MPs debate Canada Post back-to-work bill

OTTAWA — Members of Parliament sat late into the night Friday as the federal government put a rush on legislation ordering postal workers back to work.

The push came as Ottawa, as well as smaller towns in Ontario and British Columbia, and Sherbrooke, Que., became the latest targets of rotating strikes by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

MPs spent much of the day and evening debating a motion that would allow the House of Commons to deal speedily with a bill, tabled Thursday, that would put a stop to mail disruptions across the country.

That fast-tracking motion passed by a vote of 173-13, whereupon debate immediately resumed on the back-to-work bill itself.

That debate was expected to continue for several hours before concluding with a vote on the legislation sometime in the wee hours of this morning.

The Senate is ready to sit today and, if necessary, Sunday, to deal with the bill, which would go into effect at 9 a.m. PST on the day following royal assent.

Despite the rush to pass the legislation, Labour Minister Patty Hajdu encouraged Canada Post and CUPW to remain at the bargaining table. “They can still pull a deal off,” she said.

“Obviously, we would prefer that the parties are able to negotiate an agreement together, but the time has come that we need to be prepared to take action if they cannot.”

Hajdu referred to mail delivery as an “essential service” and said small businesses that rely on the postal service to deliver their goods over the busy Christmas season could go bankrupt if the situation isn’t remedied quickly.

Labour leaders and New Democrat MPs slammed the government for undermining the collective-bargaining process. The government has removed all incentive for Canada Post to reach a negotiated settlement now that the agency knows workers will be ordered back to work by early next week, they charged.

“The right to strike is an integral part of the collective bargaining process,” Canadian Labour Congress president Hassan Yussuff said.

“Without it, an employer has no incentive to bargain in good faith, and workers have no recourse to demand a fair process.”

Canada Post seems to have convinced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Christmas wouldn’t come without a back-to-work bill, CUPW president Mike Palecek said.

“The mail was moving, and people know it,” he said. “People have been getting their mail and online orders delivered. That was the point of our rotating-strike tactics, not to pick a fight with the public.”

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh accused the Liberals of hypocrisy, professing to believe in the right to collective bargaining while bringing in what he called the “worst, most draconian” backto-work legislation.

“They’ve shown their true face … that this government is not a friend of working people,” Singh said.

CUPW’s 50,000 members, in two groups, are demanding better pay for rural and suburban carriers, more job security and minimum guaranteed hours.