The Legault government could grant itself the power to suspend a strike

The Minister of Labor, Jean Boulet, says he is analyzing the possibility of changing the Labor Code to grant himself new powers in the event of a strike or lockout. He says he wants to draw inspiration from the Canada Labor Code.

The Quebec Labor Code could be subject to an amendment to grant the Minister of Labor the discretionary power to suspend a strike or lockout and to impose arbitration on the parties in conflict.

In his end-of-year report, Jean Boulet does not hide his interest in section 107 of the Canada Labor Code which was used to suspend work stoppages in the railway sector, in three major Canadian ports and at Canada Post .

It does not have this discretionary power in its arsenal for conflicts of Quebec jurisdiction.

There were labor conflicts which concerned us and which had effects, for example in food processing, at the Notre-Dame-Des-Neiges cemetery, in education, in public transporthe explains.

Mr. Boulet states that he is constantly on the lookout for the best ways to put an end to these disputes and find a solution that allows the parties to break the impasse.

Governments are less likely to pass special back-to-work laws since the Supreme Court ruled that striking is a constitutional right.

The minister could also go further and broaden the notion of essential service.

IWe should perhaps think of new criteria for determining what constitutes a service to be maintained in a case of work, labor conflict, a strike or a lockout. he said.

The CSN warns Jean Boulet

The president of the Confederation of National Unions (CSN), Caroline Senneville, said surprise by the intention of Minister Boulet.

She recalls that to obtain this change, the Legault government will have to legislate. According to her, it is not guaranteed that this power will remain forever in the arsenal of the federal government.

I think the minister had better be careful because Canada's Minister of Labor's use of it is being challenged in court. I would say three times rather than one. So we will have to see, because the use made of it could be deemed unconstitutionalshe said.

She says she fears that the numerous interventions by the federal government to end the strike will harm the right to strike in the country and create more labor conflicts.

What we have seen in the federal government recently is employers who say to themselves: “I don't need to negotiate because there will be arbitration”, so that is not constitutional because 'there have been two very important rulings from the Supreme Court which say that unions have the right to have the management party before them negotiate in good faithshe adds.

Ms. Senneville mentions that the CSN wishes to be involved in the discussions surrounding this desire of the minister, but that the union will never participate in discussions that would result in us losing a hard-won right that is protected by the Canadian constitution.

Jean Boulet wants to continue with the CAQ

Minister of Labor since his election in 2018, Jean Boulet seems far from getting tired of it. He has already adopted 11 laws to his credit and a 12th is coming. In 2024, he is most happy with the one on sexual harassment in the workplace.

There has been a level of social awareness that has increased in all circles. What concerns me is that this happens in the workplace. It's part of the great phenomenon of harassment. It must be fought, regardless of the environment where it occurshe said.

As for his political future, Mr. Boulet seems to want to stay the course on his current allegiances, without considering a jump to the municipal or federal level. He therefore wants to try to get elected for a third term in the elections scheduled for 2026.