On the eve of a possible strike in the federal public service, New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh warns the Trudeau government that he cannot count on him to pass a possible back-to-work law.
” I told him [au premier ministre Justin Trudeau] : “you can never count on us for a vote on the return to work”. We have already said that it is something that we will never support, ”said Mr. Singh during a press briefing in Ottawa on Tuesday morning.
Even in the hypothetical scenario where the government makes this issue a vote of confidence in Parliament in the future, the New Democratic Party (NDP) will vote against any initiative to force a return to work, the leader of the fourth party in the Commons has warned. .
The NDP, however, agreed last year with the Liberal Party of Canada to keep it in power until 2025, and to vote with the government in all important votes. In theory, this includes votes in which the government puts the confidence of Parliament at stake, i.e. those which risk plunging the country into an electoral campaign.
Jagmeet Singh claims to have already warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that this clause of the agreement specifically excludes any law forcing a return to work.
“We said from the start of the negotiations [que] it’s not on the table. […] This is not acceptable to us. We are the party of workers, we would never support such a bill, ”he said.
Since it is in a minority situation, the Liberal government in Ottawa must obtain the support of at least one opposition party to pass any legislation. The NDP also expects the Liberals to introduce legislation to ban “scabs” for federal employees, which the government has pledged to do by the end of the year. year under the agreement.
Possible strike on Wednesday
The main union representing federal public servants, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), is threatening the government to call a strike as early as Wednesday, April 19, if no agreement is reached before 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Discussions with the federal government were still continuing on Tuesday afternoon.
New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh has shown his sympathy for the demands of federal officials. “Consider they’ve worked so hard during the pandemic,” he advised the federal government. Make sure they are respected. »
The large pan-Canadian union represents 120,000 federal civil servants working in various departments and 35,000 union members at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), who are directly affected by this walkout.
In the event of a strike in the middle of tax season, it is possible that the processing of tax returns will be delayed and that taxpayers will not be able to reach the CRA by telephone, warns the union.
With The Canadian Press