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Bill C-29 imposes the return to work at 12:01 a.m. the day after the legislation receives royal assent. Any party that violates a provision of the act would face a fine of up to $100,000 per day of violation.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the longshoremen, called the move “an affront to all workers in the country.” The port workers have been without a labour agreement since December 2018.
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Ottawa “is playing the employer’s game by legislating a return to work and violating the rights of workers to bargain collectively and to strike,” Marc Ranger, CUPE’s Quebec director, said in a statement. “It’s shameful for a government that calls itself the defender of the middle class.”
By Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press on April 27, 2021.
Striking dockworkers from the Port of Montreal walk the picket line during the first day of a strike in Montreal on Monday, April 26, 2021. Federal Labour Minister Filomena Tassi has tabled a bill to put an end to the strike involving 1,150 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
OTTAWA – Federal Labour Minister Filomena Tassi described a strike at the Port of Montreal as a “matter of life and death” as the Liberal government tabled Tuesday controversial back-to-work legislation aimed at getting 1,150 dockworkers back on the job.
Yet while opposition parties and the union representing the dockworkers all rushed to criticize the measure as a failure on the part of the government, the legislation appeared poised to pass with support from the Conservatives.
By Reuters Staff
(Adds Conservative Party support for legislation, Trudeau comment, union letter)
OTTAWA, April 27 (Reuters) - The Canadian government unveiled back-to-work legislation on Tuesday to end a strike at the Port of Montreal, and later received opposition support that should guarantee its passage.
The Liberal government said it was disappointed talks between unions and employers had broken down. Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole said he would support the bill, which now may be voted on as early as Wednesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government needs votes from at least one opposition party to pass legislation.
“We’re going to take action, not to impose a contract on anyone, but to allow for neutral arbitration that will lead to a new agreement,” Trudeau told lawmakers on Tuesday.
The association, in turn, has said it s disappointed with the union s decision and is now reviewing its options.
Federal Labour Minister Filomena Tassi said Sunday that the government has filed notice that it will table back-to-work legislation in the coming days if an agreement is not reached.
Tassi said the government would prefer not to intervene but may have no choice given what she called the significant and potentially long-lasting harm to Canada’s economy caused by the work stoppage.
The workers, who have been without a contract since December 2018, have been on an overtime strike since April 17 and have refused to work weekends since April 18.