Featur e
provincial election. It was a reminder of how labour laws in Canada fail to protect individual workers – many of whom support the Ontario PC Party – from abuse at the hands of powerful mega-unions bosses. It was also a reminder of the growing influence unions
The New Norm? I
ORGANIZATIONS IN CANADA POLITICAL ACTION By Joseph C. Ben- Ami
n April of this year the Ontario English Catholic Teach- ers Association (OECTA) revealed that it would be in- creasing its members’ dues by $60 to fund an anti-Pro- gressive Conservative Party campaign during this fall’s
have over the political process in Canada, influence that union leaders are increasingly brazen in wielding. In 2003 a group calling itself the Working Families Co- alition organized a slick advertising campaign aimed at pre- venting the PC Party of Ontario, then under the leadership of Ernie Eves, from being re-elected. The name of the group invited members of the public to assume that the campaign – entitled “Not This Time Ernie” – was financed by contri- butions from families or pro-family citizens unhappy with the allegedly “anti-family” policies of the government un- der Eves, and especially Mike Harris’, leadership. In fact, the Working Families Coalition had nothing to do with either families working or otherwise. It was a front group for several different unions including the Building Trades Council of Ontario, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, the Canadian Auto Workers, the On- tario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, the Interna- tional Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 128, the Interna- tional Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Millwrights, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 793, the Painters District Council 46, and the Ontario Pipe Trades Council. The Working Families Coalition was not particularly
interested in promoting pro-family policies either. As the then-president of the CAW, Buzz Hargrove, explained to Ian Urquhart of the Toronto Star prior to the 2007 election, “Our goal is to make sure the Tories don’t get elected here. We’re trying to make sure we don’t end up with another Mike Harris government.” And they were prepared to spend big money to achieve their goals. In 2003 and 2007 the Working Families Coali-
40 Campaigns & Elections | Canadian Edition
tion spent in excess a combined total of $7 million to defeat the Conservatives. To put that into perspective, consider that the Tories spent $6 million and $7 million in 2003 and 2007 respectively while the Liberals spent $6.3 million and $8 million. The NDP only spent a combined $7.3 million over both elections. Emboldened by the success of Ontario’s Working Fami- lies Coalition, union leaders in Alberta decided to create their own front group called Albertans for Change. Com- prised of at least five big labour organizations – the Alberta Building Trades Council, the Alberta Federation of Labour, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, the Health Sci- ences Association of Alberta and the United Nurses of Al- berta – Albertans for Change spent an estimated $2 million working to defeat the Conservative government of Ed Stel- mach in 2008. That may seem a small number, except that the governing Progressive Conservatives themselves only
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