Postal Services Resumption and Continuation Bill

Honourable colleagues, I will be brief as I take my turn to speak to Bill C-89 at third reading stage. Some of my thoughts have already been shared by several of our colleagues, but you will agree that sometimes it’s worth repeating certain things so that they are understood and truly absorbed.

I want to acknowledge the quality of the exchanges that took place in this chamber on Saturday during Committee of the Whole. The valuable testimony, especially from the CEO of Canada Post and the union president, and the thoughtful questions asked by our Senate colleagues were very enlightening.

I would add that the very wise decision made on Saturday not to sit on Sunday to allow us more time to do our research and gather our thoughts has proven quite useful.

That decision allowed me to talk to Canada Post workers in my province, New Brunswick, whether they were letter carriers or employees at Canada Post regional offices, in addition to having an exchange with a mediation expert with years of experience.

First, let me acknowledge the government’s efforts to draft a bill that takes into account the needs of the parties and the workers by including specific instructions for selecting the mediator-arbitrator and a detailed description of his or her duties. That said, this aspect raises questions about how workers themselves will be consulted. We all know that decisions made by higher ups without consulting and involving workers are often doomed to fail.

The second aspect of the bill relates to the guiding principles for the mediator-arbitrator’s work. I applaud the government’s decision to include that and, like some of my colleagues, I wonder about whether a labour-management relationship based on a culture of collaboration can be created while negotiations are under way.

I also understand the issues Canada Post is facing at this point in its history: competition, ongoing financial difficulty related to potential loss of revenue, recurrent conflict with employees, adaptation to new technology, and how the corporation will evolve to ensure that it can adapt to our rapidly changing society.

It was interesting to learn that, on Saturday, while we were debating this bill at second reading, Canada Post employees in the Atlantic region met in Halifax to discuss topics including the future of Canada Post and what the corporation could look like. For example, they talked about the different uses that could be made of this vast coast-to-coast infrastructure network in an effort to help modernize Canada Post. In spite of the challenges and difficult work environment they currently face, the workers remain wholeheartedly committed to the future of this corporation.

That said, like many of you, I find myself confronted with a difficult dilemma, today. On the one hand, I recognize that some rural regions and small- and medium-sized companies face some challenges if the mail is not delivered in a timely manner. On the other hand, I recognize that Canada Post workers are facing unacceptable working conditions.

Since the start of the debate in this chamber, we’ve heard a lot about the economic impact this work stoppage, this rotating strike, would have if Canadians and small business owners couldn’t get their mail. In my view, we haven’t heard enough about the impact this situation is having and will have on our fellow Canadians who work at Canada Post. Those 50,000 Canadians are already feeling the financial impact, the impact on workplace motivation and the psychological impact of their fellow Canadians. They also feel like they are not being heard.

Honourable colleagues, recognizing that I, like you, don’t currently have all of the information that would allow me to be fully informed of all the issues, I consciously choose to put the workers first, the women and men who, for years, have been suffering from the deteriorating work environment at Canada Post and who have put a great deal of effort into adapting to the ongoing challenges within the corporation.

I am thinking of the women in rural areas who are doing this work and, still today, in 2018, are not being paid for all of the hours that they work. Also, despite the efforts of the government and Canada Post to find a quick solution to this problem by introducing this legislation, I intend to vote against it for the following reasons. First, there is far too long a history of unresolved labour disputes at Canada Post, the workplace culture has been deteriorating for a number of years at the workers’ expense, and successive governments from all parties have not managed to support Canada Post and its employees in finding a lasting resolution to this dispute, which you will all agree has been going on for far too long.

I agree with Senator Bellemare. In order to resolve the situation in the long term, a major change needs to be made to the way the work is organized, including a review of the pay system. Why has that not yet been done?

My second reason for voting against this bill is the right of association and the right to strike set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I would like to quote what Liberal MP Bob Rae had to say in that regard in 2011. He said, and I quote:

The right to bargain collectively, to create a union and to be able to legally strike is a constitutional right that must be recognized. Yet, because of a public interest greater than this right, or because of a public emergency, the government may decide that it has the right to do what it is doing now.

— that is, introduce back-to-work legislation —

However, if the government exercises this right, it has a responsibility to protect the public interest. . . But this right must be exercised intelligently and in a way that respects the rights of individuals and communities.

In a way that respects the rights of individuals. Is that the case, honourable colleagues? Does this legislation respect the rights of workers?

The third reason given by certain colleagues is the ambiguity surrounding what constitutes an essential service. In an article that appeared in McGill Law Journalentitled, “Les lois spéciales de retour au travail : enjeux institutionnels et constitutionnels,” the authors refer to the International Labour Organization and its Committee on Freedom of Association, whose mandate is to examine complaints about violations of freedom of association with the objective of strengthening compliance with these principles.

When he appeared before us, the union president confirmed that Canada Post and his organization had reached an agreement whereby cheques for vulnerable Canadians would be delivered, including the Canada child benefit, disability cheques, Old Age Security cheques, Canada pension plan cheques, veterans’ benefit cheques and Canada student loans.

The fourth reason is the most important and the reason why I will be voting against this bill. I am referring to the issues mentioned by many workers I spoke with, the issues they have been forced to endure for a long time in the workplace, such as being forced to work overtime, unpaid hours worked, accidents and injuries mainly caused by the arrival of bundled deliveries and multiple packages and harassment by certain supervisors.

Honourable colleagues, faced with all these challenges affecting the workers in our regions, what should we do?

The proposed solution is to pass special legislation providing for the resumption and continuation of postal services, taking into account the negative repercussions of work stoppages on Canada’s economy. This is a short-term solution, a bill that merely puts a temporary Band-Aid on a deep wound that has been festering for many years now. This wound requires major surgery and an effective, long-term cure.

Honourable colleagues, what I want to say is this: As a society and as legislators, as Senator Downe suggested earlier, why not conduct a study to help Canada Post and its employees come up with long-term solutions to this long-standing problem? Let’s work together to find the best ways to solve this recurring problem for Canadians.

Thank you.