In or about December 2014, certification and de-certification procedures applicable to individuals employed by federally-regulated businesses or undertakings were changed by the enactment of government Bill C-525.
Bill C-525 changed the former card-check-based union certification requirements to a system whereby employees could choose whether to certify or decertify a union by way of a mandatory secret ballot vote. Bill C-525 also simplified the decertification process. Specifically, it required evidence that 40% of employees no longer wished to be represented by a union. Prior to this bill, decertification required an employee to claim he/she represented a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit in order to file an application for decertification.
A related private bill, Bill C-377, also introduced tax reporting requirements for labour organizations. In particular, as per Income Tax Act amendments introduced by the bill, labour organizations were required to disclose the details of certain financial transactions and employee compensation, as well as disclose information regarding lobbying, political and non-labour relations activities. These reporting requirements were waived by the current Minister of National Revenue, given the current federal government’s intention to repeal Bill C-377.
Current Bill C-4 would repeal the amendments brought in by bills C-525 and C-377, thereby restoring the previous certification and decertification procedures and eliminating tax reporting requirements introduced by the previous federal government. Changes brought in by Bill C-4 would affect federally regulated employers and labour organizations, as well as change the tax reporting requirements of labour organizations across Canada.
Bill C-4 received third reading in the House of Common on October 19, 2016, and was introduced in the Senate the following day. After receiving a second reading in the Senate on December 15, 2016, the bill was referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. The Committee reported Bill C-4 back to the Senate on February 9, 2017. Bill C-4 is now being considered for third reading in the Senate. Given that this is a government-sponsored bill that has been proceeding through the Senate reasonably smoothly, we expect Bill C-4 to receive third reading and Royal Assent relatively soon.