Bill on union governance: government was looking for “a villain”

Outraged, the unions accuse the Legault government of trying to divert attention from its poor record with its bill on union governance, which has just been tabled by the Minister of Labour, Jean Boulet.

In an interview, CSQ president Éric Gingras concluded that “it is the union movement that is currently paying for a government that is low in the polls.”

“Overall, we are paying because the government, through its premier is trying to score points, is looking for an enemy. And it has identified certain groups, including the unions,” commented Éric Gingras in an interview.

He claims he has no objection to transparency, such as giving members enough time to review the contents of an agreement in principle and to vote, nor to rules regarding access to a union’s audited financial statements, but the bill goes further by restricting what union dues can be used for.

“So, it is no longer necessarily the members who decide, but the government that decides what is optional or not” in the use of union dues, laments Gingras.

The president of the FTQ, Magali Picard, describes the Legault government’s legacy as one of “division and chaos.” She criticizes it for looking for scapegoats while lagging in the polls.

CSN President Caroline Senneville added: “If there’s anyone who can’t lecture us on transparency and good management, it’s this government. After scandals like SAAQclic and Northvolt, it’s a bit much to try and make us believe that the urgent matter is to interfere in the management of union affairs.” 

The Alliance of Professional and Technical Staff in Health and Social Services (APTS) refers to a “desperate attack”.

In an interview, its vice-president, Émilie Charbonneau, lamented that “the government is interfering in union democracy and trying to lecture unions on things that it itself is not able to do, namely transparency and budgetary rigor.”

At the Centrale des syndicats démocratiques (CSD), President Luc Vachon adds: “Let’s be frank, at least this bill doesn’t truly aim for transparency: it seeks to silence checks and balances. It aims to remove the means of opposition, concentrate even more decisions in the hands of the government, and reduce the reach of the union movement.”

The president of the Quebec Government Professional Employees Union (SPGQ), Guillaume Bouvrette, accuses the government of having sought “a villain to blame in order to divert attention from its major failures, such as Northvolt, Recyclage Carbone Varennes, SAAQclic and Lion Electric. It decided that it would be the unions.”

The president of the Autonomous Federation of Education, Mélanie Hubert, accuses the Minister of Labour of using “isolated cases and generalizing them to create a blanket bill, for ideological reasons.”

Employers and others

However, associations representing employers were pleased.

The Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce welcomes the “moderate approach” that will make a portion of union dues optional. “Just as businesses are facing increasing obligations, accountability, and transparency requirements, it is normal that unions also have to comply with new requirements,” said Véronique Proulx, President and CEO.

At the Montreal Economic Institute, Gabriel Giguère, senior public policy analyst, believes the bill is a step in the right direction, but doesn’t go far enough. “While making a portion of union dues optional is a good first step, it would be better if Quebec allowed each union member the right to refuse to fund campaigns that go against their values.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews