Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act

Last updated
Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act
2011 Alberta Legislature Building 03.jpg
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Enacted by Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative history
Introduced by Travis Toews, Minister of Finance [1]
First reading June 13, 2019 [1]
Second reading June 17–18, 2019 [1] [2] : 933–972 
Third reading June 19–20, 2019 [1]

The Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act (Bill 9) is a bill, informally known as the "bargaining rights bill", [3] introduced by the Province of Alberta's United Conservative Party (UCP) government under Premier Jason Kenney, during the 30th Alberta Legislature, constituted after the general election on April 16, 2019. Bill 9 was passed on June 20, 2019. [3] According to Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews, Bill 9 suspends and delays hearings related to wage arbitration for public sector workers until October 31, 2019 in order to allow time for the provincial government to study the August 2019 finance report of the MacKinnon panel. [4] [5] Bill 9 affects 180,000 public service employees in Alberta that are represented by unions in 24 collective agreements. [5]

Contents

The Alberta government set a goal of balancing the budget by 2022–2023. [6] [7]

History

Travis Toews, Minister of Finance and president of the Treasury Board, introduced Bill 9 on June 13, 2019 and its 1st reading was on the same day. [1] Its 2nd reading was from June 17 to June 18. [1] [2] : 933–972  On June 18, Jason Nixon, who was named as Government house leader and Minister of Environment and Parks on April 30. [8] [Notes 1] [9] The 3rd reading was from June 19 to June 20. [1] A closure of the third reading of the bill was forced by the provincial government in the early hours of June 20 [3] and the bill was passed at 7:00 AM in the provincial legislature in Edmonton, Alberta.

During the all-night session of third reading, at 11:30 PM on June 19, Kenney began distributing "bright pink earplugs" to his caucus to muffle the speech of MLAs who opposed the bill as it stood, including Edmonton-North West NDP MLA David Eggen who "spoke in favour of an NDP amendment to the bill." [10] Eggen said to the legislature, "I would beg an answer from the members opposite, although I can see that many of them are wearing bright pink earplugs that their premier is handing out to all of them right now. Probably many of them can't hear what I'm saying right now." [10] In her June 20 written statement Christine Myatt, Kenney's press secretary, said that it "was a harmless and light-hearted attempt to boost government caucus morale after being forced to listen to the NDP's insults, lies and over-the-top rhetoric for hours on end." [10]

Government position

On May 7, 2019, Kenney announced the formation of the MacKinnon panel with Janice MacKinnon as chair, as an "independent, non-partisan group of experts to conduct a deep dive into Alberta’s fiscal situation" in fulfillment of an election promise. [11] Kenney has promised to balance the budget by 2022-2023. [6] MacKinnon was the Finance Minister in Saskatchewan under the NDP Premier Roy Romanow in the 1990s. [12] The MacKinnon panel, which includes Dave Mowat, who was formerly president of ATB Financial, Mike Percy who was formerly a dean at the University of Alberta, Kim Henderson, Bev Dahlby, and Jay Ramotar, is tasked with providing the report by August 15 that will provide guidelines for the fall 2019 provincial budget. [11] [4] In order to study the results of the report, Bill 9 was intended to delay bargaining with public sector unions until October 31 to incorporate the report's findings. [4] On May 7, MLA Deron Bilous said "there is no way Kenney's government can balance the budget by 2022 while cutting corporate taxes and without slashing public services." [11]

Opposition

According to the Edmonton Journal, "[u] nion leaders have called the bill an "egregious attack" on the collective bargaining rights of 180,000 Alberta workers, including government employees, nurses, teachers, health professionals and others." [13]

Those who opposed the bill, including the official opposition, the Alberta New Democratic Party, led by former-Premier Rachel Notley, [14] were concerned that it would result in public sector contracts not being honoured by the province. [7] The bill affects the contracts of teachers, nurses, "social workers, hospital support staff, prison guards, conservation officers, toxicologists, restaurant inspectors, therapists and sheriffs" [7] and other public service employees.

Unions

By May 25, 2019, Phyllis Smith, Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE)'s independent arbitrator "ruled in favour of following the previously agreed upon terms of the collective agreement" and denied the UCP government's request to "delay wage-adjustment arbitration for tens of thousands of AUPE members". [15] In 2018, AUPE members, Provincial Government Services, AHS General Support Services, and AHS Nursing Care, had "ratified collective agreements" which included "wage-adjustment arbitration to be held no later than June 30, 2019." [15]

On May 13, Toews said that halting wage arbitration "for the final year of the current three-year contract" between the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) and their employers—Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health, Lamont Health Care Centre and the Bethany Group—was "the responsible thing to do." Toews would not confirm if the UCP government would "seek wage rollbacks." [16] According to a June 6 CBC report, the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) denied the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA)'s appeal to hear the UNA's application to reopen wage arbitration delayed by the UCP because the ALRB "lacks jurisdiction". The ALRB "directed the UNA to appeal to the courts". [17]

Notes

  1. ↑ According to The Star, Nixon announced in May 2019 that the new provincial government intended to "roll out 12 new pieces of legislation" between May and July 2019.

Related Research Articles

The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta was a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta that existed from 1905 to 2020. The party formed the provincial government, without interruption, from 1971 until the party's defeat in the 2015 provincial election under premiers Peter Lougheed, Don Getty, Ralph Klein, Ed Stelmach, Alison Redford, Dave Hancock and Jim Prentice. At 44 years, this was the longest unbroken run in government at the provincial or federal level in Canadian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Jean</span> Canadian politician

Brian Michael Jean is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development since 2022 and the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche since March 16, 2022. He was leader of the Opposition and the last leader of the Wildrose Party from 2015 to 2017 before its merger into the United Conservative Party (UCP). Jean was a member of Parliament (MP) with the Conservative Party from 2004 to 2014 before entering provincial politics.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) is a Canadian trade union operating solely in the province of Alberta. With approximately 95,000 members as of March 2019, it is Alberta's largest union. AUPE is primarily a public sector union, with members employed in government, health care, education, boards and agencies, municipalities, and occasionally private companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janice Sarich</span> Canadian politician (1958–2021)

Janice Sarich was a Canadian provincial-level politician. She served as member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta (MLA) from 2008 until 2015, representing the electoral constituency of Edmonton-Decore and sitting as a Progressive Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Notley</span> Premier of Alberta from 2015 to 2019

Rachel Anne Notley is a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Alberta from 2015 to 2019, and has been the leader of the Opposition since 2019. She sits as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Edmonton-Strathcona, and is the leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP). The daughter of former Alberta NDP leader Grant Notley, she was a lawyer before entering politics; she focused on labour law, with a specialty in workers' compensation advocacy and workplace health and safety issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Fildebrandt</span> Journalist and former Alberta politician

Derek Alexander Gerhard Fildebrandt is the publisher, president and chief executive officer of the Western Standard New Media Corp. and a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

<i>Public Service Salary Restraint Act</i>

The Public Service Salary Restraint Act is an Act of the Legislature of Alberta. The bill was introduced by the Progressive Conservative government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Dang</span> Canadian politician (born 1995)

Thomas Kyle Dang is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Edmonton-South West. Dang is the youngest MLA to ever be elected in Alberta. He currently sits as an independent MLA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Nixon</span> Canadian politician

Jason John Nixon is a Canadian politician and current Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Alberta general election</span> 30th general election of Alberta, Canada

The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 seats, defeating incumbent Premier Rachel Notley. The governing Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) were reduced to 24 seats and formed the Official Opposition. The United Conservative Party was formed in 2017 from a merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Wildrose Party after the NDP's victory in the 2015 election ended nearly 44 years of Progressive Conservative rule.

The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. When established, the UCP immediately formed the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The UCP won a majority mandate in the 2019 Alberta general election to form the government of Alberta. UCP leader Jason Kenney became premier on April 30, 2019, when he and his first cabinet were appointed and sworn in by the lieutenant governor of Alberta, Lois Mitchell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travis Toews</span> Canadian politician

Travis Toews is a Canadian politician elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Grande Prairie-Wapiti in the 30th Alberta Legislature. He was appointed as Minister of Finance of Alberta and President of the Treasury Board on April 30, 2019 by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Shandro</span> Canadian politician (born c. 1976)

Tyler Shandro is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of justice and solicitor general of Alberta since February 25, 2022. A member of the United Conservative Party (UCP), Shandro was elected to represent Calgary-Acadia in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 2019 provincial election. He was Alberta's minister of health from 2019 to 2021, and minister of labour and immigration from 2021 until he was named justice minister in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Alberta general election</span> Upcoming provincial election in Canada

The 2023 Alberta general election is scheduled by law to be held on May 29, 2023 to elect the members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Election dates are fixed under Alberta's Election Act but that does not affect the powers of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta to specify a different day in accordance with provisions in the aforementioned Act, the Constitution of Canada and the usual conventions of the Westminster parliamentary system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">30th Alberta Legislature</span>

The 30th Alberta Legislative Assembly was constituted after the general election on April 16, 2019. The United Conservative Party (UCP), led by Jason Kenney, won a majority of seats and formed the government. The New Democrats, led by outgoing Premier Rachel Notley, won the second most seats and formed the official opposition. The premiership of Jason Kenney began on April 30, 2019, when Jason Kenney and his first cabinet were sworn in by Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Lois Mitchell. On October 11, 2022, Kenney resigned, and Danielle Smith, the new leader of the UCP, was sworn in as premier by Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premiership of Jason Kenney</span> Aspect of Canadian politics

The premiership of Jason Kenney spanned from April 2019 until October 2022, when Jason Kenney and his cabinet were sworn in by Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Lois Mitchell. Kenney was invited to form the 30th Alberta Legislature and became the 18th Premier of Alberta, following the 2019 Alberta general election where Kenney's United Conservative Party (UCP) won a majority of seats in the Alberta Legislature leading to the resignation of Premier Rachel Notley. Kenney stepped down as leader of the UCP party on May 18, 2022, after receiving 51.4% of the UCP party members' votes. His premiership ended shortly after Danielle Smith won the subsequent leadership election and was sworn in as premier.

The 2019 Alberta budget, known as the A plan for jobs and the economy, is the budget for the province of Alberta for fiscal year 2019 - 2020. It was presented to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on October 24, 2019 by Travis Toews, the Minister of Finance of Alberta of the Government of Alberta.

Health Sciences Association of Alberta(HSAA) is a trade union in Alberta, Canada which represents approximately 29,800 members.

The MacKinnon Report, officially titled Report and recommendations: Blue Ribbon Panel on Alberta’s Finances, is the official report documenting the findings and conclusions of Blue-Ribbon Panel on Alberta's Finances into the economy of Alberta and the province's finances. The Panel was chaired by former Saskatchewan finance minister Janice MacKinnon, and was submitted to the Minister of Finance Travis Toews on August 15, 2019, and subsequently released to the public on September 3, 2019.

The 2022United Conservative Party leadership election was held on October 6, 2022, in Alberta to select a new leader of the United Conservative Party and Premier of Alberta. The leadership election was triggered following the May 18, 2022, leadership review in which the United Conservative Party membership voted 51.4 per cent in support of incumbent Premier Jason Kenney's leadership. In Kenney's speech following the announcement of the results, Kenney issued his resignation as leader of the United Conservative Party. Nominations for leadership of the United Conservative Party closed on July 20, 2022, with seven candidates meeting the nomination criteria. Party members selected their preference for leader using instant-runoff voting between September 2 and October 3, 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Bills and Amendments- Legislative Assembly of Alberta" . Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Legislative Assembly of Alberta The 30th Legislature" (PDF), Alberta Hansard, Edmonton, Alberta, pp. 933–972, June 18, 2019, ISSN   0383-3623 , retrieved June 20, 2019
  3. 1 2 3 Canadian Press (June 20, 2019). "Bargaining rights bill passes after all-night session in Alberta legislature". Canadian Press via CBC News. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Bellefontaine, Michelle (June 18, 2019). "Opposition accuses UCP of killing debate on controversial bill". CBC News. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Trynacity, Kim (June 14, 2019). "Wage deferral bill could be to the UCP what farm safety was to NDP". CBC News. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Public sector wage arbitration deferral". Government of Alberta. June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 "Opposition says new legislation could see province not honour public sector contracts". Calgary. June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Alberta premier Jason Kenney names 20 ministers, 3 associates to first cabinet". CBC News. April 30, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Alberta government plans to roll out about 12 new pieces of legislation, house leader says". The Star. May 14, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 "Alberta premier's earplug stunt called 'light-hearted' caucus morale-booster". CBC. June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 Germano, Daniela (May 7, 2019). "Former Saskatchewan finance minister advising Alberta government on fiscal plan". Global News via the Canadian Press. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  12. ↑ Clancey, Clare (May 7, 2019). "Province unveils blue-ribbon panel to inform fall budget". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  13. ↑ French, J. (June 19, 2019). "Deadline prompts government to rush wage delay bill, union says". Edmonton Journal via Postmedia. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Jason Kenney rides UCP wave to majority government in Alberta". CBC News. Apr 16, 2019.
  15. 1 2 "Wage arbitration for AUPE members to go ahead despite UCP government's request for delay". AUPE. May 25, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  16. ↑ Bellefontaine, Michelle (May 14, 2019). "UCP halts nurses' wage talks, citing ongoing review of Alberta's finances". CBC News. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  17. ↑ Trynacity, Kim (June 6, 2019). "Effort by Alberta nurses to reopen wage talks dismissed by labour relations board". CBC News. Retrieved June 20, 2019.

See also

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.