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On February 19, Jean Boulet, Quebec's Minister of Labour, tabled Bill 89, an attack on Quebec workers' right to strike. All the province's unions have denounced this bill, accusing it of undermining the constitutional right to free association.
With this bill, Boulet gives himself the right to force workers back to work in sectors that are not considered essential. Education, the municipal sector, the private sector—nothing is spared by the minister repeatedly accused of favouring the interests of employers.
In Quebec, the year 2025 has already been punctuated by several labour disputes, notably in daycare centres, school transportation and the hotel industry. These sectors are likely to be joined by construction, public transport and municipal blue-collar workers in the coming months.
If Bill 89 is adopted, the Minister of Labour could suspend these strikes and impose binding arbitration at the bargaining tables in question. This kind of measure considerably reduces the bargaining power of unionized workers.
The recent labour dispute at Canada Post is a case in point. Since the suspension of their strike by the federal government, the postal workers have been caught in a sham negotiation in which management is blocking any progress.
Negotiations with the nurses of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), which dragged on until spring 2024, are another case in point. The requirement for essential services to be maintained in the event of a strike renders pressure tactics in the healthcare sector ineffective.
In Bill 89, the Minister of Labour takes his cue from essential services legislation. In fact, it proposes to invoke criteria on minimum services to be maintained during labour disputes in any sector.
Many in the labour movement have accused the CAQ government of seeking revenge against the Administrative Labour Tribunal. The Quebec government suffered a setback from the Tribunal in 2023 during the strike at Quebec City's public transit service.
The CAQ had demanded that bus service be maintained during Quebec City's Summer Festival. The court refused to recognize the bus service as essential, and thus to suspend the strike.
During the presentation of his bill, Boulet also mentioned that it would apply to the education sector, citing the need to protect the most vulnerable students.
According to the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement, which represents nearly 67,000 teachers in the province, strikers are unfairly blamed for the austerity policies resulting from government action.
“If we want to be concerned about the needs of the most vulnerable populations, we must remember that what has hurt Quebec students, both young and adult, is the chronic under-investment in public schools over the past 20 years.”
“Restricting the right to strike means reducing our members' ability to make their voices heard. Pressure tactics are very limited in education. It's fundamental for workers to maintain the balance of power between the union side and the state employer.”
For her part, Caroline Senneville, president of the CSN, accuses the CAQ of “declaring war” on workers and drawing inspiration from methods challenged in the courts. “While the Minister of Labour's recent interventions in Ottawa are currently being challenged in the courts, it's very risky to go there now.”