Ottawa

A fine day for a filibuster

While the House of Commons girds for the potential filibuster of back-to-work legislation for Canada Post employees, a poetry reading is being conducted inside John Baird’s constituency office.

The legislation includes wage increases for workers that are lower than what Canada Post included in its last offer to the union. During question period, Layton asked the prime minister to remove the section on wages from the bill and refer the matter to an arbitrator.

“The prime minister has rendered collective bargaining pointless in this country,” Layton told question period. “He’s signaling that if you can’t get what you want at the bargaining table, never mind, Ottawa will legislate it for you if you’re an employer. Why bother to bargain? It’s a terrible precedent.”

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