Bill C-377 to be Repealed by Liberals

Written by Local 793 Staff

The federal Liberal government has fulfilled one of its campaign promises by announcing it is waiving the onerous reporting requirements of Bill C-377. National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier has indicated that the government intends to repeal the legislation that was pushed through in the waning days of the Stephen Harper government. She has waived reporting requirements for labour organizations and labour trusts arising from the legislation, officially known as Bill C-377, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (requirements for labour organizations). The requirements would have placed obligations on […]

The federal Liberal government has fulfilled one of its campaign promises by announcing it is waiving the onerous reporting requirements of Bill C-377.

National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier has indicated that the government intends to repeal the legislation that was pushed through in the waning days of the Stephen Harper government.

She has waived reporting requirements for labour organizations and labour trusts arising from the legislation, officially known as Bill C-377, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (requirements for labour organizations).

The requirements would have placed obligations on labour organizations and labour trusts to track their activities for fiscal years beginning on or after Dec. 31, 2015.

The waiver ensures that unions and other stakeholders affected by the Bill will not be required to develop and submit detailed tracking of their activities to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Click here for the press release from the CRA.

Liberals Would Repeal Bill C-377

Written by Local 793 Staff

The following press release was issued by the federal Liberal Party. It confirms that the Liberals would repeal Bill C-525 and Bill C-377, and that they would work collaboratively to develop a made-in-Canada solution to Canada’s skills shortage. For Immediate Release August 15, 2015. Trudeau: Labour movement essential to middle class growth TORONTO – A Liberal government will work with Canada’s labour movement to create jobs, grow the economy, and strengthen the middle class, said the Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau, today at the 2015 LiUNA […]

The following press release was issued by the federal Liberal Party. It confirms that the Liberals would repeal Bill C-525 and Bill C-377, and that they would work collaboratively to develop a made-in-Canada solution to Canada’s skills shortage.

For Immediate Release
August 15, 2015.

Trudeau: Labour movement essential to middle class growth

TORONTO – A Liberal government will work with Canada’s labour movement to create jobs, grow the economy, and strengthen the middle class, said the Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau, today at the 2015 LiUNA Local 183 Family Day Event in Toronto.

“As one of the leading forces fighting for well-paying, good quality jobs, unions are vital to promoting and protecting Canada’s middle class,” said Mr. Trudeau. “Hard-working Canadians deserve a government that, instead of attacking unions, works with them to ensure that everyone has a real and fair chance at success.”

A Liberal government will ensure respect, fairness, and inclusion for Canada’s labour movement. Liberals will repeal the Conservatives’ unfair Bills C-377 and C-525. We will work with provinces and territories, workers, and employers to enhance the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), to ensure that all Canadians can retire with dignity. We will work collaboratively to develop a “made in Canada” solution to solve the skills shortage in our country, by investing directly in skills development and by assisting training centres with the costs of investing in trades training. Furthermore, Liberals will be presenting a real plan to update Canada’s roads, bridges, transit, and other infrastructure, which will create jobs and prepare us for the changing global economy.

“While the middle class is struggling to make ends meet, Stephen Harper’s plan has failed to help Canadians get ahead. Instead, he gives billions in benefits to the wealthiest few – a plan irresponsibly supported by Thomas Mulcair,” said Mr. Trudeau. “Only Liberals have the team and the plan to support and protect hard-working Canadians and their families.”

Bill C-377: Letter from CLC President Hassan Yussuff

Written by Local 793 Staff

June 30, 2015 To: Members of the CLC Canadian Council RE: Bill C-377 Greetings: Today, the Prime Minister used his Conservative Senate majority to re-write Senate rules, shut down debate and force through Bill C-377. I want to thank all of you for your dedication and hard work over the last four years to try and defeat this fatally flawed Bill. Of course, the labour movement was not alone in our criticisms. We worked with many other individuals and organizations to coordinate our messages and opposition to C-377, including: seven […]

June 30, 2015

To: Members of the CLC Canadian Council

RE: Bill C-377

Greetings:

Today, the Prime Minister used his Conservative Senate majority to re-write Senate rules, shut down debate and force through Bill C-377.

I want to thank all of you for your dedication and hard work over the last four years to try and defeat this fatally flawed Bill.

Of course, the labour movement was not alone in our criticisms.

We worked with many other individuals and organizations to coordinate our messages and opposition to C-377, including: seven provincial governments; Canada’s Privacy Commissioner; constitutional and labour lawyers; the Canadian Bar Association; the insurance and mutual fund industries; benefits and pension plan managers; medical associations; and academic experts.

We also worked closely with legislators in both the House of Commons and the Senate to highlight the Bill’s flaws and ensure it had a rocky ride through Parliament from the start. In particular, the NDP in the House of Commons, and the Liberals in the Senate, did all they could to oppose, delay and defeat this flawed Bill.

Although the Conservative majority rigged the game and forced Bill C-377 through the Senate, this is not the end of our fight.

Bill C-377 is unconstitutional, undemocratic, discriminatory, and an invasion of personal privacy. The Bill will be subject to a constitutional challenge in the courts in the future.

In the meantime, we must not forget why this fatally flawed Private Member’s Bill was ultimately able to get through Parliament: From the start, C-377 was orchestrated directly by the heavy hand of the Prime Minister.

Bill C-377 is Stephen Harper’s partisan political attack on unions. He ordered Conservatives in the House of Commons and the Senate to ignore the evidence, ignore the experts, ignore the critics, break the rules and pass the Bill.

It is clear what we are up against. Stephen Harper is prepared to do whatever it takes to silence the voice of our labour movement.

As we head towards the federal election on October 19, 2015, it is critical that we remind our members, and others, about Harper’s partisan political attack on our labour movement.

The best way we can ensure this Bill is repealed is to defeat Stephen Harper and elect a new federal government this October.

We have a lot of hard work ahead of us. Harper broke the rules to force C-377 through the Senate. What is he prepared to do to win the next election?

In solidarity,

Hassan Yussuff
President

Click here to see the original letter in PDF format

Stop the Attacks on Labour

Written by Local 793 Staff

Local 793 members may receive automated phone calls from the International Union about Bill C-377 and other anti-union legislation being proposed by Canada’s federal Conservative government. Bill C-377 is a Conservative private members bill that attacks freedom of association and free speech and infringes on individual privacy. Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher, who is a vice-president on the IUOE general executive board, has lobbied for support from the International about issues that impact Canadian operators and their families. The automated calls from the International are part of that initiative. […]

Local 793 members may receive automated phone calls from the International Union about Bill C-377 and other anti-union legislation being proposed by Canada’s federal Conservative government. Bill C-377 is a Conservative private members bill that attacks freedom of association and free speech and infringes on individual privacy. Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher, who is a vice-president on the IUOE general executive board, has lobbied for support from the International about issues that impact Canadian operators and their families. The automated calls from the International are part of that initiative.

Click here for more information.

Trades Lobby Against Bill C-377

Written by Local 793 Staff

Skilled trades workers from across Canada converged on Ottawa May 15 to meet with Members of Parliament and lobby against Bill C-377. Local 793 was represented at the event by Eastern Ontario area supervisor Rick Kerr, assistant labour relations manager Brian Alexander and business reps Jim Laginski, André Chenier and Jonathan Sprung. IUOE Canadian director Jim Murphy and IUOE Canadian government affairs director Steven Schumann were also in attendance. The meetings were organized by the Canadian division of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD). The meetings provided an […]

Skilled trades workers from across Canada converged on Ottawa May 15 to meet with Members of Parliament and lobby against Bill C-377. Local 793 was represented at the event by Eastern Ontario area supervisor Rick Kerr, assistant labour relations manager Brian Alexander and business reps Jim Laginski, André Chenier and Jonathan Sprung.
IUOE Canadian director Jim Murphy and IUOE Canadian government affairs director Steven Schumann were also in attendance.
The meetings were organized by the Canadian division of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD).
The meetings provided an opportunity for the trades to voice their concerns about Bill C-377 directly to their MPs.
Bob Blakely, director of Canadian affairs for the BCTD, said skilled trades workers from Vancouver to St. John’s are worried about the implications of the legislation and its costly negative impacts on major oil sands developments and other large-scale energy projects.
“Our workers rely on their unions to provide necessary benefits and training with the dues that they pay,” he said.
“Our partner contractors – and clients they work for – rely on them to use the skilled manpower we provide in a cost-efficient manner.
“C-377 is going to see that money spent on creating more government bureaucracy. It will slow down Canada’s economic recovery in the construction sector.”
Blakely said Bill C-377 is intended to fix a problem that does not exist and endangers the ability of the building trades to build projects across the country and create jobs.
He said it will create an expanded, expensive and redundant bureaucracy and actually duplicate processes that are already in place to provide accountability and transparency for workers.
A survey conducted by Leger Marketing indicated there is strong opposition to Bill C-377 by members of building trades unions across Canada.
Findings released in March show there is a strong sense of unfairness associated with the Bill, particularly around its focus on unions and their requirements to publicly disclose their financial information.
The building trades say the Bill will duplicate processes that are already in place to provide accountability and transparency and that it will create an expanded, expensive and redundant bureaucracy, resulting in increased compliance costs for unions.
The Bill would require labour organizations in Canada to file detailed, annual financial statements that go into much greater depth than your typical income statement and balance sheet.
Once submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency, the complete financial package would be made public for anyone to view by way of the Internet.
Conservative estimates put the additional administration costs for compliance in the neighbourhood of 20 per cent. This can be attributed to increased labour costs associated with statement tracking and preparation, and will increase the expenses of unions.
Meanwhile, union pension and benefit plan administrators would also be faced with additional administrative costs.
A component of the Bill requires that the union disclose any trust fund transaction or disbursement (i.e. health and welfare payment, pension payment, etc.) to a member in excess of $5,000, accompanied with the name and address of the recipient, and the purpose for the payment.