserted a provision in the bill that will allow us to address ergonomic standards.

Finally, in response to the growing problem of workplace rage, we have included a clause that requires employers to take the necessary steps to prevent and protect against violence in the workplace.

This bill will inject new energy into our efforts to reduce workplace casualties. It provides important new mechanisms to address health and safety issues. It reaffirms the faith of the federal government in the capacity of labour and management to solve the health and safety problems that they encounter in their own workplace.

Occupational health and safety is a very important matter. The extent to which we succeed in protecting our employees from hazards and diseases is a measure of our social progress, our civility and our sense of what is important.

History seems to show that progressive workplace health and safety policy is also good economic policy. Let history show that, as this country soared to new economic heights, its record in reducing workplace casualties was second to none.

[Division No. 1327, May 30th, 2000]

moved that the bill be concurred in.

[Preventative Withdrawal, May 29th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, this is available to pregnant and nursing women under section 132 of the Canada Labour Code Part II. It was negotiated for seven years with employees and employers. The Bloc Quebecois amendment concerning the definition of hazard is addressed by part III of the labour code, and this will be discussed by employees and employers.

[Housing, May 19th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I am quite aware of the group in Montreal. We are having discussions with them at this time.

I want to assure the House and the Canadian people that I am responsible for the homeless. This government has put $753 million of new funding into the homeless situation. In the last year homeless groups in Montreal have received $4 million to put toward different community interests.