OTTAWA — A private members bill that bans companies from brining on replacement workers during workplace strikes is one step closer to becoming law.

The proposed legislation — which is being hailed by labour unions and criticized by businesses, including trucking companies — passed a second reading vote in the House of Commons voted by 167 to 101.

Bill C-257 would revise the Canada Labour Code and make it illegal for federally regulated companies to use replacement workers during a strike or lockout. B.C. and Quebec already have similar provincial laws on the books.

Using bargaining union members who wish to work, contractors, and employees of a related company would also be prohibited. Businesses would be fined $1,000 for breaking the rule.

A law that prohibits federal companies from replacing striking
workers during strikes has a good chance of getting passed

Bloc backbencher Richard Nadeau’s ‘anti-scab’ proposal received unanimous support from his own party and the left-leaning NDP. Only a handful of Conservatives voted in favor. Canadian Press Reports. Most Liberals, who were expected to be the swing voters, also backed the bill.

The proposal — which has been tabled by the Bloc about a dozen times over the years before now — still faces committee review and a final vote in the Commons, where it could still die if the Tories forced all MPs to vote against it.

Nadeau told CP that a similar 30-year-old anti-scab law in Quebec has helped bring the length of labor conflicts down to 16 days from 1992 to 2002, compared with 31 days over the same period under the Canada Labour Code.

However, business groups like the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Trucking Alliance, which represents mostly federally-regulated carriers, insist the opposite is true.

In joint letter to MPs, the CTA and other industry groups cited studies that show that anti-replacement worker legislation results in increases in strike incidence and duration.

Furthermore, the dependability of Canada’s transportation system could be undermined as services may be halted, ports closed and intermodal facilities shut down more frequently as a result of the law.

The latter went on to say such legislation would detract from Canada’s attractiveness as a place to invest, particularly for U.S. investors.

— with files from CP