Last Post - Summary of Fight (Bill C-10)

Senators and Parliamentarians pass the Budget Implementation Act without separating the Bills that directly attack womens and workers rights.

As a relatively “young” activist, I have been dedicated for the past 2½ weeks to fighting the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act and certain aspects of the Expenditure Restraint Act. With the assistance of many PSAC members, we have managed to organize several rallies in Nova Scotia, a few protests and mobilized our members to write the Members of Parliament then the Senators who were deciding on this omnibus bill (Bill C-10).

When I first saw the late news last night and Lloyd Robertson began to talk about the Budget bill, I stopped to pay attention. My heart came to my throat when I found out that Senate passed the bill without separating it. It turns out Liberal Leader Michael Ingatieff visited Senate and pressured them to push the bill through. For a minute (maybe a ½ hour) my belief that change can happen failed me.

Ever the optimist I consider myself to be for a short while I felt defeated, personally, as a woman, as a civil servant, as an activist.

Then morning came and as the sun rose over the horizon, my own fire flamed from within. Look at what we DID accomplish in such a short period of time… voices standing up to be heard create awareness, and that eventually will effectively change the way things are done.

I do not feel that my 2½ weeks on this campaign were wasted ones. I believe more in the importance of Political Action and hope that this temporary set back will ignite members to come together in the future, to stand up, to fight back, to let their voices be heard, to be agents of change.

And today as I reflect on all that was done by so many in such a short amount of time I am in awe of those who did stand up, come out to rallies/protests, who did fight back in whatever way they could. Although this “fight” might have been lost, there will be the opportunity in the future for get these rights back to those who fought hard for it.

This blow to women’s rights, can and will be rectified at a future time, when the power shifts back into our hands. I would guess that there would be a high percentage of women turning out to vote at the next federal election.

With gratitude, thanks and solidarity, I make my final entry to this blog.

Lori

The Shifty Finance Minister - Bill C-10

The Senate Standing Committee on National Finance is still looking at Bill C-10. The early senate discussions sound promising with a fair amount of Senators expressing concern that only 57 out of 500 pages (approx) seem to actually have anything with the budget. To view those discussions <click here>

The Senators have referred this bill to the Standing Committee on National Finance and has tasked them with reviewing the bill and making a recommendation back to Senate.

Earlier today while viewing the live webcast of this committee meeting, the Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was speaking before the committee, urging them to pass the bill immediately yet not willingly answering the senators questions about certain "shifty" aspects of the bill.

The idea of splitting the bill was introduced by a number of senators in a few speeches, however final decision on that will not be made today. The Senators were expressing that they could split the bill and have the stimulus package aspect of the bill back to the House of Commons to pass in short order however Flaherty did not want the bill split.

More shiftiness there if you ask me. If one is so concerned with getting the budget passed so it can stimulate the economy why not agree to the split of the bill to expedite the stimulus package and also give the other acts that were buried inside the due diligence that they deserve (that Canadians deserve them to have) and make sure the interest of Canadians is in the forefront?

Things that make you go hmm.

I encourage any and all of you who may read this post to not only continue calling & emailing the Senators, but to also write letters to the editor of your local newspapers. Let's call Government on their attempts to throw women & workers under the wheels of this omniBUS bill!~~

Report Back from Senate Committee Meeting...

Just got back from the Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Bill C-10. The Senators gave Flaherty a really hard time. Lowell Murray, Art Eggleton and Grant Mitchell were particularly good. Mitchell grilled him on pay equity and Eggleton focused on the inadequacy of the changes to EI.

Flaherty's party line is that they need to pass the budget immediately, so they can extend EI benefits for 5 weeks for unemployed people -- he kept coming back to that. When questioned about the fact that only 40% of unemployed people in Canada can access the system, he said, "this is an insurance program, not a welfare program."

Mitchell said "this government can only get its agenda through using tricks" ... asked Flaherty how women in the public sector could be expected to achieve pay equity through the collective bargaining process if the government insists on capping public sector wages and undermining the negotiation process. He also pointed out that women are unlikely to file a complaint to the PSLRB on their own, especially if unions are going to be fined $50,000 for helping them.

Lowell Murray said that even though he's not a member of the committee, he went ahead and drafted motions to sever the stimulus measures from the bill, "should a member of the committee want to present them." Except for two Conservative Senators who lobbed soft balls at Flaherty, it seems like the majority of Senators would support this, based on their comments this morning.

Flaherty kept saying that the stimulus package is "not severable" and pointed out repeatedly that the same committee passed an omnibus Liberal budget in 2005 in two days with no amendments.

Here's an article from Can West that just came out about the meeting:

Senate must pass budget without delay: Flaherty Not after spring break

OTTAWA — Canadians are being hurt by the global recession and can’t afford any delay in passing the federal budget, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told members of the Senate finance committee Tuesday morning. By Meagan Fitzpatrick, Canwest News ServiceMarch 10, 2009 11:02 AM

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he will not support the idea of splitting the budget bill into two parts to speed up its passage through the Senate, but pressed the sense of urgency that he said the budget bill requires. “I’m going to urge you today to deal with this bill right away, and I mean right away,” Flaherty told the committee. “I don’t mean that you go on March break and come back after March break and deal with it. Canadians are entitled to better than that.” Flaherty says he will not support the idea of splitting the bill into two parts to speed up its passage through the Senate, but pressed the sense of urgency that he said the budget bill requires.

“This is a time of crisis for Canadians,” said Flaherty, who came armed with a pile of letters and e-mails from Canadians whom he said were pleading for the employment insurance reforms contained in the bill.

The finance minister said his government did the most extensive pre-budget consultations in history and delivered a sound budget at the end of January that won the support of the official opposition and was quickly passed by the House of Commons.

“This can be an academic discussion around this table, or in the House of Commons but it’s not an academic discussion for people who are not being paid by the government, or people who are losing their jobs or have lost their jobs, and their families,” Flaherty said, “and this bill provides help for them.

“We cannot wait weeks, they cannot wait weeks, or months or a year for reaction to this situation.”

The Senate finance committee asked the finance minister if he would be willing to split the budget bill into two parts and deal first with the economic stimulus measures and the rest of the measures in the bill later.

“I do not want the bill divided,” Flaherty responded. “You’re making an assumption that the stimulus package is severable. It is not.”

Liberal Senator Art Eggleton told the finance minister that the budget bill is extremely complex and that not all measures in it require urgent implementation, which is why the committee wanted it split.

“You’ve thrown in the kitchen sink here. In fact, most of this paper deals with things other than the stimulus package and you expect us to ram it right through,” Eggleton said. “Well, there is a responsibility we have in terms of due diligence."

What's Senate Talking About?

Watch the Senate Standing Committee on National Finance < click here >

Senators, You Are Our Last Hope

Preserve Women’s Rights & Workers Rights

Strengthen Employment Insurance
when so many are facing job losses

Hidden within the Budget Implementation Act (Bill C-10) are attacks on Women’s Rights & Workers Rights. This Bill has been passed by the House of Commons and is now in the Senate. The Senators have the power to carve out parts of the bill before they give it Royal Acclaim.

The Senators are our last hope in trying to preserve a woman’s right to pay equity, our last hope to preserve workers rights and to strengthen Employment Insurance. This Bill has been fast forwarded through the House of Commons and already in one day is on its second reading in Senate.

Call or email the Senators TODAY and ask them to do the following to the Budget Implementation Act (Bill C-10):

· Remove wage roll-backs - These undermine worker’s rights and threaten free collective bargaining

· Take out women’s right to Pay Equity - Pay Equity is a Human Right and has no place in the budget


· Strengthen Employment Insurance - With so many job losses in Canada and more in the foreseeable future the budget needs to do more to make it easier for those to receive EI


for listing of senators - <click here>
for more information – www.psac.com

Update - What to do next?

Last night the liberal MP's voted against the amendments and voted with the conservatives to support Bill-C-10.

It will now be presented to the Senate with the same process as in the House, first reading, then to committee, then second and third reading. Once it has been completed in the senate then it receives royal assent. However there are possibilities that a bill can be referred back to the House.

So this is what we ask...contact your Liberal, Conservative and Independent (Bill Casey) MP's who voted to support Bill C-10, either by email, letter or phone call and say how disappointed and angry you are with their decision. These MP's need to know.

You can find a list of Senators at this link (click here). You should send emails, letters, and phone calls and asked them to carve out pay equity of Bill C-10 and amend the bill on rolls backs and EI.

This afternoon at the United Nations in New York, women are gathering to condemn the Harper government's record on women's rights which are indeed human rights. Please join in with their voices in trying to make some noise. It is after all International Women's Week. What a slap in the face of women that our government pass such an act when we should be celebrating how far we have come.

Rally in Sydney - Bill C-10

Rally - Rally - Rally
Solidairity March / Rally in opposition of Bill C-10

Where: In front of Taxation Centre
47 Dorchester St. Sydney, NS

When: TODAY - March 5/09 12:00 - 12:30 p.m. Noon Time Rally

Why: In opposition of Bill C-10 - in particular the acts pertaining to
Wage Roll Backs - Pay Equity - Employment Insurance

How You Can Make A Difference:

Show up - Be Vocal - Make Some Noise

Support your brothers & sisters who are directly affected by this bill passing in house as it was originally presented by the Conservative Government. Remember that it does affect us all, some now, the rest later.

International Women's Day Events & Senator Letter

This week there are a host of events going on all over the place in celebration and recognition of International Women's Day (IWD).

How fitting is it that Harper's Conservative Government is trying to push through this Public Sector Equitable Compensations Act which is an attack on a woman's right to Pay Equity during this time we are supposed to be celebration women, women's rights and how far we have come.

What can you do? Ask your local IWD coordinator if they have anyone coming in with information on Bill C-10 the Public Sector Equitable Compensations Act and the attack on Pay Equity. If so find out how you can get involved. If not come prepared to talk to the women you meet at these events and ask them to fax, call or e-mail their MP's and ask their Members of Parliament to support the removal of this act from the Budget Implementation Act Bill C-10.

This week the Senate is gearing up to hear the proposed amendments to the bill. One of the senators asked for more information regarding the Pay Equity aspect of the bill and expressed concerns that Pay Equity was even in the act.

You can act now... look at the below sample letter to the Senators, modify it, personalize it and send it off (no postage required) to the senators (Click Here for Names of Senate). Take action now to try to save women's rights... human rights.

Dear Senator(s):

Pay equity is a fundamental human right that has been protected by the Canadian Human Rights Act since 1977. The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized that when a government violates women’s rights to pay equity, this is also an infringement of their constitutional equality rights.

This is simply another attack of women’s rights by the Harper government. The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act will not help the economy or save jobs. Government officials have admitted that there is no proof it will save the government any money.

I am extremely concerned that the government would table such a bill, and I call on you to put pressure on this government to ensure that the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act is removed from the Budget Implementation Act.

Do not use the budget to eliminate pay equity.

Pay equity is a fundamental human right that should not be traded away at a bargaining table.

Bill C-10 violates a 2007 Supreme Court of Canada decision that found free collective bargaining to be encompassed and protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.



A concerned Canadian,

Remember the only way to achieve change is action and awareness, why not do both!?

What you can do...

The rallies were a success, national media coverage was had, but it's not over yet.

Liberal MP Geoff Regan was quoted by CTV as saying "We misguided our fire". Because the conservative government put forward this bill (C-10) we know that they will not help to remove the offensive aspects of that bill (Pay Equity, Wage Roll Backs and strengthen EI), the NDP put forward an amendment to take those things out of the bill so they support us in our fight, the Bloc as well support us to have these things removed from the budget so who does that leave?

The Liberal Government. So I dare say our "fire" was not misdirected. We are concentrating our efforts on the Liberal MP's because that is who is left to help fight this fight for us in the House of Commons.

The other quote that stood out for me in the CTV interview was how Mr. Regan said the Liberals would reverse the changes when they got into power. How is this leadership? I can't wrap my brain around it.

They have the opportunity now to removed these 3 things from the budget, yet they don't want to because they are not ready for an election. Neither are we, but this is a chance we must take.

To throw a woman's right to fair and equal pay under the bus, to take money away from workers who will be putting it back into the economy, to support weakening of EI, make it harder for those who are losing their jobs now to find means to live.

I dare say this is not showing us leadership at all. How can we trust the liberals when it comes down to an election if they do not support us in our time of need?

As a citizen of Canada, a woman, a mother of two daughters I demand more from my elected MPs. So continue to write, call , email and fax your Liberal MPs, the senators. Keep these important issues at the forefront of their thoughts. We want these things removed from bill C-10.

Fight for Women's Pay Equity.

Fight for a better Employment Insurance program.

Fight for a stop to wage roll backs and preserve the right to free collective bargaining.

Rally Pictures

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/budget-protest/#clip144816 Video clip from today's rally.

Oh what a rally!

It was a good turn out at the rally today. I think we managed to make some noise and raise some awareness. Media was there and a respectable size crowd. The police eventually made an appearance (after the rally was over).

Our work isn't finished.

Next week in Halifax we are celebrating International Women's Day. You can believe that we will be there informing women of what Harper's government is trying to accomplish by pushing this bill through.

I hope that the Liberals heard our voices today and will work towards removing these 3 things from the bill. Women's Pay Equity, Wage Roll Backs (free collective bargaining) and strengthen (not weaken) Employment Insurance.

I will post pictures from today's rally as soon as I can. Keep posted to this blog because until the bill is passed or defeated, I will be updating it with what is going on.

Take time to call, fax and email ALL of the Liberal MPs and ask them to take these 3 things out of the budget and protect women's and worker's rights!

"Gearing" up for tomorrow's Rally

Yes, I went out and bought a bunch of rain ponchos in case we need them for tomorrow's rally. Now we are all "geared" up... get it?

What I have come to discover in the past few days talking with hundreds of people about this rally, about mobilizing, about calling their MPs regarding this campaign is that a lot of people didn't have the slightest clue this was happening.

Even those who received information did not read it. I spent many hours on the phone explaining to people just how this bill (as is) will effect them.

For the general public... this affects you -

EI - there are proposed changes to Employment Insurance in this bill. Some of it is positive, but people applying for Employment Insurance will be faced with longer waiting periods and many people will be found "not to qualify" even though they have spent years paying into the fund.

When Stats Canada has projected that there will be 250,000 jobs lost in Canada in the next 9 months, we need an Employment Insurance program that is comprehensive and streamlined when people need it most.

Women's Pay Equity - this is one of the most baffling pieces of all to me. Why is this in the budget implementation bill? What does this HUMAN RIGHT have to do with money? This is just another attempt from Harper's Conservatives to further deteriorate women's rights and down play women's issues. Remember the drastic cuts to the Status of Women offices when he first took the reigns?

And the Liberal MPs I spoke to today, they said they have to support the Bill so the budget will pass. Yes I understand that, to stimulate the economy, etc.

But when I asked them why they couldn't recommend that these issues be taken out of the bill they responded that if it wasn't a confidence issue they would but it's a budget bill and if you vote against it we go to an election and they don't want that.

I asked again why women had to take a hit on this, and they responded that when they are in "leadership" they will fix it... so in the meantime we are to take a giant leap back?

I'm sorry Liberals... this doesn't cut it with me. It appears to me that the Liberals may be more concerned with buying time to gain popularity (Mr. Ignatieff) before entering into an election because they want a majority. So in the meantime they are not willing to ask or fight to take these important issues out of Bill C-10.

The final of the 3 concerns has to do with wage roll backs and the right to free collective bargaining. A few years back some 300,000 civil servants ratified a collective agreement with the employer. Bill C-10 will see these "legally" binding contracts broken and roll back on the agreed wage increases that these employees fought, negotiated and signed off on.

The bill will also toss out pay studies that shows that the Technical Services (TC) group is grossly underpaid in comparison with the private sector. Even though the TC group voted to go through the Arbitration process, it seems that Bill C-10 will do nothing for any monetary gains the TC group may have been awarded through an arbitrator.

My spin on things as I see them. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Any organizations I am affiliated with may not necessarily share my views and interpretations, however this is how I see it.

Our opposition to Bill C-10 in a nutshell. Don't forget to come out to the rally on Saturday, February 28th, 2009 at noon in front of the Westin Nova Scotian Hotel in Halifax, NS (beside the train station). Come find me... I'll have a rain coat for you!

Rally Event on Facebook

Chris Di Liberatore, PSAC Area Council 1 President has created a facebook event for the Rally.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=69330060090

Rally in Halifax - Saturday Feb. 28/09

There is a rally this Saturday (Feb 28) at noon in front of the Westin Nova Scotian Hotel (train station) in Halifax.

It is a rally opposing bill C-10 which is in the house of commons up for a second reading. This bill takes away the resources and support for a woman who wants to file a Pay Equity Complaint. The Conservative government is trying to take it away from the Human Rights Commission and force individuals to fight this fight on their own. For women who are unionize it takes away the woman's right to have her union represent her.

This is just another thing that Harper's Government is trying to take away from women and from the citizens of Canada.

I am asking that you come out to this rally and support the opposition to this bill.

If you would like more information on it, please check out the other posts on this blog I hope I can count on seeing a bunch of you there.

Thank you for your willingness to fight for this Human Right a woman's right to equal work for equal pay.

Women, do you know about Bill C10?

Bill C-10 has been presented in Parliament and is due up for a second reading shortly. What does that mean to women? If this Bill goes through a second reading and is accepted by the house this makes the process of Pay Equity even more difficult of a process to go through and leaves women to take this on with out the benefit of guidance from the Human Rights Commission or from their Unions. We (all Canadian Citizens) must take action today as the rumour is that the Conservative Government is pushing to have this bill read as early as Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

On average women are still making 70% less than men for the same work. The gap increases for racially visible and aboriginal women. Now Harper and his Conservative Government are trying to make it near impossible for a woman to file a pay equity complaint. The government is trying to push this bill through that will ultimately force the woman who is already taking on the huge task of fighting for her human right as a Canadian citizen to now do it on her own. If Bill C-10 passes Stephen Harper and his Conservative Government will have succeeded in having this Human Right taken away from the Human Rights Commission as well as the various Unions who assist women with this fight; and move it to be used as a bargaining chip when negotiating contracts.

Which brings the question to my mind, what forum now will non-unionized women have when trying to fight for pay equity? The process of filing a Pay Equity Complaint is already a difficult and stressful fight; now imagine having to fight it on your own.

What you can do to take action? Contact your Member of Parliament as soon as possible; especially the Liberal MP’s who have been directed by their leader that they can all vote how they want to on Harper’s Agenda, however the “Liberal Party” has said they will support Harpers Budget. Find out who your MP is at http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca call them, send them an e-mail or a fax. Ask them to vote against Bill C-10. Ask them to stand up for Human Rights / Woman’s Rights, to stand up for your future or the future of your daughters.

It’s time to stop Harper’s Hidden Agendas. Pay attention to what he is trying to do, today he is trying to push the women’s movement back 30 yrs, tomorrow it may be employment insurance or Canadians Pensions… wait that sounds familiar, has he already tried to do something with that?

Your Member of Parliament was elected by you to represent you and bring your voice to Parliament. Remind them of this and ask them to vote against Bill C-10. To stop this attack on a woman’s right to equal pay for equal work.

Submission to the Editor

Bill C-10 has been presented in Parliament and is due up for a second reading shortly. This bill is a violation of women’s equality rights.

We all must take action today as the Conservative Government is pushing to have this bill read as early as Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

On average women are still making 70% less than men for the same work. The gap increases for racially visible and aboriginal women.

If Bill C-10 passes Stephen Harper and his Conservative Government will have succeeded in having this right for women to fight inequity taken away from the Human Rights Commission as well as the various Unions who assist women with this fight; and move it to be used as a bargaining chip when negotiating contracts.

It’s time to stop Harper’s Hidden Agendas. Pay attention to what he’s trying to do, today he is trying to push the women’s movement back 30 yrs, what’s next?

Your Member of Parliament was elected by you to represent you and bring your voice to Parliament. Contact them, remind them of this and ask them to vote against Bill C-10. To stop this attack on a woman’s right to equal pay for equal work.

RALLY INFO

RALLY - RALLY - RALLY

LET’S DEMONSTRATE AGAINST BILL C-10!

Join the fight to challenge the wage roll-backs and threats to pay equity mandated by Bill C-10!!

Wage roll-backs threaten free collective bargaining!!

Bill C-10 threatens workers’ rights, women’s rights and human rights!!

Join the your Regional Women’s Committee, your Area Council and your fellow union members
DEMONSTRATION AGAINST BILL C-10!

12pm - 1pm, Saturday, February 28

In front of The Westin Halifax 1181 Hollis Street

Come find out how you are affected!!

Come make a difference!!

Spread the word!! Don’t come alone!!

For info call the PSAC Regional Office: 1-800-839-6661 or 443-3541

The Hill Times, February 23rd, 2009

Parliament to pass budget at 'lightning speed': MPs House Finance Committee will get only two days to study budget spending.

By Bea Vongdouangchanh

The federal government's budget bill will go through Parliament at "lightning speed" and will most likely be passed within the next month, say Conservative and Liberal MPs, but the New Democrats, who won't try to hold up the bill's passage, say it's also "insufficient" time to properly study a bill that's 551 pages and includes a $40-billion stimulus package.

In its budget, the Conservative government stated that for the stimulus package to be most effective, it has to be implemented within 120 days, by May 27.

Conservative MP Mike Wallace (Burlington, Ont.), who sits on the House Finance Committee, said the government is working hard to meet its goal, which is why the House Finance Committee is meeting this Monday to hear from representatives from 24 organizations and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (Whitby-Oshawa, Ont.) in four separate meetings.

Mr. Wallace said the committee will then move into clause-by-clause study of the bill on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

"We did a lot of pre-budget consultations, and so did the other parties, at least they claim they did, so we've [already] heard from a lot of people," Mr. Wallace said last week, adding that the committee will hear from "key folks" and work quickly to report the bill back to the House. "Instead of taking three months to do this process, we need to get it done, all completely done within a month."

Liberal MP John McCallum (Markham Unionville, Ont.), his party's finance critic, said last week that while the bill is "imperfect," it does provide some stimulus and the official opposition does not want to delay the funding.

"It is rushing it. I think it's going by Parliamentary standards, I think it's going through in lightning speed. But the reason is we're in an economic crisis and we need to get this money out the door," Mr. McCallum said. "We think there are many weaknesses in the bill, it wasn't the way we would've done it, by any means. The responsible thing to do when thousands of Canadians are getting laid off, is to make sure that the money is spent on infrastructure and the other items that help support the economy."

NDP MP and finance critic Thomas Mulcair (Outremont, Que.), whose party along with the Bloc Québécois voted against the budget's ways and means motion as well as against sending Bill C-10, the Budget Implementation Act, to committee, acknowledged that there's very little he can do without a majority on the committee to delay the bill.

"The two of them [Conservatives and Liberals] together have the majority of the committee, so it's going to make life difficult for those of us who actually want to ask questions in the public interest," Mr. Mulcair said. "We think that two days is completely insufficient for legislation of that size and scope that we're going to do our best... To try to shut it down so early is scandalous, but again, if the official opposition is in bed with the government, we'll do our best and use whatever Parliamentary techniques at our disposal to try to make Canadians' voices heard."

The budget includes a stimulus package, but also makes changes to pay equity, environmental protection, the sale of Crown assets, program review, and much more, which Mr. Mulcair said have "nothing to do with the budget, but everything to do with the government's ideology."

He said the NDP will bring forward amendments to the bill which address these issues that "will not require further government spending but will allow us to avoid some of the things that the Conservatives were thinking of doing."

Mr. Mulcair said he has no hope that the Liberals will work with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to "stand up for women's rights and the environment without it costing an extra penny to the government."

The Liberals amended the ways and means motion to force the government to report on its progress with "getting money out the door" and into communities for infrastructure projects and other initiatives related to the stimulus package.

The reports would provide information on how the government has implemented the budget and be tabled in the House of Commons at least five sitting days before the last opposition day in every supply period this year.

The first supply period ends March 26, but the House is on a break from March 16 to 20. If the last opposition day is scheduled for March 26, the first report would be due to be tabled in Parliament by March 12. The second supply period this year ends June 23. If the last opposition day is scheduled for June 23, the second report would be due before June 16. The last supply period ends Dec. 10. If the last opposition day is scheduled for Dec. 10, the third report would be due before Dec. 3.

"The government's own record is that money does not go out the door. Money sits forever under a mattress in Ottawa doing nobody any good, so that is why we'll be holding the government to account, to make sure the money does flow for infrastructure, but also the money for business lending," Mr. McCallum said, noting that because the first report is due in a few weeks, it will be a different nature than the subsequent ones. "The money is not even legal to go out the door before April 1. The first report will be different from the others in the sense that we cannot expect budget money to have gone out the door when we're still in March and the new fiscal year has not begun."

In the budget document, the government said it would provide a progress report the first week in September, following the summer recess, before the Liberals put forward their amendment.

"The government will reassess and, if necessary, reallocate funding in the 2009 economic and fiscal update," the budget document says. Since the Liberal amendment was successfully passed, Mr. Wallace said the government will work with the amendment's timeline, rather than the original one in the first week of September.

"The Liberal opposition has put us on notice, they want regular updates," Mr. Wallace said. "We need to take action and get the budget passed so we can start delivering on some of those infrastructure projects, for example. We need the Budget Implementation Act to pass to be able to start flowing those much needed funds."

Mr. Mulcair said these regular reports are "a joke," however, because the Liberals will not stand up to the government if they don't like what they see in them. "The Liberals are not going to stand up to the Conservatives more at the end of March than they are at the end of June. That was their pretension of saying they put the government on probation. Well what they did was give the government their approbation, they approved everything that the Conservatives have done because they are simply devoid of principles," he said.

Mr. McCallum said however that his party will be working with the Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page to dissect and study the report to determine if it is sufficient. He said although the Liberals and the Parliamentary Budget office still have to work out the details about what the party is looking for, Mr. Page will review the report. "He's done a very good job in providing economic professional advice to Parliamentarians and he will play a role in the report," Mr. McCallum said, adding the Liberals are looking for evidence that "the government has active plans to get money out the door fast [because] the money will not have flowed" by March 12.

It's likely the Finance Committee will report Bill C-10 back to the House this week. Louise Girouard, communications director to Government House Leader Jay Hill (Prince George-Peace River, B.C.) said last week that the House leaders have not met yet to negotiate the scheduling of the votes, but said once Bill C-10 is reported back to the House, it will take precedence in House debate so it can be passed at report stage and third reading quickly. It would then be sent to the Senate as early as next week, to be passed and given royal assent as early as the end of March if there are no delays.

"I would imagine that the Senators feel the same way that we do, which is: flawed as the bill is, the priority has to be, at this time of economic recession, to support the Canadian economy," Mr. McCallum said.

mhtml:%7BA2364970-319D-4C67-B44B-24945FE41A31%7Dmid://00000177/!x-usc:mailto:bvongdou@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times

What you missed in that budget bill

The Toronto Star
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Page: IN01
Section: Insight
Byline: Thomas Walkom
Source: Toronto Star

Those worried about Stephen Harper changing his spots can rest easy. At heart, the prime minister's the same old guy. True, he now plans to run big deficits to fight the economic slump.

But Harper is also using the opportunity provided by this slump to quietly ram through laws that punish two groups his governing Conservatives have long had in their sights - public sector workers and uppity women.

At the same time, he is quietly introducing measures to weaken environmental laws affecting rivers and lakes, limit federal oversight of most foreign investment and scale back some of Canada's few remaining restrictions on foreign ownership.

All are part of the government's so-called budget implementation Bill C-10. Most were mentioned barely, if at all, in the Jan. 27 budget that gave rise to this bill.

Still, thanks to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, every one is bound to pass. Ignatieff has pledged that his caucus will support the budget and any bills flowing from it.

Overall, Bill C-10 provides an insight into how a sly government can use the economic crisis to quietly slip through measures that have little or nothing to do with the problem at hand.

In this case, the Conservative attack on pay equity - the idea that men and women should be paid equally for work of equal value - provides the most telling example. Bill C-10 would end the right of federal civil servants to take pay equity complaints to the federal human rights commission. Instead, such issues would have to be dealt with as part of the normal bargaining process between union and management.

And in determining whether wage rates for men and women were fair, any arbitrator would have to take "market forces" into account.

The problem with this is twofold. First, as a federal task force wrote five years ago, collective bargaining involves tradeoffs. But a woman's constitutionally protected right to be paid fairly is hardly something that should be traded away for an extra coffee break.

Equally important is the reference to market forces. Toronto lawyer Mary Cornish points out that pay equity was designed specifically to rectify a failure in the market that permitted systemic wage discrimination against women. To turn around and subordinate equity to this same market is to negate the entire exercise.

She notes that when former Ontario premier Mike Harris made a similar attack on provincial pay equity, the courts slapped him down.

Women aren't the only target of the Liberal-Conservative budget bill. Federal government workers of both sexes face measures that would cap wage increases for the next two years at 1.5 per cent annually. That in itself may mean little. In hard times, it's hard for any union to negotiate big pay raises.

But to add injury to insult, the caps are retroactive to 2006. According to the Public Service Alliance of Canada, that means some workers face wage rollbacks. Jail guards are already threatening a court challenge.

Harper is also using Bill C-10 to quietly legislate other measures on his agenda that have little or nothing to do with the economic crisis, such as:

Raising the threshold for government review of foreign takeovers from $295 million to $1 billion. The bill would also give the government new powers to refuse any foreign takeover on the grounds of "national security" (a measure prompted by recent Chinese attempts to buy Canadian resource firms).

Raising the ceiling on foreign ownership of domestic airlines such as Air Canada from 25 to 49 per cent. The Liberals used to decry this as selling out the national interest. However, in their latter years in government, and under pressure from Air Canada, they suggested something similar.

Amending the Navigable Waters Protection Act to let the cabinet exempt certain kinds of rivers and lakes from regulations that limit damming or dumping. Quebec New Democrat MP Thomas Mulcair, that party's deputy leader, argues that this is a part of a broader plan to weaken environmental rules. And it's true that, as the Star reported last month, Transport Minister John Baird has publicly mused about cutting back the scope of environmental assessment laws, saying they create too much red tape.

All told, it's a modestly ideological agenda for a government that's supposed to have been forced into centre ground. But it seems that Stephen Harper is still Stephen Harper. And, thanks largely to the helpful support of Ignatieff's Liberals, he can get away with it.

Thomas Walkom's column appears Wednesday and Saturday.
© 2009 Torstar Corporation

February 12th Release

PSAC says “pay equity” bill threatens women's rights

Ottawa – The Public Service Alliance of Canada is encouraging opposition members to remove legislation from the budget bill that would prevent women in the federal public sector from demanding equal pay for work of equal value.

The 166,000-member union is concerned that the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act will remove women's ability to file pay equity complaints, making the process even more difficult than the current complaints-based system.

The “pay equity” bill is part of the omnibus Budget Implementation Act (Bill C-10), which was tabled on February 7, 2009. PSAC refutes the notion that this legislation is “proactive,” given that it ignores the recommendations made in the well-respected 2004 report from the federal Task Force on Pay Equity. The union contends that the new scheme would make a bad system much worse, removing pay equity's status as a human right and opening it up to market forces.
According to PSAC, the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act undermines pay equity in the following ways:

It transforms pay equity into an “equitable compensation issue” that must be discussed at the bargaining table – even though fundamental human rights should never be negotiable.

It makes it more difficult to claim pay equity, by changing the definition of a “female predominant” job group to require that women make up 70 per cent of workers in the position.

It redefines the criteria used to evaluate whether jobs are of “equal” value, leaving pay equity up to the fluctuations of the market.

It forces individual women to make pay equity claims without any support – in fact it would impose a $50,000 fine on any union for encouraging or assisting their own members in filing a pay equity complaint.

“Pay equity is a fundamental human right that should not be taken away at a bargaining table where the employer historically holds the balance of power,” said John Gordon, PSAC National President. “The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act is a regressive piece of legislation that threatens to widen the income gap between women and men in the federal public sector. We urge the opposition parties to unite to remove the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act from Bill C-10.”