Federal budget 2012
June 6, 2012
PSAC criticism of Budget Implementation Act
The federal government is set to push through Bill C-38, its 450-page omnibus budget bill. The Conservatives are following a similar pattern as in the previous few years – cramming dozens of major legislative changes in the budget implementation bill, leaving little time for study or debate.
The following is a list of concerns that PSAC has with Bill C-38. It echoes the criticism being expressed by the opposition parties and MPs, as well as dozens of environmental and social justice groups. We join the call for Bill C-38 to be split into parts and debated separately. Many of these legislative changes will have a drastic impact on Canadians' health and safety and on the accountability of the federal government. It shouldn't be rushed through Parliament without time for careful consideration.
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The budget bill shortens the time frame for environmental assessments and gives the federal government more control over the process. In addition to the obvious environmental consequences, this will hamper the government's ability to meaningfully consult over land claims with Aboriginal Peoples.
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Bill C-38 removes the habitat protection provisions in the Fisheries Act – the cornerstone of environmental protection in Canada. This will drastically weaken the Act and prevent the Department of Fisheries and Oceans from fulfilling its mandate to protect fish and fish habitat.
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The budget bill will repeal The Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act, described by the Labour Minister as unnecessary red tape. The Act was created in the 1930s to set minimum standards for wages and hours of labour for construction workers engaged in projects funded by the federal government such as on military bases, prisons and ports. It takes wages out of competition so that contractors win contracts based on their merits not on their ability to find the cheapest possible labour. This also ties in with another budget bill change that will allow employers to pay temporary foreign workers less than citizens for the same work.
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Bill C-38 removes the requirement for federal contractors to follow employment equity guidelines. During a time of massive job cuts in the federal public service, we expect the government will rely on contractors even more. If implemented, there will no longer be any accountability mechanism in place to ensure that contractors who deal with the federal government have workplaces that are representative of the population. This will severely compromise the rights of women, Aboriginal and racialized workers, as well as workers with disabilities.
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The bill amends the Financial Administration Act to eliminate the requirement for Treasury Board to deliver reports on its human resources and staffing practices including classification, pay of public service employees and reimbursement of travel expenses, policies governing the exercise of authority by deputy heads, grievance administration and whistle blowing. This move undermines accountability to Parliament and transparency to the public.
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The budget bill reduces the Auditor General's mandate. For example, the Auditor General will not longer provide an annual assessment of the reliability of information provided in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's reports. Given the significant cuts to food inspectors, this is not the time to reduce the accountability of an agency charged with our health and safety.
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Sweeping changes to the immigration and refugee system will arbitrarily remove thousands of applicants from the queue and allow corporations to hand-pick immigrants based on their needs. This represents a back-door privatization of the immigration selection system. The government has also announced that it will severely limit health care coverage for refugee claimants – a move that public health officials and doctors are decrying.
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The budget bill attacks charities and environmental organizations by amending the rules for determining the extent to which they engage in political activities. David Suzuki has already raised the alarm on this one, resigning from his own foundation in protest. The Conservative government has been on the attack against organizations that criticize the environmental impact of the tar sands. These provisions amount to a gag order against the charitable sector – threatening organizations with losing their charitable status unless they stop criticizing the government's actions.
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As widely reported in the media, the budget bill raises the eligibility age for Old Age Security from 65 to 67. This means that people will have to work longer, including those in some of the most hazardous occupations, and that the poorest of Canadian seniors will have to wait longer for income support.
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The budget bill allows the government to make changes unilaterally to the Employment Insurance system by regulation. The government has since announced major changes to EI. The new rules aim to push unemployed Canadians off the EI rolls, by forcing them to accept jobs with lower salaries and much further away from their homes. The budget bill will also allow employers to pay Temporary Foreign workers 15 per cent less than what Canadians would make doing the same work. The non-judicial, accessible Employment Insurance Board of Referees with 1,000 part-time members and 32 umpires is being replaced by a 74-member tribunal, only half of which will hear EI disputes. In 2011 alone, the EIRB heard 26,000 appeals. The other half of the tribunal will hear Canada Pension Plan and OAS appeals. These changes are drastic, discriminatory and deserve further debate.
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The budget bill officially closes Rights and Democracy, an internationally renowned human rights organization whose employees are represented by PSAC. This comes after years of interference by the Conservative government into the organization's mandate and operations.
Date Modified : 2012/06/06
