For Your
Information
Omnibus Bill 21 -- A Broad Assault on the People of Alberta
 
Bill 21 is one of the two omnibus bills introduced by
the Kenney government in Alberta on October 28. It contains amendments
to 17 different legislative Acts, and contains within it the new Public
Sector Employers Act.
The legislation contains a broad number of attacks on the right of
citizens, including freezing assistance to
seniors and the most vulnerable people in society, making education
more unaffordable for a growing number of young people, and eliminating
the cap on electricity rates. Bill 21 also makes significant changes to
labour legislation, and launches an unprecedented assault on physicians.
 To
try and justify what cannot be justified, the Kenney government claims
that starving social programs of funding and the staff needed to
deliver care and services, is needed in order to preserve public
services. It paints a picture of a crisis of titanic proportions, with
the current debt only the tip of the iceberg. But experience shows that
the
danger to public services comes from the neo-liberal anti-social
offensive pursued by governments of all stripes which serve narrow
private supranational interests. Wrecking and privatization of public
services and the politicization of narrow private interests all
exacerbate the problems. They do not provide solutions.
The intent of the changes to labour legislation in Bill
21 is to deprive the workers of the ability to deploy the strength of
their numbers and organizations. It is their striving to see justice
done and their resolve to defend the rights of all which will open a
path forward in this situation. By seeking to deprive public sector
workers of any
meaningful participation in their terms of employment, the aim is to
deprive all working people of their rights.
When all avenues of good faith negotiations are blocked,
the state is resorting to state force and violence to impose terms of
employment on the working people. This is extremism against the working
class, and the working people say No!
It Must Not Pass!
Alberta's omnibus legislation, Bill 21 amends the
following legislation:
Alberta Health Care Insurance Act
Alberta Housing Act
Alberta Utilities Commission Act
An Act to Cap Regulated Electricity Rates
Employment Standards Code
Financial Administration Act
Fiscal Planning and Transparency Act
Income and Employment Supports Act
Labour Relations Code
Police
Act
Post-Secondary Learning Act
Provincial Offences Procedures Act
Public Sector Employer Act (new legislation)
Public Service Act
Public Service Employees Relations Act
Seniors Benefits Act
Student Financial Assistance Act
This article was published in
Number 26 - November 13, 2019
Article Link:
For Your
Information: Omnibus Bill 21 -- A Broad Assault on the People of Alberta
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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