The Conservatives have become the masters of stuffing as much as possible into their budget implementation bills.
Tuesday was no exception, when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty fired the government's latest torpedo to undermine Canada's labour laws.
The budget implementation act will make it illegal for any bargaining unit within the federal government to strike if it provides an "essential service." And who gets to decide? Good question.
The threshold is 80 per cent or more of the positions are considered necessary to provide the essential service. There's a catch, of course. The proposed legislation says that "the employer has the exclusive right to determine that a service is essential and the number of positions required to provide that service."
How convenient. Stay tuned, though. The courts may have something to say.
Photo: joeycoleman. Used under a Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0 licence.