The Ontario NDP is asking the Conservative Party to include anti-scab language in the proposed workplace legislation currently up for debate.
On Wednesday, MPP France Gélinas introduced the Anti-Scab Labour Act, 2023, in the Ontario legislature with co-sponsors MPPs Jennifer French, Wayne Gates, Lisa Gretzky, and Jamie West.
This is the 16th time the NDP has tried to introduce similar legislation in Ontario to prevent workplaces from bringing in replacement workers while their regular employees are on strike.
"It is absolutely appalling that in Ontario, we still have a system that allows employers to lock out workers and use scab workers to take their jobs during that lock-out or during a strike," said Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky.
Currently, British Columbia and Quebec have anti-scab legislation. Ontario had similar laws between 1993 and 1996.
"Scab labour undermines collective bargaining, prolongs labour disputes, and removes the employer's incentive to negotiate in good faith," said Gretzky. "It also divides communities and preys on people desperate to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads."
The sponsors of the bill indicated this legislation could be included in the proposed workplace legislation introduced by MPP Monte McNaughton already up for debate.