On March 21, Bill C-257, which would have banned strike-breaking replacement workers in the federal jurisdiction, went down to a stunning defeat in a House of Commons vote on third reading.
Bill C-257 would have protected airline, airport and other federal workers from the threats and violence that scabs can bring to collective bargaining. As a reflection of its importance, the labour movement’s lobbying campaign for Bill C-257 was perhaps the largest ever.
The Bill, (and amendments which would have made it clear beyond any doubt that there would be no threat to essential services) were defeated by a margin of over 50 votes. This was a stunning turnaround from the Bill’s passage by over 50 votes on Second Reading (Approval in Principle, and normally a guarantee of a Bill’s ultimate passage).
Under obvious pressure from the government, all but one of the 20 Conservatives who had voted for the Bill on Second Reading voted against it on Third Reading. The Bill would still have passed, however, if 29 Liberals had not switched their vote. This would have been just enough to kill the Bill, even if the Conservatives had not switched.
As the numbers make clear, the Liberals are trying to play both sides of the fence. The majority of Liberals supported the Bill as long as it looked like an election call would kill it before it was enacted. But when the Bloc Quebecois announced its support for the Conservative budget, and C-257 looked like it might get through the Senate and become law before the next election, the Liberals showed their true colours. They killed the Bill for their corporate backers.
Some people have been talking about the labour movement supporting the Liberals as a progressive alternative to the Conservatives. Bill C-257 shows yet again that, while they might sometimes talk a progressive line, in action the Liberals are just another conservative party.
