Organized labour is crushing Canada and citizens can’t expect help from the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC.) Federal Bill C-58 whizzed through parliament with unanimous consent and will be law soon. That bill makes it illegal for private companies in federally regulated sectors to hire replacement workers if there is a strike.One can expect such a terrible piece of legislation to be supported by the NDP and the Liberals. One would have hoped the CPC to have allowed a free vote on the bill at least. Instead, the voted was whipped to force every MP to support it whether they liked it or not. Unless we are to believe that 100 percent of CPC MPs really think handcuffing private companies like this is a good idea.The only thing that terrifies federal politicians more than indigenous issues is organized labour. Not a single federal party is willing to stand up for Canadians against the union tail wagging the national dog and we are all going to pay dearly for that.Canadian productivity and GDP per capita has been in a freefall for years. Inefficient unionized workplaces and a continually bloating civil service have contributed heavily to this. Despite the growth of the federal civil service numbers by 40% in the last decade, services have become more terrible than ever. Not only that, but the government workers have become more belligerent and entitled than ever, too. Last year they held Canadians hostage with a strike and this year they are threatening what they call “a summer of discontent” over having to potentially show up at the office more than two days per week.Public service unions have been much too powerful for far too long. Governments capitulate to union demands with little hesitation and as if that wasn’t bad enough, Bill C-58 will now empower unions to hold private companies in fields like trucking, media and telecommunications hostage as well. Even pipeline construction will be subject to a ban on replacement workers if the line crosses a provincial border. Look how horrific the cost was for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion was and think of how bad future projects will be now that unions will truly run the show.Organized labour doesn’t just harm us through skyrocketing compensation demands and chronic labour actions. It actively fights against the pursuit of efficiency and changes.Canada Post is a perfect example. The days of house-to-house mail delivery should have been gone long ago. We don’t need it anymore and it costs a fortune. The crown corporation began moving toward centralized mailbox systems until the postal union managed to convince Trudeau to end this important evolution in delivery. The Liberals had an election approaching and bought the support of the postal union with a promise to maintain home delivery. Now, Canada Post is burdening taxpayers as a chronic money loser having fallen $743 million into the red just in 2023.While the union control of the postal system is an expensive annoyance, it becomes dangerous as unions fight reforms in fields such as healthcare. The Canadian healthcare system is collapsing in every province under governments of every political stripe. The rigid monopoly has created a monster that costs more every year while waiting lists for procedures get longer and longer. The system itself needs reform but unions act to fight every effort to change the status-quo tooth and nail. Even the outsourcing of something as simple as laundry services suddenly becomes a hill for unions to die upon and governments back away in fear from pursuing reforms. Meanwhile, people literally are dying while waiting for treatment. Unions are there for unions, not for patients despite what they claim.Teachers’ unions regularly demonstrate where the union priorities are. The unions like to cloak themselves as professional associations and purport to be acting in the interest of students. Somehow, the interest of students always translates into more compensation for teachers with fewer days worked. The teachers’ unions dig deeply into social activism and bring their woke ideals into the classroom while fighting against any form of standardized testing to assess whether they are actually effectively teaching the children. They say every child learns differently yet vigorously oppose diversity in learning through charter or alternative schools.The social activism within unions has really come to a head during the Israel/Hamas conflict. CUPE Ontario leader Fred Hahn’s vile demonstrations of anti-Semitism have horrified Canadians since the conflict began as he coaxes his union members to actively take part in anti-Israel protests. No matter where one lands on that issue, it should be asked why one of the largest unions in Canada is taking a role in that conflict at all. What has it to do with Canadian worker rights?Nobody will ask those questions, however. Even Poilievre’s Conservatives have tightly gagged themselves when it comes to dealing with unions.Organized labour is spreading like an infection while callow politicians purposely look the other way. Canada should be looking at right-to-work legislation rather than banning replacement workers in private industries. Instead, we see unanimous consent on legislation handcuffing industries.Things are going to get much worse before they get better.
