The BC Federation of Labour is backing the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in its fight against Bill C-23
Dozens of union members have held a rally at Canada Place, protesting against Bill C-23 claiming it’ll deny Canadian workers jobs.
The bill expands the powers of US customs officers doing pre-clearance screening at Canadian airports and other departure points. Workers claim it gives US Homeland Security too much power over Canadian workers’ jobs.
“If the Canadian government says ‘you’re OK to work in Canada,’ the US government should have no say in it,” says Rob Ashton, President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Canada (ILWU), who believes workers have been let down by the Trudeau government.
The BC Federation of Labour president Irene Lanzinger said, “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau likes to paint himself as a progressive. This is an extremely regressive step in terms of our basic human rights.”
Tim McSorley with the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group says the bill would also give Homeland Security agents the ability to carry guns in Canadian ports.
ILWU workers say it’s not too late to pressure the federal government into changing some aspects of the law during the regulatory phase.