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The federal government is pushing emergency legislation to force Canada Post employees back to work, while urging both sides to negotiate a deal.
Labour Minister Patty Hajdu tabled the bill in the House of Commons Thursday morning.
The Liberals also tabled a motion to pass the bill in a compressed time frame instead of pushing it through the normal three stages of readings and committee hearings, which typically takes several weeks. MPs have begun debate on the motion, which will be followed by debate on the bill itself. CBCNews.ca is carrying it live.
Canada Post is in its fifth week of rotating strikes by thousands of unionized workers, with no sign yet of a breakthrough in contract negotiations.
Hajdu said the Liberal government is a strong supporter of organized labour and workers' rights, but the labour disruption has caused problems for small businesses, people in rural and remote communities and low-income Canadians relying on cheques to pay their rent.
"We also have a responsibility to all Canadians and to the businesses that drive our economy, and when the consequences of a work stoppage become so great that they begin to result in serious or lasting harm, we must act," she said.
"When a strike or a lockout is affecting thousands, or even millions of people, the government must intervene."
Holiday pressure
The government claims it has been forced to act because, with Black Friday and the Christmas holiday season approaching, Canadians need to know they can rely on a smooth-running mail delivery service.
Parcels have been piling up and deliveries from other countries have been suspended, Hadju said.
NDP MP Daniel Blaikie accused Hajdu of emboldening Canada Post and weakening the union's position.
"How dare she get up in this place and say she's hopeful they're going to reach a deal when she's been threatening for weeks to legislate those workers back to work and taking away their leverage at the bargaining table?" he said.
Conservative MP John Barlow accused the government of doing "almost something, but not quite anything" by signalling its intent to act without taking immediate action.
On Wednesday, NDP Parliamentary Leader Guy Caron accused the government of bowing to the demands of e-commerce web giants like Amazon and eBay.
In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insisted the government is encouraging both sides to reach a deal, but is prepared to act if there is no "significant progress."
"We have provided conciliation officers, appointed mediators and offered voluntary arbitration. Legislation is not a step that we take lightly," he said.
Past legislation unconstitutional
In 2011, the former Conservative government passed back-to-work legislation for Canada Post workers which was subsequently challenged on constitutional grounds.
According to the website of Paul Cavalluzzo, the lawyer who handled the case, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in favour of the postal workers five years later, on April 28, 2016, finding the legislation unconstitutional because it violated the workers' freedom of association and expression as guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Asked why she believes this back-to-work bill wouldn't violate Charter protections, Hajdu said the Liberals have taken an approach "dramatically different" from the Conservatives' legislation. The former government did not allow for labour disruption and took pre-emptive action that was harmful to the labour movement, she said.
"We have taken every effort over a long period of time to assist these parties to come to a negotiated agreement," she said.
