Monday May 9, 2016
For Immediate Release
After meeting with many federal Members of Parliament from all parties and making a presentation to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, the IAMAW has now taken the fight against Bill C-10, which amends the the Air Canada Public Participation Act, to the Senate. The IAMAW wants to raise awareness in the Senate of the danger the bill represents to Canadian aircraft maintenance jobs. IAMAW representatives have already met with Quebec Senators Claude Carignan and Leo Housakos.
"If the bill is approved by the House of Commons, it will then make its way to the Senate for study and a vote," said IAMAW Quebec Coordinator David Chartrand. "We want to explain to the Senators that this bill threatens not only thousands of jobs in aircraft maintenance, but also more widely, it threatens the industry. There is no urgent need to adopt this Bill."
For years, the IAMAW has been promoting a pan-Canadian aerospace policy that calls for active involvement of the federal government in the consolidation of the industry and the protection of its jobs. "This is a promising and growing sector everywhere in the world" said Chartrand. "Countries with strong economies such as Germany, France, the United States, but also developing countries like Morocco, China and Brazil, have strong aerospace industries. The latter are involved in its development by investing in research, training, business development and new avant-garde products. In short, these governments are perfectly aware that this industry has economic development potential that will benefit society as a whole. Why in Canada would we go directly in the opposite direction by promoting a carrier who seeks only to enrich its shareholders to the detriment of Canadian workers?"
Transport Minister Minister Marc Garneau wants the bill to pass quickly to avoid debate and consultation, says the IAMAW. "The Trudeau government took the decision to shorten the debate on this bill so the fewest possible possible stakeholders could be consulted. Bill C-10 does everything for Air Canada and nothing for the workers and the Canadian people. The federal government is attempting to ensure that Canadians are ill-informed. In addition, it is difficult to understand why the Liberal government wants to change a law to remove job protection at Air Canada when they are asking for job protection in exchange for assistance to Bombardier. This makes absolutely no sense. We should not have to choose between the two. The federal government needs to protect the jobs of all Canadians. It is unforgivable to be treated this way by the representatives that we have chosen democratically and we are going to denounce it in every forum we can in the hope that the Liberals will listen to reason," Chartrand said.
The IAMAW represents 15,000 members in Quebec, and more than 50,000 across Canada, including 16,000 in the airline and aerospace industries.
The IAMAW is the largest air transport union in the world, representing more than 700,000 members throughout North America.