Minister won't 'close the door' on replacement worker ban

Ontario Labour Minister Kevin Flynn said he's open to the idea of banning replacement workers as part of a comprehensive review of laws governing workplaces in the province.

Flynn made the remarks Thursday at hearings held in Sudbury's Quality Inn as part of the review process. The process is being led by labour lawyer C. Michael Mitchell and the Hon. John C. Murray, a lawyer and full-time mediator.

"Should they choose to bring forward a recommendation in that regard, I'll certainly look at it,” Flynn said. "But I don't want to prejudge anything. Obviously it's an issue that we anticipated would be brought forward and one that I think the two people heading up the review will take a serious look at and provide me with their best advice.

"We're not closing the door on any particular issue. But I wouldn't say this is something they will bring forward as a recommendation, either."

In a presentation Thursday, Sudbury and District Labour Council Vice-president Wyman Mackinnon said the use of replacement workers had a profound effect during the Vale-Steelworkers strike of 2009-2010.

"We had to endure a protracted strike that caused deep divisions in the community and financial hardship for both the workers and local entrepreneurs," Mackinnon said, in urging for a ban. "(The current law) tends to drag our labour relations backwards, instead of moving forwards in a positive way."

"We've seen what a year-long strike where replacement workers were used did to our community,” said former labour council president John Closs. “We do not want to go through that again. And we don't want any community in Ontario to go through that pain and disruption."

Closs said there's an industry developing in the province in which businesses contact companies during bargaining to offer their services.

"These companies can encourage organizations to use strikes to gain advantages over their employees,” he said. “These companies contact employers during bargaining, and offer to provide services during strikes, such as picket line surveillance, security and contract replacement workers."

Provinces that have banned such workers – Quebec and British Columbia – have not been harmed economically, and there's evidence that the laws lead to much shorter strikes.

"When companies are looking to invest in a community, no responsible business bases their decision on their ability to use temporary replacement workers during a labour dispute," Closs said.

"We believe the adoption of a law banning the use of temporary replacement workers would not result in a strike wave."

Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas told the hearing she has introduced motions three times in the Ontario Legislature to ban replacement workers, but was defeated. She's encouraged that at least Flynn has said he's keeping an open mind.

She said unlike the 1990s when the NDP government of Bob Rae first banned the workers, sparking fears in the business community, today there's been several studies showing such laws don't harm companies.

"It does not affect the bottom line,” Gélinas said. “It is not what everybody thought it was back in 1990. And we know this because this issue has been studied by economists from (across) the spectrum — the left, the right and the centre.

"The body of evidence is very robust — it does not have a negative impact on the bottom line."

"But there is evidence that the use of temporary replacement workers has a negative effect on management-labour relations and that when replacement workers are used, longer strikes occur," Closs added.

Flynn told reporters that an interim report on the province-wide hearings is due late this year or early 2016.

"And we're probably about a year away from final recommendations," he said. "We did want to take the time to do it right."