At least one union, The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), representing  more than 172,000 workers across Canada, has called upon the federal government to vote down a new piece of legislation because it fears the new law will “seriously undermine the right of federal workers to refuse dangerous work.”

They are specifically concerned with some of the new wording introduced in Part 21 of Bill C-9, an omnibus budget bill currently before the Senate National Finance Committee. Part 21 contains proposed amendments to the Canada Labour Code (CLC) so that the code will stipulate that a worker must file a notice of appeal with the Minister of Labour, as opposed to an appeals officer when that worker refuses work he or sheconsiders to be unsafe work, but is overruled by a health and safety officer. Based on the new wording in the legislation, the minister could then “appoint” an appeals officer whom he deems  qualified, whereas under the current code, his authority is to “designate” an appeals officer.

Union officials feel that the proposed amendments would change the definition of the appointment and functions of appeal officers. And while the difference may seem inconsequential on first glance, union officials note that the altered wording would result in significant changes to the process.  For example, the new wording could lead the minister to hire specialized lawyers on a case-by-case basis to serve as appeals officers, rather than the public servants who currently fulfill the appeals function full time. The union worries about the ability of an appointed appeals officer to be impartial and to deal with an issue objectively.

A spokesperson with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada suggests, however, that the appointment of outside experts will actually  serve to “strengthen the independence and impartiality of the appeals process” and streamline the process “to make it more efficient and timely.” Employers and employees will still have the right to appeal decisions, and that employees will still have the right to refuse dangerous work.”