Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2010-09-30 17:15:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP)",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"2087882\" data-originallang=\"en\">Mr. Speaker, as members will recall from my participation in the debate yesterday, one of the big concerns I have about this free trade agreement is that labour rights, in fact, are part of a side agreement only.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"2087883\" data-originallang=\"en\">Earlier today I heard members of the government side say that this is all right; a side agreement is still part of this free trade deal, so all is well.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"2087884\" data-originallang=\"en\">In fact, all is not well. First of all, the side agreement is completely inadequate, because it simply asks governments to acknowledge the labour laws in their own countries. Under those labour laws, we know that just this last summer there was more anti-labour repression in Panama during which workers were killed, 100 were injured, and 300 more were arrested. Clearly, Panama's labour laws are not up to either Canadian standards or international standards.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"2087885\" data-originallang=\"en\">The big problem with side agreements has been demonstrated in a different kind of labour context. In my own hometown of Hamilton, Local 1005 of the Steelworkers had a side agreement with a company, which they thought the company would honour, in much the same way the government has faith that its side agreements will be honoured. In that side agreement, cost of living increases were guaranteed to pensioners, steelworkers, who had worked hard all of their lives, had bargained pensions, and were counting on those cost of living increases to make ends meet.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"2087886\" data-originallang=\"en\">However, the company decided unilaterally that since it was only a side agreement, it would ignore those obligations. Pensioners now are not getting the cost of living increases.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"2087887\" data-originallang=\"en\">I want to ask the hon. member for <a data-HoCid=\"128786\" href=\"/politicians/dennis-bevington/\" title=\"Dennis Bevington\">Western Arctic</a> whether he agrees with the government that side agreements are good enough to protect workers' interests or whether those side agreements are not worth the paper they are written on.</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"2087882\" data-originallang=\"en\">Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, les d\u00e9put\u00e9s se souviendront de mes interventions au cours du d\u00e9bat hier. Une de mes principales inqui\u00e9tudes relativement \u00e0 cet accord de libre-\u00e9change r\u00e9side dans le fait que les droits du travail sont abord\u00e9s dans un accord auxiliaire seulement.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"2087883\" data-originallang=\"en\">Un peu plus t\u00f4t dans la journ\u00e9e, j'ai entendu des d\u00e9put\u00e9s minist\u00e9riels dire que c'\u00e9tait correct. Un accord auxiliaire, c'est quand m\u00eame une partie de cet accord de libre-\u00e9change, alors tout va bien.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"2087884\" data-originallang=\"en\">En fait, tout ne va pas bien. L'accord auxiliaire est tout \u00e0 fait inad\u00e9quat parce qu'il demande simplement aux deux gouvernements de reconna\u00eetre les lois du travail dans leur pays respectif. Dans le contexte de ces lois du travail, nous savons que l'\u00e9t\u00e9 dernier seulement, la r\u00e9pression contre les travailleurs a encore s\u00e9vi au Panama: certains ont \u00e9t\u00e9 tu\u00e9s, 100 d'entre eux ont \u00e9t\u00e9 bless\u00e9s et 300 autres arr\u00eat\u00e9s. De toute \u00e9vidence, les lois du travail au Panama ne r\u00e9pondent pas aux normes canadiennes ni aux normes internationales. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"2087885\" data-originallang=\"en\">Le grand probl\u00e8me qu'on a avec les accords auxiliaires s'est concr\u00e9tis\u00e9 dans un contexte diff\u00e9rent en mati\u00e8re de travail. Ainsi, dans ma ville, Hamilton, la section locale 1005 du syndicat des m\u00e9tallurgistes avait sign\u00e9 un accord auxiliaire avec une entreprise, dont elle pensait que l'entreprise le respecterait, de la m\u00eame fa\u00e7on que le gouvernement est certain que les accords auxiliaires qu'il a sign\u00e9s seront respect\u00e9s. Cet accord auxiliaire garantissait aux retrait\u00e9s, \u00e0 ces m\u00e9tallurgistes qui avaient travaill\u00e9 dur toute leur vie et n\u00e9goci\u00e9 leurs pensions, des augmentations refl\u00e9tant le co\u00fbt de la vie, et ces gens comptaient sur ces augmentations pour joindre les deux bouts. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"2087886\" data-originallang=\"en\">L'entreprise a cependant d\u00e9cid\u00e9 unilat\u00e9ralement que, \u00e9tant donn\u00e9 qu'il ne s'agissait que d'un accord auxiliaire, elle passerait outre ses obligations. Les retrait\u00e9s aujourd'hui ne re\u00e7oivent pas les augmentations refl\u00e9tant le co\u00fbt de la vie.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"2087887\" data-originallang=\"en\">J'aimerais demander au d\u00e9put\u00e9 de <a data-HoCid=\"128786\" href=\"/politicians/dennis-bevington/\" title=\"Dennis Bevington\">Western Arctic</a> s'il est d'accord avec le gouvernement pour dire que, pour prot\u00e9ger les int\u00e9r\u00eats des travailleurs, les accords auxiliaires suffisent, ou bien s'il pense qu'ils ne valent pas le papier sur lequel ils sont \u00e9crits.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2010/9/30/chris-charlton-2/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/chris-charlton/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/372/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "3320038",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Government Orders",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Canada-Panama Free Trade Act",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "h3": {
        "en": "Second Reading",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2010/9/30/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2010%2F9%2F30%2F"
    }
}