Bill C-247, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code, proposes to amend that Act by repealing section 107. Its stated change is to remove the Minister of Labour’s authority under that section to take measures aimed at promoting conditions favourable to settling an industrial dispute or difference.
The Minister would lose the section 107 power to refer a question to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
The Minister would also lose the power under that section to direct the Board to take any measure the Minister considers necessary.
The bill does not say that the Board’s other powers or the Minister’s powers under other provisions would change.
These are proposed changes, not provisions shown as in force. The supplied material does not state the bill’s status or when it would start.
Workers, employers and unions: The bill would remove one way the Minister can intervene in an industrial dispute under section 107. It does not set out a replacement process or say how disputes would be handled under other provisions.
Minister of Labour and the Canada Industrial Relations Board: The Minister would no longer be able to use the specific referral and direction powers listed in section 107.
Other rights and processes: The supplied text does not propose a ban on strikes, change to employment standards, or new benefit, fee or penalty.
The Canada Labour Code itself was not supplied, so I could not verify the current wording of section 107 or check how it interacts with other provisions.
The bill does not state when the repeal would take effect or describe any transition.
It does not explain whether other laws or Code provisions would give the Minister or the Board similar powers.
The supplied material does not state the bill’s status or whether it has passed.
A possible argument for the bill is that section 107 gives the Minister broad discretion to direct the Board to take any measure the Minister considers necessary. Repealing it would remove that specific power.
The bill would also remove the Minister’s ability under section 107 to refer questions to the Board, limiting the Minister’s role in disputes covered by that section.
One concern is that repeal would remove a tool the Minister can use to promote conditions favourable to settling an industrial dispute.
The bill does not explain what would take the place of the Minister’s referral and direction powers, or how their removal would affect dispute handling.
It is unclear whether similar powers exist elsewhere in the Canada Labour Code or in other laws.