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Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and
the broader progressive movement. We
mobilized our local leaders and members
to fight against anti-labour and working
family legislation such as Bill C-377
(the so-called Union Transparency Act),
the Fair Elections Act (which was anything
but), and Bill C-525, which would
have crippled the ability of public sector
unions to organize.
The International has become more
involved in Canadian provincial elections.
In every provincial election since
the last Convention, the International
has worked with our local unions to
communicate with members—providing
them with information on hotbutton
issues within their provinces or
simply encouraging them to get out the
vote. In Ontario, we successfully fought
back against Tim Hudak’s Conservative
agenda and his proposal to introduce the
first Canadian version of so-called rightto-work
legislation. In Saskatchewan,
the IATSE was part of a legal challenge
to Bills 5 and 6, introduced by the rightwing
Saskatchewan Party, which sought
to limit the right to strike. The Supreme
Court of Canada since struck down the
legislation and in so doing enshrined the
right to strike as protected by the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Canada saw another shift in 2015 when
the New Democratic Party in Alberta
was elected, ending a 44-year rule of the
Conservative Party there.
In 2015, IATSE political engagement
in Canada reached new heights in the
federal election, which saw the defeat of
the Conservative Party and the election
of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and
the Liberal Party of Canada. The IATSE
was involved in a remarkable range of
activities during that election. For the
first time, the IATSE registered as a third
party under the Elections Act which gave
us greater flexibility in communicating
with IA members on election issues. The
IATSE and our Locals raised $90,000 in
less than two weeks to support Engage
Canada, which advocated for progressive,
pro-labour policies. The IATSE was an
active member of Up for Debate, which
pushed for national political leaders to
debate women’s issues. We were one of
the organizing groups that hosted the National
Culture Debate. Importantly, our
Canadian International Vice Presidents
also criss-crossed the country to take
part in the CLC Leaders Canvass, which
worked with local members to canvass for
pro-labour politicians.
While the third-place finish of the
New Democratic Party was a disappointment,
the defeat of the Conservative Party
was a watershed moment. The governing
Liberal Party has reached out to Canadian
labour organizations and has sought
to create a new, respectful relationship.
Since taking office, the Liberal Party has
repealed repressive legislation, introduced
several pro-worker initiatives, enhanced
funding for the arts, and—most
significantly—introduced the first improvements
to the Canada Pension Plan
in twenty-five years. While not every decision
of the current Canadian government
has been supported by labour, it is a far
cry from the opposition working people
faced under the previous Conservative
government.
These were hard-fought victories,
which reinforce our belief that political
engagement cannot be limited to
election seasons. The IATSE engaged a
lobbyist to help our efforts and became
fully involved in the Canadian political
and legislative conversation. The International
(and local leaders) take part
in an IA lobby day twice each year. This
affords us an opportunity to speak with
senior politicians of every political stripe
to ensure they appreciate the concerns
of IATSE members. And our Canadian
IATSE officials have been asked to testify
before Senate and Parliamentary Committees
on various pieces of legislation.
The IATSE assumed a lead role in representing
organized labour in the lobbying
efforts to introduce changes to the Temporary
Foreign Worker Program, which
was threatening to cause serious harm to
the motion picture and television industry
in Canada.
Still our work continues. The IATSE
is part of a lobbying effort to bring about
much needed changes to some of the
most restrictive labour and health and
safety legislation in the country. Thirteen
IA representatives from all regions
of Canada took part in national labour
lobby days organized by the CLC in 2016
and 2017, and we are engaged in the
current federal review of Canada’s digital
landscape and possible amendments to
the Broadcast Act and the Telecommunications
Act.
As demonstrated above, our political
programs have been visibly transformed
in recent years. With the growth of our
operations, the IATSE has shown that we
can stave off attacks on working families.
We can mobilize IA members in electoral
politics, push forward legislative priorities,
and join our allies to fight attacks
against union members at all levels.
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