As Heather McPherson, Edmonton Strathcona MP and NDP national leader candidate, lands the Fair Representation Bill (C-259) on the Commons, it opens dialogue of how unions interact with employers.
McPherson has targeted employer unions and has taken shots at the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC).
She slams company unions saying they finance, influence or control employees and drive down wages, benefits and erode collective bargaining.
“Unions cannot work with employers,” she said, as the bill was launched.
CLAC executive director Wayne Prins takes issue with her statements.
“For her to suggest there is no place for collaboration in labour relations is out of touch with how labour works,” he said, pointing to the Canadian Labour Congress which emphasizes social dialogue and constructive engagement between parties.
CLAC openly acknowledges that it is different.
“We think differently than other unions,” its website proclaims. It is known to talk more and strike less.
“We prefer not to use the strike tool – but it is an important tool,” said Prins. “We use it sparingly.”
Prins denies CLAC is undermining worker rights and benefits as any collective agreement can be voted down. Since its inception in 1952, CLAC claims it has negotiated and ratified over 8,000 collective agreements with over 3,500 bargaining units certified by provincial and federal labour boards.
McPherson’s private members bill proposes an amendment to the Canada Labour Code to investigate where it is believed a company is influencing employees.
Prins called the private member’s bill redundant.
“There are already safeguards in place.”
Currently both provincial and federal labour codes in Canada prohibit employers or a designate from influencing, dominating or interfering with the formation or administration of trade unions as it constitutes unfair labour practices.
Prins sees McPherson’s bill as “desperate” attempts to discredit CLAC and clinch the NDP federal leadership bid.
McPherson is one of five NDP leadership candidates hoping to lead the NDP back to power after the last national election crashed the party to seven seats from 24.
The NDP lost official party status, seats on government committees and government funding for house officials. The NDP will select its next leader at the Winnipeg Convention held from March 27 to 29. By January’s end, McPherson was not the lead fundraiser, an indication of candidate support.
Prins said CLAC members are on target with other union wages, but disparities occur.
“We are independent of other agreements – some wages are higher and some are lower,” he said, but most are even.
“As a general statement to allege that CLAC is always below other unions, that is not true and we are involved in collective agreements that bear us out.”
It is that independence that puts a target on CLAC.
“We are non-partisan,” said Prins, as CLAC does not channel funds to political parties.
As well, CLAC does not sign no-raid agreements between unions.
“Competition between unions is healthy,” said Prins as it provides union accountability. “If there is no fear of another union replacing you then there is no accountability.”
Just as CLAC has picked up traditional union locals (labour press terms it poaching), it has also taken hits – an indication of competitive shifting on the labour front.
The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 955 took 815 of CLAC’s members in December 2025 at OEM Remanufacturing in Edmonton.
But despite the loss of the 20-year CLAC local, Prins maintains CLAC is on a growth path and over the next five years, membership will surge upward from its current 60,000 members in construction and other industries.
Traditional unionization has been on the decline. According to the Independent Contractors and ȵes Association, Canada’s unionized construction sector is slightly more than 30 per cent since 2000 but is inflated by Quebec’s government policy of unionization. In both B.C. and Alberta, the union coverage rate in construction is significantly lower – below 15 per cent in most years.
CLAC clashes with traditional unions and its endings up in court go deep; it was originally denied certification as Christian was seen as excluding other faiths. In 2018, it unsuccessfully fought in court against limiting major B.C. government contracts to 19 building trades.
McPherson has cited a 2002 Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board ruling that CLAC was not a trade union.
Prins maintains its only part of the story. The board, plus a supreme court ruling, decided CLAC did not meet the definition of a “trade union” under province’s Trade Union Act recognizing only 14 international skilled trade or craft trade construction unions. Prins said the decision excludes CLAC and all other Canadian unions from representing construction workers.
McPherson has also cites a Manitoba case where a construction employer fired a CLAC union employee for promoting another union. The employer was found guilty of unfair practice.
Prins said McPherson “fails to mention that CLAC took that same company to arbitration to defend the worker at the centre of that case from unjust termination.”
CLAC continues to rankle traditional unions as it blurs traditional job lines. It supports wall-to-wall bargaining to avoid jurisdiction disputes. It also provides for multi-skilling opportunities so that workers, with more than one journeyman skill, can transfer between tasks.
“For 74 years, we feel we have been ahead of the game,” said Prins.
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