Bill C-39

Bill C-39 passed second reading in the House of Commons 296 to 26, with Liberals and Conservatives voting together. Outside Parliament, almost nobody likes it. The Canadian Labour Congress says it gives Ottawa the broadest strike-intervention power in the G7. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says it ties Ottawa's hands, because a minister could only step in after a strike has started.

Robin Guy made the business case against the bill last week in The Hub. Robin was previously a vice president at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, where he spoke for business during the 2023 West Coast port strike. He joined us to argue it and to look at what last week's federal budget, "Masters of Our Destiny," means for getting things built.

What we got into:

• One clause, one word: when. Section 107 is the part of the Labour Code that lets the minister send a dispute to the federal labour board. Under C-39 that power arrives only after a strike starts. Robin's case: rail takes about ten days to wind down, shippers start rerouting as soon as bargaining opens, and the rail contract expires on 31 December, with West Coast ports to follow next spring.
• Pro-worker for which workers? Andrew remembers the union battles of 1980s Britain. Robin answers with the workers down the supply chain: manufacturers in Brampton, steelworkers, prairie canola farmers, and slaughterhouses that can't move animals. Joseph thinks animal welfare should lead the business community's campaign next time.
• Why not let Parliament vote? On the Labour Congress's alternative, a public-interest panel and a vote before any intervention: back-to-work legislation already takes two or three weeks, and Section 107 is meant to be the tool of last resort.
• Conservatives on the picket line. Pierre Poilievre voted for the bill; three weeks later his MPs voted to repeal Section 107 outright. Robin sees a Conservative caucus unlike any in a generation, and thinks the coalition more likely to crack is Mark Carney's.
• Masters of our destiny. Andrew thinks it sounds like a Star Wars film. Joseph has a split personality about a $62 billion deficit. Robin went looking for tax simplification and for legislation on the Productivity Mega Deduction, and didn't find either.
• Who still makes the case for sound money? Andrew traces the Conservative retreat from Cameron and Osborne to Boris Johnson. Robin: on the economy, the Conservatives have been "out-conservatived."
• The prediction. If C-39 passes as written, Robin expects a strike that hits the economy within eight months. "I hope I'm wrong."

Also discussed: business groups that softened their committee testimony because they want the rest of the bill; cargo rerouting through American ports; whether a strike is "elbows up"; and Michelob Ultra, which is not a sponsor.

Robin's piece in The Hub: https://thehub.ca/2026/11/02/bill-c-39-risks-undermining-the-economy-it-is-meant-to-build/

00:00 Welcome and the number — 296 to 26, the vote that pleased no one
02:01 Introducing Robin Guy — Chamber of Commerce voice on supply chain disruptions
02:16 What's wrong with Bill C-39 — Tying government's hands on labor disruptions
03:07 The ripple effect — Workers beyond the picket line
06:51 Section 107 explained — The guardrails that remove the only tool that matters
10:50 The conservative contradiction — Picket lines and pro-worker positioning
12:36 The downstream workers — Animal welfare, produce, and propane
14:45 Small business versus big business — Who can absorb the disruption?
19:43 Masters of Our Destiny — The budget and the deficit reality
21:08 The deficit debate — Could it be worse, or are we deferring pain?
26:38 The sound money argument — When did conservatives stop making it?
28:43 Tax cuts versus spending — My money, not government money
30:35 The prediction — A major labor disruption within eight months
32:08 Elbows down — Not very elbows up behavior