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Labour leaders are bracing for final Commons debate on a Canada Labour Code bill that would see unions decertified on the votes of 40 percent of members. MPs are expected to give Third Reading to the private Conservative bill endorsed by the labour department.

"They really have misjudged where Canadians are at with respect to trade union rights," said Fred Wilson, Unifor director of strategic planning.

Ms. Jennifer Stoddart
Privacy Commissioner
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
112 Kent Street
Place de Ville, Tower B, 3rd Floor
Ottawa ON  K1A 1H3

Dear Ms. Stoddart,

I write to you as National President of the Union of Taxation Employees-PSAC (UTE), a Component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. UTE represents approximately 26,000 members, all of whom are employed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Bill C-27, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, is an attack on the retirement security of Canadians.

This bill will allow employers in the federal private sector and Crown Corporations to shift from good, defined benefit plans that provide secure and predictable pension benefits, into the much less secure form of target benefits. If passed, this bill would open the door to a disturbing trend of shifting all the risk of pension plans onto workers and retirees.

The Supreme Court of Canada has decided not to hear PSAC’s legal challenge to the previous Conservative government’s budget bill that rolled back negotiated wage increases for federal public service workers.

The union argued that the legislation violated the Charter rights of PSAC members under section 2(d) “freedom of association”.

On July 1, 2023, the Public Service Health Care Plan administrator was changed to Canada Life.  Some inconvenience was expected in the first week or so, given the scope of the change.  Unfortunately, the problems continue to plague our members.  Customer service wait times remain too long, and too many calls remain unanswered.  This poorly managed transition prevents our members from fully taking advantage of their benefits.  Some members are postponing treatment, others are left with invoices that have not been reimbursed leading to financial hardship.

BACKGROUND

• Quebec is the only province in Canada to collect its income taxes in its jurisdiction from individuals instead of having them collected by the federal government and then remitted to it. This means that Quebeckers and Quebec companies must file two tax returns, one with the federal government and another with the province.

THE CONSERVATIVES’ DUBIOUS OFFER

PSAC National President Robyn Benson urged the House of Commons Finance Committee today to remove the proposed changes to the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) from Bill C-4. The changes were made without consultation and undermine good labour relations in the federal public service.