CCLA just filed its written submission on Quebec’s Bill 89 to the Committee on economy and labour.
This bill is a direct attack on the right to strike. It authorizes the Minister of Labour to put an end to a strike by referring a dispute between an employer and its employees to an arbitrator, if the Minister is of the opinion that a strike “causes or threatens to cause serious or irreparable harm to the public”. The bill also authorizes the Administrative Labour Tribunal, following a governmental decree, to limit the right to strike of some employees providing “services ensuring the well-being of the population”.
It is, of course, legitimate to restrict the right to strike for essential services whose interruption would endanger public health or safety. However, extending such restrictions to all services that ensure the “well-being” of the population is a very slippery slope.
A strike is a means of exerting pressure. Its very essence is to create temporary discomfort in order to counterbalance the marked inequalities that exist in employer-employee relations.
Bill 14 is a dangerous political tool that could be invoked as soon as a strike causes significant discontent among groups that have the government’s ear.
Read here CCLA’s submission (in French).
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
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