Tribunal can 'suspend the exercise of the right to strike or to a lock-out' if 'exceptional circumstances so warrant'
Quebec has tabled legislation that aims to ensure that essential government services will still be provided in case of labour conflicts.
Bill 89 – An Act to Give Greater Consideration to the Needs of the Population in the Event of a Strike or a Lockout – aims to prevent disruptions that could negatively impact the population, particularly vulnerable individuals.
“It confers on the government the power to designate, by order, a certified association and an employer in respect of which the Administrative Labour Tribunal may determine whether services ensuring the well-being of the population must be maintained in the event of a strike or a lock-out,” reads part of the bill’s explanatory notes.
“The Tribunal is granted the power to order the maintenance of such services, at the request of one of the parties designated by order, but only for the negotiation stage in progress. The health and public service sectors are excluded from the application of those provisions.”
Tribunal determines essential services
Under the new law, the Administrative Labour Tribunal has the authority to determine whether essential services must be maintained during a strike or lockout.
The legislation defines these services as ones “minimally required to prevent the population’s social, economic or environmental security from being disproportionately affected, in particular that of persons in vulnerable situations.”
The bill also allows the Quebec government to designate a certified association and an employer that must ensure these services are maintained. Once designated, the parties have 15 days to negotiate service levels.
If they fail to reach an agreement, the Tribunal will determine the required services and how they must be provided.
The legislation comes after numerous labour disputes at the different workplace – including Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the City of Whitehorse and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) – across Canada in 2024.
Power to ‘suspend the exercise of the right to strike or to a lock-out’
The strike or lock-out in progress continues despite the Tribunal’s decision to require the parties to maintain services, according to the legislation.
“However, from the date the decision is notified to the parties, the Tribunal may, if it considers that exceptional circumstances so warrant, suspend the exercise of the right to strike or to a lock-out until it has rendered a decision”
It also notes the Minister of Labour will have the power to intervene in disputes that may cause harm to the population.
“The Minister may, if he considers that a strike or a lock-out causes or threatens to cause serious or irreparable injury to the population and the intervention of a conciliator or a mediator has not been successful, refer the dispute to an arbitrator for the latter to determine the conditions of employment of the employees included in the bargaining unit on strike or locked out.”
Violations of the Tribunal’s decisions may result in fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 per day.
The law does not apply to government departments, agencies, or institutions governed by the Public Service Act (Section 111.22.2). Labour relations in the public and parapublic sectors remain subject to existing regulations.
Health-care and public sectors are being excluded from the bill, but educational institutions, municipal services and some private sectors are covered, according to a report from CBC.
Bill 89 is ‘illegal,’ says critic
Unions and opposition parties in Quebec have already come out strongly against the bill, according to the report.
"Why is he doing this? "I'm not sure that there isn't a little bit of revenge in this,” says Alexandre Leduc, Québec Solidaire's labour critic, accusing Boulet of taking revenge on public sector employees for their large-scale strike in 2023.
In 2023, around 100,000 teachers went on strike in Quebec, seeking better working conditions and a boost in pay. Some 25,000 public service professionals later also went to the picket line.
"He's just shopping for a lawsuit for the next five to 10 years and then it will have to go to the Supreme Court. He knows that," Leduc says, calling the bill “illegal”.
Meanwhile, Éric Gingras, the president of the CSQ, an umbrella union representing most public-sector workers in the province, calls the bill "a disruption in the balance of labour relations”.
Introducing the bill at a time when there’s a large snowfall in Quebec is “an opportunistic but vain attempt to attack yet again the right to strike,” according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
“Minister Boulet is playing groundhog this year. He’s hoping that his bill will see its shadow and be passed into law. But let me be clear. This bill will not see its shadow, because we’ll do everything we can so that it never sees the light of day. We’ll be there to fight it every step of the way,” says Patrick Gloutney, president of CUPE Quebec.
One expert previously noted that worker strikes across Canada could persist at least until this year.
