Union, government at odds over minister’s power to quash strikes in labour bill - BNN Bloomberg

Labour leaders are denouncing what they call a direct attack on the right to strike in the sweeping economic bill the Liberal government tabled Monday. The Canadian Labour Congress on Tuesday accused the federal government of enshrining in the proposed legislation new powers allowing the federal government to quash strikes at a minister’s whim. The Liberals, meanwhile, claim the bill would instead place “guardrails” around a minister’s power to end work stoppages in federally regulated industries. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu argues the changes in Bill C-39 are aimed at improving labour relations and reducing the number of times negotiations hit a boiling point. Latest economic news on BNNBloomberg.ca According to the proposed Building Canada Strong Act, a work stoppage must be affecting the “national interest” before the minister can trigger Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to end a strike or lockout. The government says it must balance threats to the national interest — which could include economic impacts or social disruptions — with the need to protect the right to free association and to strike. Section 107 has been used repeatedly by the federal labour minister in recent years to refer deadlocked parties to the Canada Industrial Relations Board to declare an impasse, end a work stoppage and move talks into binding arbitration. Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday that she spoke with the heads of Canada’s major unions the night before and the bill is raising red flags in the labour community. “The government said it would protect the workers’ right to strike, but instead this bill explicitly gives government the power to end legal strikes when a minister decides that a strike is or could become contrary to the national interest,” Bruske said. A senior government official briefing reporters on Monday on Bill C-39 said the jobs minister would gain no additional powers through the legislation. Bruske and the Canadian Labour Congress disagreed with that reading. The government’s proposal “enshrines” a power to break strikes in Section 107 that was never intended when the provision was first introduced in the Canada Labour Code in 1984, said Mark Rowlinson, lawyer with Goldblatt Partners LLP, who spoke to media alongside Bruske on Tuesday. “It…