The fight to repeal section 107 from the Canadian Labour Code has progressed after the House of Commons had the second reading of the bill aimed at abolishing it. 

Leaders from the NDP and Canada’s union movement have rallied around the bill, framing the repeal of section 107 as key to defending the right to strike. At the same time, smaller labour organizations are working to reclaim the political strike as a tool the labour movement can wield to assert workers’ rights. 

Bill C-247 was tabled in October and highlights how section 107 of the labour code has been used in the last two years to tilt the scales during collective bargaining. Section 107 gives the labour minister the power to do things that “seem likely to maintain or secure industrial peace” when they deem it expedient.  

Section 107 has been invoked eight times in the last two years and has ended legal strikes being held by rail workers, flight attendants and postal workers. 

“Every single time that a government oversteps and uses 107 or any other legislation to send workers back to work, they are undermining the work that happens at the [bargaining] table,” said Siobhan Vipond, vice president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Let us be clear, every single time that 107 has been used by this government, it has been used in favor of the employer.” 

NDP leader, Avi Lewis, expressed support for repealing section 107 in hopes it will balance the power at the bargaining table. 

“No worker wants to give up their own wages to go on a picket line,” Lewis said, “but when you’re talking about bargaining in Canada, in a cost of living crisis, where people cannot afford groceries, cannot afford rent and mortgages, being paid a fair wage is our only hope for workers in Canada of getting out of this cost of living emergency, and it’s only the right to strike that balances the scales in labor negotiations, so that employers can’t just do what they want.”

For organizers like Emile Lacombe, who has been organizing with the Alliance Ouvrière (Worker’s Alliance) since 2024, this effort to amend the labour code is positive. But the ongoing attack on the right to strike signals a need to build more labour militancy. 

“What we’re seeing right now is that the government is taking advantage of the fact that we’re disorganized, that we’re used to taking the legal route,” Lacombe said in an interview with rabble.ca. “The thing is that they have the upper hand on that department, because they can change laws, the bosses can hire better lawyers than us.”

LISTEN: Emile Lacombe talks about the political strike on rabble radio

Lacombe joined a panel at a conference held by the International League of People’s Struggles last week where he discussed the importance of reclaiming the political strike, a strike that happens not just to secure a fair deal but also to assert broader political or social demands. 

Representing the Workers Alliance Emile spoke alongside speakers with the Immigrant Workers Centre, the International Migrants Alliance, Migrante Canada and the 1919 Workers Collective. All groups agreed that labour should build towards the political strike. 

Lacombe highlighted that the history of the political strike is strong in Canada. Workers used the strike to fight against government austerity in 2015 and to stand up for the environment in 2019. Now, in a time where the NDP and unions are fighting to protect the right to strike, Lacombe said these large mobilizations of workers may be exactly what’s needed to demonstrate that workers’ hard fought wins cannot just be taken away.  
“If we want the right to strike, we need to prove it in action and to show it by defying back to work orders,” Lacombe said. “That’s the only way that we can ensure that we have this right.”

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The NDP introduced a private member’s bill on Monday that aimed to include management in anti-scab legislation. Bill C-248 is meant to close a loophole in Canada’s anti-scab laws that workers say has already been exploited by at least one employer. 

The Canada Labour Code currently prohibits the employer from using services from any employee whose regular workplace is different from the one where a strike or lockout is taking place. The current language of the law means employers can transfer management from other workplaces to perform the duties of workers who are locked out or on strike. 

“That is not what the anti-scab legislation was intended to allow,” said NDP leader Avi Lewis. “It flies directly in the face of the law and the spirit of it, and it’s exactly why the loophole we’re addressing today must be closed.” 

The loophole in the anti-scab legislation has already been used by Rogers Communications, according to the United Steelworkers. During a labour dispute in Abbotsford, workers represented by USW 1944 went on strike to fight for wages that matched what other workers in the profession made in the area. Rogers brought in out-of-town managers to cross the picket line. 

“The strike lasted far too long,” said Michael Philips, president of USW local 1944. “It was prolonged by this loophole and by the company being able to use scabs to replace workers.”

Philips highlighted that the use of scab labour has also soured relationships at work for the foreseeable future. Striking workers watched the company bring in replacement labour while they fought for fair wages, then had to return to the workplace and work under people who undermined their strike. 

“I’m not sure if employers understand the degree to which their own workplace culture is devastated when they use scabs in this way,” Philips said. “I think they’re probably getting the idea now after a few months of having folks back on all the tools, and you know, the morale situation that exists in Abbotsford.” 

Marty Warren, USW national director for Canada said the low morale in Abbotsford further highlights why strong anti-scab legislation must exist. When employers go down the path of using scabs, it can harm labour relationships for generations. These toxic dynamics can be avoided when a deal is reached at the table. 

Fighting for free and fair collective bargaining is key to ensuring healthy labour relations persist. 

“A law designed to protect the right to strike that allows employers to bypass it is not strong enough, and must be fixed,” Warren said. “If employers can keep operations running by shifting work outside the bargaining unit, workers’ leverage is weakened and disputes go on and on and on. That’s bad for workers, families, and their communities. Any scab legislation must be clear, enforceable, and strong enough to protect the integrity of collective bargaining.” 

NDP labour critic, Don Davies, framed this bill as a continuation of the NDP’s fight to bolster workers’ rights. He highlighted that this bill comes after Leah Gazan introduced a bill to remove section 107 from the labour code and after Heather McPherson introduced a bill that would prohibit employer-friendly unions. 

“I’m very proud of my caucus colleagues, as this is the third consecutive week in a row that we have introduced legislation to strengthen unions in Canada and also to support workers,” he said. 

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