Feds to transit union: Obey work-to-rest rules

Transport minister John Baird has waded in to Ottawa labour relations with a move that is sure to upset the leadership of ATU 279. From a Canadian Press story:

The federal government is intervening again in an Ottawa municipal transit dispute by imposing federal hours-of-work rules on the city's bus drivers.

This comes after the transit union believed that issue -- limiting the length of drivers' shifts -- would be part of ongoing arbitration to settle outstanding issues left unresolved by the 53-day strike. More from the story:

[Baird] says such long shifts are clearly a safety issue and he can't see how people can object to a rule making 22 hours of work illegal.

"I've got an important responsibility to the safety not just of the travelling public, to the bus drivers themselves, other motorists, to pedestrians, to cyclists," he said.

The rules will take effect quite soon:

Baird said the new rules will be published in the Canada Gazette on Saturday and there will be 30 days for all sides to comment.

"We'll listen to what the parties and what the public has to say, but fatigue kills and I just simply in all good conscience couldn't sit by and do nothing," Baird said.

NDP looks to protect transit operators

Throughout the transit strike, Public Transit in Ottawa strived to discourage any acts of violence against bus drivers when service resumed. Most readers agreed. Thankfully, there have been no serious reports of assault in the last few weeks.

Nevertheless, such acts do occur. And two MPs have introduced bills in the House of Commons this year that look to deal with them under the Criminal Code of Canada.

NDP MPs Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster, B.C.) and Judy Wasylycia-Leis (Winnipeg North, Man.) have both introduced private member's bills during the current session of parliament to add provisions to the Criminal Code.

Julian introduced Bill C-314 (read here) and Wasylycia-Leis followed with Bill C-333 (read here).

Julian's bill amends subsections 231(4) by creating a new classification of first-degree murder that applies to offences committed against public transit operators. It also amends subsection 268(2) to strengthen the sentences in such cases.

Both Julian and Wasylycia-Leis want to add public-transit operators to subsection 270(1), which would provide for harsher sentences when operators are subject to aggravated assault.

Earlier today, Wasylycia-Leis was kind enough to offer us a few minutes of her time and her thoughts about the necessity of such bills.

"Members of the [Winnipeg transit workers] union -- and this goes back a number of years -- started coming to see me about the kind of incidents they were dealing with, and the growing number of assaults that bus drivers under Winnipeg transit were experiencing," she started.

"The numbers they gave to me continue to show the dire need for change. If you go back over the last 15 years, the number of assaults per month per year that are endured by Winnipeg transit operators has gone up significantly. It appears to be growing.

"In the last three years in Winnipeg, we were dealing with between 30 and 45 incidents per year. Bus drivers were experiencing this, and feeling nobody was paying attention. And transit drivers were treated differently than other, similar professions in the field -- like peace officers."

Her bill, she said, hopes to change the criminal code so that bus drivers are treated in a similar manner to peace offices.

"This will send a message to people who think it's open season on transit operators."

Julian read Bill C-314 into the record on Feb. 11, and Wasylycia-Leis followed with Bill C-333 on March 3. Below are their speeches to the House at their bills' respective first readings.

Julian on C-314:

Mr. Speaker, more and more serious incidents of violence toward transit workers are occurring across the country. We have seen incidents in Vancouver, Calgary, Mississauga, and Halifax. We have heard recently about a number of different incidents where bus drivers and transit workers have been assaulted.

This bill would create a new category within the Criminal Code that would ensure the protection of public transportation workers by creating a separate first degree murder offence and increasing the punishment for aggravated assault when a victim is a public transportation worker.

Every day the women and men who run our public transportation systems across the country do their utmost to make sure that Canadians arrive at work safely. We must ensure that their workplace is safe. That is why I am moving the bill today.

And Wasylycia-Leis on C-333:

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present this bill which aims to amend the Criminal Code so that those convicted of assaulting the operators of buses, street cars, rail and light rail vehicles and ferries would receive the same penalties as currently apply in the cases of assaults of pilots and peace officers.

We know that millions of Canadians depend upon the skill and protection of transit drivers each day and we value their service to our communities, yet as the law stands, these workers regularly endure threats and attacks.

Since 9/11 we have become increasingly aware of the targeting of mass transit vehicles and the vulnerability of their operators. This bill is in the spirit of trying to protect our public service workers who transport people in various ways and we want to ensure their safety.

Although this bill was written and introduced in the last session, prior to the tragic death of Tim McLean, who was beheaded on a bus coming from Edmonton to Winnipeg, and although we do not know whether this bill in fact would have any bearing on that case, we are reminded, each and every one of us, about the importance of safety on our public transit systems.

Julian is simply re-introducing a bill that he brought forward in 2007 (Bill C-473), and which he introduced to the House on Nov. 13 of that year. In that speech, he provides more statistics about the plight of bus operators:

Mr. Speaker, this is an act to amend the Criminal Code to protect public transit workers. A recent survey showed that 36% of bus drivers and transit operators have experienced some form of physical assault. In Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia there are about 240 physical attacks on drivers every year. In the greater Toronto region, it is more than one a day. The lives of Canadians are in their hands. The least that we could do is move to protect them.

Both active private member's bills have relatively poor chances of passing into law, but Wasylycia-Leis said that she hopes that parties across the House of Commons will support the their intent. Her hope is that the government will include the provisions in a major crime bill.

Parliament plays poker: McGregor

If you want to read about the negotiations in the halls of Parliament that effectively forced the City and ATU 279 to reach a deal before they could be legislated back to work, look no further than Ottawa Citizen hill reporter Glen McGregor's story in today's edition.

McGregor conveys a sense of cooperation in the House of Commons that, only eight weeks ago, would have been unforseeable. As far as TransitOttawa.ca can tell, this city's transit strike was the first time this calendar year that all parties on the Hill agreed about anything.

Oh, and you'll have to read the story to get the poker reference. It's all about bluffing and calling bluffs. Real dramatic stuff.

Text of Bélanger's request

Ottawa-Vanier Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger requested the debate on ending the transit strike that will take place later tonight (watch for our liveblog).

Below is the text of the official request that Bélanger made in the House a few minutes after 3 p.m. yesterday:

Mr. Speaker, I am asking that you consider allowing us to hold an emergency debate in this House—today or tomorrow, at the latest—to discuss the strike in the national capital region, which began on December 10.

This is the 50th day of a strike that has paralyzed our community and had a negative impact on hundreds of thousands of our citizens. From the beginning of this strike, all members of this House representing an affected riding, no matter their political affiliation, have received hundreds of comments from individuals in truly deplorable situations: students forced to consider quitting school, seniors practically shut in because they no longer have access to public transportation and cannot go anywhere, and small businesses in our community that are suffering greatly.

We believe that it is very important for the government to be fully aware of this rather urgent situation.

The role of the government is twofold. The government has jurisdiction in this instance because this is an interprovincial service that is being offered by OC Transpo. Because it crosses into Quebec, the jurisdiction falls onto the federal government. The government has intervened in this in the sense of forcing a vote but it is important for people to know what the intentions of the government are, if any, in pursuing this matter. People need to know whether there is to be any hope from those where the jurisdiction lies.

The second important reason, which is the one I raised yesterday in the House and which the President of the Treasury Board did not even answer but referred it to a colleague, is that the government is also the employer of tens of thousands of people who are finding it extremely difficult in these circumstances. If we have a day like today, where we have a snowfall, it is almost a permanent gridlock out there and it is affecting everybody.

I believe we should address this and consider options available to the government and consider options that may be brought forward to put pressure on both parties, not taking sides here but taking the side of the population. It would be an important occasion for members of this House, who are concerned and who represent over a million people affected by this, to have the opportunity of putting to the government and for the government to respond, to figure a way out of this situation and figure a way forward for the betterment of conditions for our fellow citizens.

Feds tackle transit: Time for another TransitOttawa.ca liveblog

According to the always-reliable website of the Parliament of Canada, tomorrow's emergency debate regarding the ongoing transit strike (now coming to the end of Day 50) will commence at 6:30 p.m.

Assuming lots of local MPs speak as a means of informing their fellow, less-local members about the ins-and-outs of this strike and its effect on Ottawa residents, our benevolent parliamentarians might well burn some midnight oil.

What does this mean for TransitOttawa.ca? Well, it means we're going to have a long night liveblogging the proceedings. Because we are going to do that. The blog should go live right before debate opens early tomorrow evening.

Ambrose to propose back to work legislation UPDATED (see end of post)

The Ottawa Citizen broke this news minutes ago:

OTTAWA — The House of Commons will take up the question of Ottawa's transit strike in an emergency debate on Thursday night, Speaker Peter Milliken has ordered.

The move came at the request of Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger, who represents Ottawa-Vanier.

There is a lot to say about such a debate. Members of Parliament from across Canada could conceivably enter a debate that concerns a large number of Canadians in a very concentrated location. Perhaps parties will stack their respective allotted times for debate with local MPs, or perhaps not.

Little information is available about the nature of the debate. It could be a take-note debate, wherein no binding votes are taken (similar debates occurred involving Canada's involvement in the mission in Afghanistan).

No matter what, federal politicians of all political colours will enter their opinions into the record, and what they say could have significant consequences for Ottawans.

UPDATE: David Reevely is looking into nature of the debate, according to his Twitter: "Parliament to hold emergency debate on Ottawa transit strike. Working out whether that means more than a gabfest."

UPDATE AGAIN: Apparently this won't be a gabfest. The Citizen and CBC are reporting that labour minister Rona Ambrose will introduce back-to-work legislation that, she hopes, will receive the support of the opposition Liberals.

An Ambrose quotation from the Citizen:

"As of last night, the talks have stalled and they are at a stalemate and it is my belief that when the government sees a situation where there is clearly no compromise or no flexibility being shown by either side to reach an agreement, it is our obligation to act," [Ambrose] told reporters on Parliament Hill. "I'm prepared to act at this time, I'm prepared to introduce back to work legislation. However, I do need the support of the opposition. So I have approached the Liberal Party and asked them for that support. As you know, if we do introduce back-to-work legislation, we will need those votes to pass it in the House."

The Sun reports that NDP MP Paul Dewar was initially reluctant to lend full support to the move.

Dewar said his party would prefer to see Ambrose name an arbitrator - a move that, he says, would halt the strike immediately.

ONE MORE UPDATE: This is straight from one of the Citizen staff who knows more than most, the aforementioned Reevely, as he dictated to Twitter: "Best understanding: Emergency debate on bus strike IS a gabfest; legislation proceeds on a separate track. Maybe faster, probably slower."

So much for federal inaction on the strike. Stay tuned.