MPs Hurry ‘Outsourcing’ Act

www.blacklocks.ca, Tom Korski
Parliament last night on a 165 to 131 vote approved in principle a cabinet bill waiving Air Canada’s liability for illegally transferring maintenance work out of the country. The Commons Liberal majority forced the Second Reading vote after cutting short debate. Cabinet denied rushing the bill to clear the way for new subsidies for Air Canada supplier Bombardier Inc.

“Will it at least admit this legislation is being proposed and rushed to benefit Bombardier?” said Conservative MP Earl Dreeshen (Red Deer-Mountain View, Alta.). “The answer is no, it has nothing to do with that,” replied Transport Minister Marc Garneau.

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 bill was introduced March 24 after Air Canada agreed to purchase new aircraft from Bombardier, which seeks $1.3 billion in federal grants.

Garneau said the bill is necessary “to avoid further litigation” involving Air Canada. The Québec Court of Appeal in 2015 ruled the airline violated its statutory obligations when it transferred maintenance work to Duluth, Minnesota.

“Who is the benefactor of this knee-jerk reaction? It is Air Canada,” said Conservative MP Lisa Raitt (Milton, Ont.), former transport minister. “What other sweetheart deals do the Liberals have in store for Air Canada?”

“Quite frankly, they do not need to make any legislative amendments to allow a private company to enter into agreements that would bring litigation to a close,” Raitt said. “They do not need to do this. Therefore, why are the Liberals doing it, and what are they getting out of it?”

The Commons on an identical 165 to 31 vote forced an end to debate on the bill and referred it to the transport committee, where Liberal MPs have already proposed to conclude hearings by May 16. “Is it because the Liberals see that Air Canada workers in Winnipeg at the maintenance facilities are truly worried that the bill would eliminate their jobs and livelihood?” said Conservative MP Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, Ont.). “Is that why the government is moving in this direction to shut down debate?”

Transport Minister Garneau told reporters that debate had become repetitive, adding: “There is still a lot of time to discuss it”; “What we’ve heard so far, it is repetition of the same thing.”

Industry Minister Navdeep Bains said cabinet had no deadlines per se, but did not explain the use of procedural rules to hurry the bill’s passage. “Deadlines – that’s not how I operate,” Bains said. “We operate by principles, and the principle was to make sure we looked at the business case.”

Bombardier Inc. holds its annual shareholders meeting April 29 in Montréal. Bains said the company’s request for ad hoc subsidies is still under review. “The request they made was very serious and we understand the importance of the company,” he said; “The process is making sure that we come to a solution that really is in the public’s interest.”

Conservative, New Democrat, Bloc and Green MPs voted against the bill on Second Reading. New Democrats sponsored a protest amendment citing a “threat to thousands of workers” with “jobs outsourced to foreign markets”.