As part of the minority Liberal government’s supply-and-confidence agreement with the NDP, they are committed to move forward on legislation to ban the use of replacement workers in federally-regulated sectors by the end of 2023. This would include such areas as Canada’s ports, which saw a highly disruptive strike in British Columbia just this year. While the legislation has not yet been tabled, it is said to be coming up this fall.
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says, however, that they are still thinking about how best to “protect supply chains” with the upcoming law. He was asked whether there would be exemptions carved out for certain industries, and said the government is exploring options. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has recently pointed to a federal discussion paper that revealed that “most studies suggest that when a province prohibits replacement workers, it is associated with more frequent strikes and lockouts.”
