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The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF), one of EI’s national affiliates, has heavily criticised the Harper Conservative government for pushing Bill C-377 through the House of Commons without a fair debate and without hearing the voices of those affected by the legislation. They describe the bill as mean-spirited, biased and wasteful of taxpayers’ dollars.

Bill C-377 will force labour unions to make full details of their finances and spending public.“The Harper Government has shown contempt for all working Canadians and their organisations,” said CTF President Paul Taillefer. “The haste in the passing of this bill is a travesty of the parliamentary procedure, not to mention a cause for shame for all Canadians who want openness, fairness and sincere discussion of issues.”

Financial reporting unnecessary burden for teacher union

Bill C-377 will restrict the ability of trade unions and teacher organisations to effectively represent their members, said Taillefer. It “will unnecessarily burden these organisations - including CTF and its member organisations – with the responsibility, through changes to the Income Tax Act, for extensive financial reporting, the likes of which have never been seen before. The pretext for this is a need for transparency for members, even though most provinces and territories – and unions and teacher organisations themselves – have mechanisms in place that allow free access to those financial records.”

Bill harmful for women teachers

He went on to say: “Since women make up 70 per cent of the teachers in Canada, they will be significantly impacted by Bill C-377 both as union members and as taxpayers because of the loss of services paid for by union resources which are now diverted to this unnecessary accounting exercise as well as the implementation costs which must now be borne by taxpayers.”

Taillefer stated: “The Harper government was elected on a promise of honesty. This bill was pushed through the House with government MPs claiming that it was supportive of workers while, in reality, it is ideologically based and weakens the balance of power for workers. One MP, in his speech in the House of Commons, even referred to labour organisation meetings as ‘communist get-togethers’.”

Teachers share democratic commitment

Teachers and their organisations have been targets of a trend where the political imperative overrules democracy in Canada and elected officials use the rule of law to advance policy that is ideological or expeditious, Taillefer said.

But, at grassroots level, teachers take their civic responsibilities seriously and are engaged in sharing that commitment with their students and the community, he said. Teachers adhere to CTF’s policy on civic education which states that all education programmes must be designed to prepare students to become responsible members of society.

“Teachers in classrooms across Canada need to encourage students to take an interest in democracy and in public service,” Taillefer said. “By standing up to ensure that democratic processes are respected, teachers are helping to ensure that, in the future, public interest will increase and policy debate will reflect the values which we, as a society, hold dear.”

EI: Respect for union rights and social dialogue

“We support our Canadian colleagues and urge the national authorities to respect teachers’ trade union rights and social dialogue,” said EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. “Undermining teacher unions to advance a political agenda can never be tolerated.”

You can stand up for democracy, and sign the petition against Bill C-377 here