National Post (National Edition)
Union shadow follows NDP
Beware politicians who preach false piety. I recall covering a British MP, Jonathan Aitken, who promised to fight conflict of interest allegations with the “simple sword of truth and trusty shield of fair play.” He was promptly found to be a serial liar, convicted of perjury and banged up in jail for 18 months.
That’s not to say Tom Mulcair was lying to his audience at a Canadian Club lunch in Ottawa Tuesday. But, to put it charitably, it was pure hoodwinkery.
“The only powerful interest any members of my Cabinet will ever be asked to serve is the public interest,” he said.
Really? Mr. Mulcair may not be the darling of the unions but he leads a party that was founded by the Canadian Labour Congress and the CCF.
Sweaty feet don’t come singly and you don’t get the NDP without their union brothers and sisters.
They’re not so much kin as joined at the hip. Despite electoral financing reforms, the party has twice been told by Elections Canada to pay back money it collected from unions that sponsored events at its national convention.
Mr. Mulcair was enthusiastic in his welcome for the creation of the new super-union Unifor, from the merger of the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communication, Energy and Papermakers’ unions.
But even he wasn’t as gushing as the CEP’s national president, Dave Coles — and no wonder
“Can you imagine what it will mean to the CEP and CAW
They’ve lost sight of what it is they came here to do.
when we’re the first unionized party that governs a country?” he blurted.
The party continues to fight a rearguard action against any reforms to the union movement. NDP MPs like Pat Martin and Alexander Boulerice have been vocal in their criticism of private member’s bills from Conservatives aimed at increasing transparency in the union movement.
Mr. Martin received a donation from the Carpenters’ Union (to which he used to belong) for his legal defence fund, prompting the ethics commissioner to rule he should remove himself from any discussions affecting their issues. He later infuri- ated Conservatives when the same union came before a committee examining bill C-377 (which would require unions to disclose how much they spend on political activities). The Tories argued Mr. Martin should have recused himself and abstained on the vote. Instead he asked what they deemed “softball questions.”
Mr. Boulerice claims that a new private members’ bill introduced by Conservative MP Blaine Calkins, which would require a mandatory secret ballot on union certification, is an attack on workers’ rights and an attempt to drive down wages. Yet certification is an important business — one study suggests the reduction on capital investment is comparable to the impact of a 30% increase in the corporate tax rate.
In his Canadian Club speech, Mr. Mulcair touted the NDP commitment to development (as long as it’s sustainable) and trade (as long as it’s reciprocal) and promised to raise standards, wages and expectations. NDP governments have the best record when it comes to balancing budgets, he said.
But if he is ever elected prime minister he will be obliged to confront Canada’s productivity crisis with one hand tied behind his back. Unions are a well-documented drag on productivity — they drive up the price of labour and the market price of public services; they reduce profitability, decrease spending on research and development, and slow employment growth. Studies in Canada, the U.K. and U.S. suggest unionized companies grow between 3%-4% slower than non-unionized companies.
Mr. Mulcair hit the mark on the ethics file — the old-line parties (Conservatives and Liberals) have become corrupted. “They’ve lost sight of what it is they came here to do. Step by step the old Reformturned-Conservative party has turned its back on its own ideals in the pursuit of power,” he said. “Instead of changing the culture of entitlement here, they’ve become part of it.”
But to claim that the days of entitlement would come to an end with an NDP government is so much sanctimonious clap-trap. The best he can hope for is that the old Bolsheviks from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers take their boots off at the door of 24 Sussex Dr. before making themselves at home.