Speaking to iPolitics on Tuesday, she said the assessment “reinforces” her view that Bill C-39 strengthens the right to strike by creating new conditions for using a decades-old section in the Labour Code that gives the minister broad power to make any order necessary to ensure industrial peace.
A Charter statement from the federal Justice Department has found that Ottawa’s major economic bill won’t infringe on the constitutionally protected right to strike, says Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu.
Speaking to iPolitics on Tuesday, she said the assessment “reinforces” her view that Bill C-39 strengthens the right to strike by creating new conditions for using a decades-old section in the Labour Code that gives the minister broad power to make any order necessary to ensure industrial peace.
“What we’ve done is we’ve put guardrails around a contentious piece of legislation that was used in the past without really any transparency, and twice used preemptively to prevent people to strike,” she said after a committee meeting.
“And we’re saying no longer could that piece of the code be used in a preemptive way. Rather, first, a strike must have happened. Secondly, it will be used in extremely rare cases.”
Bill C-39, known alternatively as the Building Canada Strong Act, aims to streamline project approval processes, modernize federal labour laws and support efforts to unlock new trade markets.
The labour changes include new rules to structure when the government can intervene in work disputes.
Section 107 of the Labour Code has been on the books for decades, though it’s only in recent years that the Liberal government has used the clause to order an end to strikes and lockouts. Before 2023, the government typically resorted to passing back-to-work legislation to curtail work stoppages.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board has ruled that it must abide by the minister’s order.
Labour unions have called the section undemocratic, while industry has been largely supportive as they’ve pressed Ottawa to act more decisively to end strikes that disrupt crucial components of Canada’s supply chain infrastructure.
Bill C-39 amends section 107 of the Canada Labour Code so that the minister can intervene only if a special mediator publicly reports in support of intervention. The minister must also be of the opinion that the strike or lockout is contrary to the national interest, considering factors such as its impact on the economy and the risk of serious social disruption.
Hajdu has promised the government would consider the impact on the economy and the “constitutional right to strike” when weighing whether to intervene.
The Canada Labour Congress, a coalition of unions, has publicly led the charge against C-39, arguing that it gives employers reason to expect government intervention, which could make disputes harder to settle.
Hajdu said that’s not what the bill does.
“What they’re saying and what the bill does are two very different things. We are… putting pressure on the parties to bargain in good faith at the table,” she said, noting that C-39 introduces new monetary penalties for bargaining in bad faith.
“This is about pushing people back to the table and saying, ‘You guys have the tools and the responsibility to get to a collective agreement. We’ll be there to support you, but ultimately, the responsibility rests with you, and you’ll be held accountable.'”
She added that the report from the mediator would also increase pressure on the parties to strike a deal.
“I would say that if I was, if it was my company or my organization, and the report came back and said that I wasn’t bargaining in good faith, that I didn’t put my best foot forward, that I wasn’t taking the needs of my customers seriously, that would be a huge reputational risk,” she said.
“But let’s say that those parties still don’t do anything, then that report is now made public, and I think to to my point, the importance of this new tool of public exposure, transparency, if you like, is a very important new addition.”
Sean Strickland, president of Canada’s Building Trades Unions, told iPolitics last month that while he doesn’t support s. 107, the new bill help will at least slow down ministerial orders to squash strikes or lockouts and put more pressure on businesses to broker a deal.
“If you just look at the the process now, they’re building in way more process before it gets to a decision point around Section 107, which I think is good for all parties in determining a fair collective agreement,” he said, noting the mediator would have 21 days to complete a report.
“At the end of the day, a strike or lockout still may occur, but you’ve gone through some really substantive steps here to try to get parties to make a deal.”
More to come…