Sudbury MPP and NDP labour critic Jamie West is preparing to take another run at trying to get anti-scab legislation approved in Ontario.
This follows the recent move by federal Liberals and New Democrats to support a bill for an anti-scab law for federally-regulated employees.
“This is a milestone for workers across the country,” said West, in a news release issued Thursday.
“Workers across the country are feeling hopeful, thanks to the NDP’s persistence and commitment to ensure that the federal government brought forward this key legislation.
Anti-scab legislation is usually a ban on hiring replacement workers to undermine the bargaining leverage of a work stoppage during a legal labour dispute.
Ontario’s first and only NDP government under Premier Bob Rae tabled passed a scab-labour ban back in 1992. When Conservative Mike Harris rose to power the Ontario anti-scab law was repealed in 1995.
The new Ontario Anti-Scab Labour Act, 2023 -- Bill 90 -- was tabled at Queen's Park in March of this year. The bill passed its first reading on March 30. Bill 90 was jointly introduced by West, along with New Democrat MPPs Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West), Jennifer French (Oshawa), and France Gelinas (Nickel Belt).
The explanatory preamble to Bill 90 said the law would restore the provisions that were incorporated into the Labour Relations Act by the Labour Relations and Employment Statute Law Amendment Act, 1992 and subsequently repealed by the Labour Relations Act, 1995. The provisions being restored would prevent an Ontario employer from replacing striking or locked-out employees with replacement workers except in specified emergency situations.
The current bill before the Ontario legislature is the 16th time Ontario's New Democrats have tabled the legislation since it was repealed by the Harris government in 1995. West will be debating the latest Anti-Scab Labour Act on November 23rd.
