Posted: Tuesday, 6 October 2009

The Canadian Labour Congress is pleased to announce a major victory for working people. All the consequential amendments to the two bankruptcy laws that were required to implement the full intent of the Wage Earner Protection Program Act have now been completed and came into force on September 18, 2009.

In January 2009, the provisions of the Wage Earner Protection Program Act relating to payment of severance and termination pay came into effect.

A key feature is the new provision in the CCAA laws that will protect our collective agreements in bankruptcies: “Any collective agreement between an employer and a union shall remain in force, unless the agreement is amended by agreement of the parties. There is no provision for the Court to disclaim, terminate or revise a collective agreement.”

In late 2005, Bill C-55 was passed in the dying days of the Liberal government. However, to avoid the Senate holding up the Bill, it was not put in force until consequential amendments to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) could be completed and passed.

We continued to work on the subsequent amendments needed with our allies in Parliament. Through hard advocacy work, in 2008 changes were developed with
Bill C-12 that were necessary to protect our collective agreements and ensure unremitted pension contributions also received super-priority in bankruptcies.

Due to the hard work of the labour movement, working with allies in Parliament and keeping the pressure up, workers in Canada have basic protection in the event their company goes bankrupt. With your support, a strong and focused Canadian Labour Congress campaign was able to amplify the voices of the affiliates in our parliamentary work.