Back-to-Work Bills Could Clog up the House

NDP and Liberal opposition to the strike-ending bills could dominate what little time is left in the first sitting of Parliament.

The Conservative government's plans to pass back-to-work legislation to end the Canada Post and Air Canada strikes could hit a speed bump in the NDP, which is promising to filibuster against what it calls anti-worker bills. The Tories have to pass the bills – along with the nuts-and-bolts budget implementation legislation – before the House of Commons rises for the summer on Thursday. But all opposition parties have come out against the bills, and said they'd use as much time as possible during debates in the House to prevent their passage. While the two bills are still all but guaranteed to pass, the time consumed by the back-to-work debates could prevent the Tories from passing a bill with NDP support that would make it easier to carry out mega-trials.