Regressive Features of Bill 61Through Bill 61 -- An Act to restart Quebec's economy and to mitigate the consequences of the public health emergency declared on 13 March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Legault government seeks executive power for another two years to violate and override existing law in order to fast-track the construction of 202, and possibly more, public infrastructure projects such as schools, seniors' residences, road work and public transit. The bill contains regressive features that many have denounced as arbitrary such as the continuing power to deprive public sector workers of their right to working conditions acceptable to themselves within negotiated collective agreements. Violates Environment Quality ActArticle 15 of the bill states that the government may through executive dictate declare that provisions of the Environment Quality Act will not apply to certain projects. Bill 61 gives the government executive the power to single out projects to be sped up and prescribed with provisions replacing those in the existing Environment Quality Act. With this power, government executive regulations become law according to whatever the authority wants. This means the government can arbitrarily according to its whim, and possibly to accommodate powerful private interests, override and violate legal provisions in the Environment Quality Act. Violates Expropriation ActIn cases of expropriation of the property of individuals to make way for economic projects, executive authority under Bill 61 can declare illegal any legal challenge of the expropriating party's right to expropriate under the Expropriation Act. The government says this arbitrary power to deny rights in violation of existing law is needed under the pragmatic hoax of speeding up economic projects. Violates Act Respecting Contracting by Public BodiesRegarding the awarding of public contracts, the bill says that the government may by regulation or on the recommendation of the Treasury Board determine as acceptable certain actions that are in fact in contradiction with the Act Respecting Contracting by Public Bodies. This could mean the elimination of public calls for tenders thus facilitating the awarding of contracts to specific monopolies according to executive fiat. This arbitrary executive power is not new per se as it already exists and has been used. What is new is that the bill would now enshrine this arbitrary executive power in law declaring it above any existing regulations. This provision in the bill has already caused an uproar as it revives and brings to the fore the memory in Quebec of open ugly corruption in the awarding of public contracts to private interests in return for financing of certain political parties. The uproar has forced the government at this point to declare that the power to restrict public calls for tenders will apply only to those projects involving municipal bodies. Extends Public Health Emergency IndefinitelyAmong other things, the declaration of a public health emergency on March 13 gave power to the government executive to cancel negotiated collective agreements with health care and social service workers in order to unilaterally change their working conditions. This attack on workers' rights has been loudly condemned. Bill 61 introduces a clause to extend indefinitely the public health emergency and its anti-worker powers. In effect, the indefinite extension of the emergency measures contradicts the Public Health Act under which the public health emergency was declared. The legal measure in the Act says that a public health emergency is effective for a maximum period of 10 days. The government must then renew the emergency and renew it again every 10 days for as long as it deems necessary or for 30 days with the consent of the National Assembly. A government proposed amendment to Bill 61 says the emergency and its arbitrary attacks on public sector workers will continue until October 2020 and longer if necessary. Provides Government with Immunity from ProsecutionAs was the case with the declaration of a public health emergency and the powers that it gives, the bill is framed to provide total immunity for the government executive. The preamble of the bill explicitly says, "Immunity from prosecution is granted to the Government, a minister, a public body or any other person who performs an act in good faith in exercising powers introduced by this bill or implementing measures taken under those powers." This creates a very dangerous situation for the people and Quebec society. The pandemic and declaration of a health emergency and now the reopening of the economy are being used to further concentrate political power in fewer hands, which are subordinate to narrow private interests. For example, with this bill the government may decide that safety training and standards in construction are regulations hindering the mitigation of the consequences of the pandemic and the reopening of the economy. This argument has already been used in the construction and other sectors, eroding health and safety standards and putting workers and the broad public at great risk. Enshrining these regressive practices in law and providing those enforcing them with immunity are cause for serious concern. (From TML Weekly, July 4, 2020 - No. 24)
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