Labour Minister Patty Hajdu is under pressure in Parliament over the Liberal cabinet’s record-breaking use of the Canada Labour Code to shut down lawful strikes, a practice now facing multiple challenges in Federal Court.Blacklock's Reporter says the Commons human resources committee has launched hearings into the government’s reliance on Section 107, a regulation that lets the minister impose binding arbitration in the name of “industrial peace.” Conservatives pushed the study despite objections from Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis (Vimy), who called it an attempt to score political points. “Do we want to have a study just because this is a hot issue right now?” she asked. “Now is not the time.”Conservative MP Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park–Fort Saskatchewan) countered that cabinet’s repeated interference had to be examined. “We could spend hours, decades, going around and around,” said Genuis. “We want to get to a solution here.”Cabinet has quashed eight strikes in the past year, the highest on record. Unions from postal workers to longshoremen have taken the government to court, arguing the bans breach Charter rights of free expression, free association and liberty. Rulings are pending..The most recent order came August 16 against Air Canada flight attendants, who ignored the directive. “Rights have to mean something,” said CUPE president Mark Hancock. “Negotiations aren’t real if one side can count on the government to take away the rights of the other.”Other strikes shut down by cabinet include walkouts at WestJet, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and ports in Montréal and Québec. Hajdu has admitted she dislikes strikes, calling them disruptive and costly. Asked if that made the Liberals anti-union, she replied: “I absolutely reject the notion our government is anti-union.”
