Close Call On Air Canada Bill

Tom Korski, www.blacklocks.ca
A cabinet bill to shield Air Canada from liability for illegal job cuts narrowly survived a Commons test. MPs voted 139 to 139 to defeat the bill at report stage, prompting Speaker Geoff Regan to break the tie and save the legislation.

“Well, how about that?” Regan said; “The Speaker votes to allow debate to continue on a matter before the House.”

Bill C-10 An Act To Amend The Air Canada Public Participation Act rewrites the 1988 law that required the airline to operate maintenance shops in Winnipeg, Mississauga and Montréal as a condition of privatization. Amendments allow Air Canada to ship most work to the U.S. or overseas.

The Québec Court of Appeal in 2015 ruled the airline broke the law when it transferred maintenance work to Duluth, Minnesota. Air Canada has till July 15 to appeal the judgment to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“They are getting rid of this hot potato as quickly as they can,” said New Democrat MP Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont, Que.); “The Supreme Court would hear this leave to appeal by the 15th of July. That’s why we’re in such a big hurry.”

Amendments to the Participation Act allow the airline to determine its volume of maintenance in Canada “as well as the level of employment”. Critics complained the bill would sanction outsourcing of 2,600 jobs.

“It’s a gift to the company at the expense of the workers,” Boulerice said; “Is this a job creation plan? Is it about making it legal to export jobs? We think people deserve better.”

“It’s bad enough to change the ground rules, but to do so retroactively? I don’t think so,” said Boulerice; “We could have taken the bill, thrown it out and saved 2,600 jobs.”

Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux, parliamentary secretary to the Government House Leader, said the jobs claim was “just bogus”; “There is no merit to that whatsoever,” he said. “At the end of the day, as a result of this legislation and the fine work of many different stakeholders, there is going to be a healthier aerospace industry,” Lamoureux said; “The industry as a whole will benefit.”

The rare Commons tie on reporting the bill came in a lunch-hour vote with 59 MPs absent from proceedings. One more nay vote would have defeated the bill, introduced March 24.

“I find this legislation incredible,” said Green Party MP Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.); “It’s the closure piece I find even more bizarre than the legislation itself.”

Cabinet cut short debate on the bill and sped passage through hearings of the Commons transport committee. “Was there a quid pro quo?” said Conservative MP Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park, Alta.). “Did the government agree with Air Canada that it would make these changes in the Act in its favour if Air Canada proposed or made purchases from Bombardier?”

Bill C-10 was introduced after Air Canada agreed to purchase new aircraft from Bombardier Inc., which is seeking federal grants to match funding received from the Québec government. “We’re still having constructive discussions with the company,” Industry Minister Navdeep Bains earlier told reporters.