Monday, January 15, 2007

Why Bill 257 is a Bad Idea



Here's my latest column appearing in Report Magazine.

It's on why I think a proposed labour law (Bill 257) is a bad idea for Canada and for unionized employees.

6 comments:

Monkey Loves to Fight said...

Unfortunately the link only went to the first article on Dion, although I question how good a magazine this is, since it seems more about spreading Conservative propaganda than informative debates on the issues. The article on Stephane Dion being anti-Alberta is nothing but fearmongering and this type of fearmongering is not helping Alberta.

If Ontario and Quebec are willing to give the Conservatives a chance and elect some conservative MPs, why can't Alberta show the same openness towards the Liberals and at least send a few Liberals to Ottawa. And for those who complain about Ontario going largely Liberal, I should note the Tories won almost 40% of the seats in Ontario, while the Liberals won 0% in Alberta.

blue drew said...


“Will Bill C-257 really keep work stoppages shorter?

The evidence in Quebec, where they already have such a provincial law on the books, says no.

In fact, for four of the six years from 1999 to 2004, Quebec had work stoppages that were on average longer than those under federal jurisdiction.”


Québec implemented anti-scab legislation in 1977, and has reaped the rewards of workplace stability. The average number of working days lost to strikes dropped from 39 days in 1976 to about 15 today, less than half the amount lost under the Canada Labour Code.

British Columbia passed anti-scab legislation in 1993 with a similar reduction in time lost due to strikes. The amount of work stoppages dropped by 50% in the year following the introduction of the law, which remains in effect today.

Ontario outlawed scab labour in 1992 through Bill 40 a decision later reversed by the Conservative Mike Harris government. Opponents of the move prophesied increased unemployment, strikes, and an imbalance of bargaining power. But experience during the short time the legislation was in effect did not bear out the dire warnings.

The year after Bill 40 was introduced, work stoppages dropped by 45%. In the first full year following the passage of Bill 40, Ontario’s economic growth in GDP was 5.5%, the highest among G-7 countries.

In these examples, evidence of heavy-handed unions manipulating anti-scab-rules was nowhere to be found. In fact, if federal officials want to promote labour peace, workers need anti-scab legislation.

http://canadianlabour.ca/index.php/work_stoppage

spin, spin, spin

Anonymous said...

"Why can't Alberta show the same openness towards the Liberals and at least send a few Liberals to Ottawa?"

Because corruption, ill thoughtout wealth extortion rackets, and kolkhoz-enforcing are not Albertan, and hopefully will no longer be Canadian values.

Les Liberaux, il faut les disparaitre.

Monkey Loves to Fight said...

Because corruption, ill thoughtout wealth extortion rackets, and kolkhoz-enforcing are not Albertan, and hopefully will no longer be Canadian values.

Les Liberaux, il faut les disparaitre.


And warmongering, homophobia, and intolerance are not Albertan or Canadian values whereas tolerance, peace, prosperity, sustainability, freedom, equality and social justice are.

Anonymous said...

Give me examples, not rhetoric Miles.

Warmongering:
WWI, WWII, singing Kumbaya with Taliban Jack under the Libranos.

Homophobia:
I respect your lifestyle, you environmentalist("pussy") Miles. Conservatives are not about to send you to the gulag for lifestyle choices or any of the other 30% of Canadians who voted for the Liberals.

Intolerance:
Canadian values do not include embracing the Taliban or those who seek to undermine women's values in Iraq.

Tolerance, peace, prosperity, sustainability, freedom, equality and social justice:

Liberals hate Jews, hate Israel, want to pull out of Afghanistan, take away women's rights to vote, fix elections in Missinippi-Desnethe-Churchill, create a state where special itnerests and who you know means more than how hard you work or what you know, increase the GST and income taxes, waste money on ever more pork-barrel projects to stifle individual initiative in the Maritimes, increase the number of pencil-pushers in Ottawa, invest hot air credits in Russia with which Putin can torture the Chechens.

For all those liberal democratic values - the choice is clear.

Vote Conservative and Stand Up For Canada!

Anonymous said...

I find your contention that the Bloc's support of Bill 257 is congruent with its effrots to "undermine the Canadian economy". Quebec, particularly Montreal, has substantial presence in federally regulated industries. They would be undermining their own economic support system if that was the case.