Protest Bill C-377
December 6, 2012
President Hanrahan calls Conservative law an attack on unions
Dear NSUPE members:
The Harper government is currently working to pass a law through the House of Commons that is nothing short of an outright attack on the fundamental rights of all Canadian union members. Bill C-377 will require unions to divert valuable resources away from taking care of their members’ interests. The bill requires unions to spend millions of dollars of members’ money and hundreds of hours of staff time to engage in an onerous and exaggerated structure of financial reporting that is clearly meant to penalize and injure all democratic workers’ organizations in Canada.
The Conservatives have shown time and again that that they have no respect for unions and their members, or for the process of collective bargaining. By bringing forward back-to-work legislation for postal workers, rail workers, and airline workers, the Harper Government has virtually outlawed strikes in the federal public sector. Now, on top of this, they have introduced and are passing a bill that violates the rights of all Canadian union members. Many view Bill C-377 as going against Canadian privacy legislation and as an attack on the right of freedom of association under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Wait, it gets worse. It has been widely reported in the media that anti-union political lobby groups have been given time to meet with the PMO and give input on Bill 377. Yes, that’s right, the Harper conservatives are actually letting right wing anti-union groups write the laws that affect unions and their members.
It is clear to me that the Harper Conservatives are anti-union as a plain matter of policy. It is time for all union members to stand up to these political bullies and demand that they respect our fundamental rights.
For further information and a link to a petition, please see below.
In Solidarity,
John Hanrahan
NSUPE President
Petition:
Sign this petition to tell the Harper Conservatives to stop the attack on unions and respect the rights of union members.
Other information on Bill C-337:
Read Bill C-377: