Canada Lawmakers Still Discussing Postal Worker Law After Overnight Debate
Canadian lawmakers continued to debate legislation today that would end a three-week work stoppage by postal workers after lawmakers from the opposition New Democratic Party forced the legislature to sit overnight.
New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton said today his party will continue to hold up the bill as long as there’s “some prospect” of changes to the legislation that would order about 48,000 employees at government-owned Canada Post back to work 24 hours after it is passed into law. Labor Minister Lisa Raitt said the government would consider changes.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers began a series of rotating strikes June 2, and the company locked out workers June 14. Talks between Canada Post and the union broke off earlier this week and no further negotiations are scheduled.
Layton told reporters in Gatineau, Quebec, that his party was close to reaching an agreement with the government as the non-stop debate began, and that it will soon return with a new proposal for the government. While he declined to comment on the content of discussions, New Democrat lawmakers have objected to a clause that sets out annual pay raises of between 1.5 percent and 2 percent until the end of 2014.
Raitt told reporters today the government hasn’t received any formal proposals for amendments from the opposition. “We had general discussions about principles,” she said, referring to talks between the parties last night. “We’re looking forward to seeing what they come back with this evening.”
Unlimited Time
The ruling Conservative Party used its parliamentary majority to pass a motion yesterday clearing the way for Canada’s lower house of Parliament to sit continuously until the bill is passed. As opposition leader, Layton has unlimited time to speak at every stage of debate on the bill, and each of the 103 New Democratic lawmakers can participate at all stages of the debate, potentially delaying its passage for days.
Once passed by the House of Commons, the bill would be sent to the Senate, where the Conservatives also have a majority. Marc Roy, a spokesman for Senate opposition Liberal leader James Cowan, said yesterday the Liberals -- the only other major party in the Senate -- don’t plan to stand in the way of the bill being passed in one day once it is received.
Asked if his party would continue to hold up the legislation through the weekend, Layton said, “we want the mail to be delivered. So let’s hope we can resolve things faster than that.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Mayeda in Ottawa at amayeda@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net; David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net.
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