Three days ago, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) which represents the majority of Canada's civil service employees went on strike.
I first learned of this through the Facebook page of a childhood friend in my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. News from Canada generally doesn't generate a lot of interest in the U.S. with some notable exceptions such as the so-called truckers' convoy from early 2022. I do, however, pride myself on keeping tabs on what is happening in my home and native land, but the fact that I found out about a significant national story through a Facebook page is a reminder of how far removed I've become of life north of the border. I have lived in the United States for over 23 years and have not set foot on Canadian soil since August 2014. Eventually this will have to be rectified, but that is another story for another day.
This is the third time Canadian civil servants have gone on a national work stoppage. The first time was in September 1991. I remember this one vividly as I had just moved to Ottawa to begin my freshman year at Carleton University. The strike lasted one week before the Tory government of Brian Mulroney passed back to work legislation. A couple of personal notes. First, the President of PSAC at the time was a man named Daryl Bean who would get to know a bit in 1995 when I was involved with the late Alexa McDonough's successful bid for the federal NDP leadership. I later became a PSAC member by virtue of being a public sector employee in the late 1990's first with Statistics Canada and then later Revenue Canada.
Public sector workers in Canada would go on strike again in October 2004. At the time, there was a Liberal minority government headed up Paul Martin. This time around there was no government intervention as PSAC and the Treasury Board reached a negotiated settlement.
As for the strike itself, the primary dispute is over wages. The Government of Canada has offered a 9% wage increase over three years while PSAC is seeking is 13.5% increase over the same period. There are also outstanding issues on the question of seniority and remote work. PSAC presented a comprehensive offer the day after the strike began but Canada's Treasury Board has indicated they will only respond to one portion of the offer at an unspecified date. Sounds like the Trudeau government is bargaining in bad faith.
Of course, the Trudeau government is counting on resentment of public sector workers from people who believe they are overpaid fat cats. However, a majority of Canadians support the public sector workers - at least for now. A goodly number of Canadians understand that what the public sector workers want for themselves, they want for all workers. A good deal for public sector workers could mean a good deal down the line for unionized private sector workers and eventually non-unionized private sector workers.
The most optimal outcome would be a negotiated settlement, but a prolonged strike could prove damaging to the country and to Trudeau's political future. Trudeau is currently in an accord with the NDP but NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has made it clear the party will not back to work legislation.
One would think the Tories would ostensibly be sympathetic to back to work legislation and voted with the Liberals when back to work legislation ended a port strike in Montreal in April 2021. But the Tories are under new management and Pierre Poilievre isn't inclined to help Trudeau out of a crisis. However, Poilievre has long supported U.S. style right-to-work laws and, if there is a prolonged strike, I can see Poilievre joining forces with Trudeau to end the strike.
For better or for worse, one way or the other I don't see this strike lasting more than two weeks.
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