Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

TORONTO – While 400 of its members at the Ekati diamond mine north of Yellowknife suffer the consequences of having scabs in the workplace, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) applauds the anti-scab Bill introduced today by the Bloc Québécois aimed at stopping this practice.

“During the last session of Parliament, the Bloc introduced Bill C-263 which was lost by only 12 votes,” explained PSAC President, Nycole Turmel. “We will work with the Bloc Québécois and other Canadian unions to ensure that finally, workers under federal jurisdiction are protected by anti-scab legislation.”

The Private Member’s Bill introduced by the MP for Gatineau, Richard Nadeau, will be debated in late May. It contains essentially the same provisions as Bill C-263. It is inspired by the anti-scab legislation currently in force in Quebec, which prohibits employers from using strike-breakers during a strike or a lockout.

According to the MP for St. Bruno-St. Hubert and Bloc Québécois spokesperson for Labour Carole Lavallée, the introduction of anti-strikebreaker measures will bring about industrial peace and result in more civilized negotiations. She pointed out that workers currently covered by the Canada Labour Code do not enjoy the added leverage such legislation gives them in their dealings with their employers.

Following consultations with PSAC’s Conseil régional d’action politique de l’Outaouais (CRAPO), Nadeau and the Bloc Québécois agreed to introduce this bill on a priority basis. According to PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President Ed Cashman, “the relentless work done in the Outaouais by CRAPO members who met with 18 of the 20 candidates during the last federal election and subsequently three of the four MPs from the region shows that political action does produce tangible results. People have to get involved to move things forward. Nothing gets done from the sidelines.”

Pat Martin, the NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre, has introduced a similar Bill. However, it may take some time before it comes up for debate. PSAC says this will give workers another chance to see this legislation enacted, should the Bloc’s Bill be defeated.