MP says C-4 an omnibus affront to our democratic process
By Alex Atamanenko MP
BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko is critical of the latest Budget Implementation Act, Bill C-4.
The 300-page bill amends dozens of acts and contains many measures that are not budgetary.
“Once again, the Conservatives are trying to cram through major changes without sufficient study by Parliament. What is disturbing is that the biggest and most objectionable change found in this piece of legislation, changes the rights of Canadians’ health and safety in the workplace,” said Atamanenko.
The bill strips health and safety offices of their powers under the Canada Labour Code and gives these powers to ministers. The NDP strongly opposes this move to eliminate basic protection from workers. C-4 also proposes changes to the Public Service Labour Relations Act to eliminate binding arbitration as a method to resolve disputes in the public service.
In addition to attacking workers, the Conservatives are also continuing their attack on science, according to Atamanenko.
“They have laid-off hundreds of Canada’s top scientists and researchers without any prior consultation within the scientific community or assessed how this will impact Canada’s science capacity and international standing,” he said.
Disappointed by another Conservative ram tactic, Atamanenko concluded that, “these omnibus bills do not allow for sufficient scrutiny of legislation, and are an affront to our democratic process”.
