Canada’s union movement is under attack by the extreme right-wing policies of Stephen Harper's Conservative Government. Through the legislative backdoor, the Conservatives have submitted Private Members Bill C-377. The purpose of this Bill is to require unions to make their finances public, including assets, liabilities, and expenses. Unions already provide this information to their members through financial audits, reports, and regular membership meetings. The Conservatives want their corporate friends to have access to this information so that they can undermine unions.
Bill C-377 will create the same expensive administrative costs as the Long Gun Registry. The Harper Conservatives argued that the Registry was a costly burden to taxpayers, so why do they want Canadians to pay even more to implement ideological, union-busting legislation?
With over 25,000 unions and labour organizations in Canada, the government will have to spend huge amounts of money to process the financial information that Bill C-377 requires to be disclosed.
The additional accounting costs to benefit and pension plans will mean less funding for benefit and pension plan payouts to members. For unions, the bill will make less funding available for sponsoring community events, charitable organizations, and amateur sports.
