Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said cabinet will not speed up passage of a landmark bill to use replacement workers in the federally-regulated private sector, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “We are taking our time to make sure we get this right,” said O’Regan at a House of Commons Human Resources Committee meeting. O’Regan acknowledged he was disappointed not all MPs supported the bill, but he did not elaborate. Bill C-58 would restrict federally-regulated employers from using replacement workers in strikes or lockouts under threat of $100,000 per day fines. It was introduced in the House of Commons in November and is waiting on a second reading vote. He called this “one of the most transformational changes to happen to labour relations in Canada in our history.”“It is precisely when people say that and then say, ‘Well, can you rush it?’ one answers the other,” he said. “The reason we cannot rush it is because it is so big.”Bloc Quebecois MP Louise Chabot (Therese-De Blainville, QC) noted Bill C-58 includes a clause stating it will not take effect until one-and-a-half years after it is passed into law and receives royal assent. With this delay, she said there could be a huge risk. “There is a risk because of this 18-month delay and because of the whole legislative process that actually this bill won’t become law,” said Chabot. “Do you personally commit to making this a priority and speeding up the process?”While Chabot wanted Bill C-58 to move faster, he said he understood where she was coming from. However, he admitted the Canadian government needed time. When it comes to tabling and passing it, she said they are two different concepts. Unions have indicated they are hoping to have it soon. “They want this to go faster,” she said. She asked him if he would speed up the process to ensure Bill C-58 becomes law. With all-party support, he said it was feasible. Seventy-five days after tabling it, O’Regan said he was disappointed he had not “got the support where we need it.” “But we trot on,” he said. The Liberals confirmed in April they would introduce a bill to put a federal ban on replacement workers that was required by the NDP for its continued support with the minority government. READ MORE: Liberals putting a federal ban on replacement workers to keep NDP support“We’re talking to both sides with consultations,” said O’Regan. “We had them together.”
