WestJet flight attendants hold a ‘Day of Action’ while union members vote on a possible strike in Calgary, July 14.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Business leaders, including Canadian airline executives, told MPs they welcome the federal government’s legislation aimed at reducing the frequency of major labour disruptions, with WestJet’s chief executive saying the bill will help make Canada more attractive to investors.
Bill C-39 is a sweeping omnibus bill that references changes to nearly two dozen federal laws. It has two main goals: to fast-track the approval process for major projects such as pipelines or transmission lines, while also creating a new mediation process that would apply before Ottawa can intervene in bargaining disputes in federally regulated sectors.
A special legislative committee has previously heard from labour union leaders, who strongly oppose the legislation, saying it will curtail workers’ right to strike and will ultimately be challenged in court.
On Tuesday, the committee heard from three airline executives: Air Canada vice-president of labour relations Mike Abbott, Air Transat senior director of labour relations and negotiations Irene Chrisanthopoulos, and WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech.
Mr. von Hoensbroech said labour action should be a last resort and that strikes hurt investment.
“Labour stability is one of the prime topics that international investors are looking at,” he said.
Both Air Canada and WestJet have faced shutdowns in recent years owing to labour strikes, while Air Transat narrowly avoided a pilot strike last year.
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“We need to ask a difficult question: Is it right that the union leadership can take a company and hundreds of thousands of Canadians through a strike simply because they can?” Mr. von Hoensbroech asked members of the committee. “The right to strike is an important part of collective bargaining, and we respect it. But labour action should be about real disputes after every reasonable opportunity to reach a deal at the table has been exhausted.”
Tuesday’s meeting was the committee’s final round of hearings from witnesses. Members of Parliament must submit any proposed amendments by the end of the business day Wednesday.
Future meetings will focus on debating potential amendments.
The legislation, known as the Building Canada Strong Act, proposes changes to Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code. This section empowers the responsible minister to intervene to end a strike or lockout in a federally regulated workplace by asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order workers back to their jobs. Unions say the federal government has overused that power in recent years and have called for it to be scrapped.
Bill C-39 also creates a new role for a “special mediator,” who would be appointed to work with employers and unions for 21 days when negotiations are at an impasse, then write a report if the dispute remains unresolved. The minister must evaluate that report before intervening. The government says these added steps place “guardrails” around that power, but unions say the bill makes future interventions more likely.
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Mr. von Hoensbroech urged MPs to amend the section so that the mediator has the power to extend the mediation process if they believe a deal is achievable. Secondly, he said Section 107 should be amended to give the government the power to act sooner, before a strike begins.
“That is particularly important in aviation. For WestJet, even a one-minute strike leads to four days of labour disruption. It takes about two days to safely bring down the network. Another two days to restore it. Our experience this summer showed exactly that dynamic,” he said, in reference to the August strike by flight attendants.
Later in the day, MPs heard from a shipping executive who also called for amendments to strengthen the government’s ability to intervene.
Guillaum Dubreuil, Canada Steamship Lines’ director of external affairs and government relations, said the current Canada Labour Code requirement that a union provide at least 72 hours notice of a strike should be extended to 15 days.
“While we strongly believe in the right to strike, the current 72-hour notice period provides insufficient time for carriers, ports and customers to safely manage vessels and cargoes already in transit,” he said.
During a separate panel Tuesday, the committee heard from Indigenous leaders, including Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, who spoke about the legislation’s provisions to speed up development.
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The AFN said C-39 is fundamentally flawed and cannot be fixed through amendments.
“Simply put, this bill represents a mass dilution of environmental protection and First Nation rights,” she said.
The AFN said the legislation fails to ensure proponents of major projects support First Nations through options such as ownership partnerships or revenue sharing.
“We understand Canada is at a crossroads in its relationship with First Nations. Our rights are under attack in new ways, and sadly, this bill is the latest example,” she said.
With a report from Vanmala Subramaniam