From The Advocate, December, 2012

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Bill C-377: Anti-union bill would heap new costs on unions and BCFORUM and seriously attack privacy

Published December, 2012 - An anti-union private member’s bill, put forward by a backbench MP with the apparent blessing of the Harper government, has been condemned as a “serious” attack on privacy by the federal privacy commissioner.

Jennifer Stoddart told the House of Commons Finance Committee Nov. 7 that Bill C-377 “is a significant privacy intrusion and it seems highly disproportionate.”

Pat Kerwin, President of the Congress of Union Retirees of Canada, warned in a brief to the committee that the reach of the bill would include CURC and provincial affiliates, including BC FORUM. Since these are volunteer-driven organizations, the proposed fines for being a month late in meeting a reporting deadline would equal their entire annual budget.

“For the sake of sanity and fair treatment to seniors and their organizations, we ask that this bill be withdrawn,” said Kerwin. Opposition MPs call the bill “a bureaucratic monster” that would be very expensive to administer, and warn that it will raise the cost of union sponsored pension and benefit plans.

The Canadian Bar Association warned in an earlier presentation that the bill raised serious constitutional issues by interfering with freedom of association, freedom of assembly, and other union activities protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights.

Russ Hiebert, Conservative MP for South Surrey – White Rock – Cloverdale, admitted his bill has raised a lot of concerns, but offered no clear solutions to address them. Most worryingly, there are reports that his speech to the committee was written by the prime minister’s office, and that the Harper government is considering “whipping the vote,” thereby requiring all ministers to support the bill at third reading.

The bill would force the government to publish on a website the details of payments such as dental, vision, drug, life, health insurance and pension benefits, including details of widows’ survivor benefits.

Payments made to businesses providing services to over 25,000 unions, union locals and labour organizations – including rates, fees, and private commercial information – would also be published.

This discriminatory bill targets only unions. Professional organizations such as bar associations and medical associations are excluded. In short, the bill violates the privacy of over four million Canadians and their families just because they are union members. It would force all pension, health and benefit plans to turn over to government the personal and private details of payments to individuals. Names, addresses and amounts would be published on a public website.

A career of promoting intolerance Russ Hiebert would fit right in with the most extreme and intolerant anti-women, anti-gay and anti-union Tea Party Republicans of the United States.

• Backed by organized Christian fundamentalists, Hiebert defeated incumbent MP Val Meredith for the Conservative nomination in 2004. Anti-choice activists hailed his nomination as “great news for pro-lifers.”

• Hiebert said he was, “Particularly concerned about the judicial activism in this country… (and) passionate about preserving the traditional definition of marriage.”

• After promising to fight government waste, Hiebert racked up $637,093 in expenses in 2008, including $214,360 to fly his family back and forth from Ottawa. The total was the second highest of all MPs, and a quarter of a million dollars more than the average.

• Hiebert voted against a private member’s bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity in February 2011.

• In December 2011, Hiebert delighted anti-union extremists by tabling Bill C-377.

• This year, he supported a private member’s bill which attempted to establish an all-party committee to re-open the abortion debate.

• He presented a petition calling upon Parliament to “speedily enact legislation that restricts abortion to the greatest extent possible” in June 2012.

• Hiebert has opposed measures to combat climate change, calling them irresponsible, as well as measures to make pensions available to immigrants after three years residency.

• Finally, no irony intended, Hiebert represents the Harper government on Parliament’s standing committee on ethics.