Since he obtained his coveted majority on May 2, Prime Minister Stephen Harper hasn’t wasted time getting used to and getting comfortable with his new reality.
So far, we have witnessed two different labour conflicts: Air Canada, and Canada Post. In the first case, the threat of a law to force workers back to their jobs brought about the desired results. In the other case, although no resolution was achieved, it didn’t stop the majority government from forcing employees back to work.
Two aspects of these maneuvers struck me: First, the determination of this government to send a clear message. The bill, proposed by the Labour Minister, included wage provisions lower than what Canada Post put forward in its final offer. By doing so, the government plainly defined, by drawing a line in the sand, so to speak, what could be expected in the future with regards to any labor disputes in industries affiliated with the federal labour code.
The second aspect that held my attention was the Conservative’s political boldness. The Conservative troops managed to kill two birds with one stone in these matters. We must admit that from the beginning, it transpired that a postal strike no longer carried the weight it used to. We could even bet that a numbers of young Canadians didn’t even know that a strike was paralyzing Canada Post last month.
And so, it happened that the bill presented by the Harper government passed and in spite of the parliamentary marathon it induced, went unnoticed. It never really produced the general upheaval this kind of bill usually generates. True enough, the postal workers’ union got tough with government, but my guess is that’s just what Harper was hoping for.
He managed, by that move, to engage Jack Layton’s NDP troops in a vehement defense of the postal workers’ union. There is of course nothing wrong with this in itself. However, the NDP has always suffered from being perceived as a little too close to unions in general. And so, Stephen Harper, in one fell swoop, managed to force Jack Layton to show his hand.
Furthermore, the government did nothing to put a stop to the parliamentary debate, although it could easily have done so. Instead, it decided to let orator after orator take the floor, to the full extent of their allotted time. By doing this it made it look like it was Jack Layton’s doing to keep the Commons engaged during Quebec’s national holiday.
The Prime Minister lost none of his political clout over these two labor conflicts. And then, shortly after the bill passed, Stephen Harper had the good fortune to play host to the British royal couple, gaining, accordingly, invaluable media coverage.
Summer is off to a good start for Stephen Harper.
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Translation Monique Kroeger
