September 15, 2009�

Yesterday, on the first day of the sitting of the Legislature, MLA Gerald Hawranik grilled the Minister of Labor in Question Period about her lack of interest in the lockout of nearly 300 employees at the Tembec Paper Mill in Powerview – Pine Falls. He called on the Minister of Labor to get involved in the dispute and to use her authority to get Tembec back to the table to negotiate a fair and equitable collective agreement. He further demanded that the Minister of Labor appoint a mediator or an arbitrator to end the lockout for the benefit of the employees, and for all of Northeastern Manitoba.

The questions and answers were recorded in Hansard, the official publication of the Manitoba Legislature and attached to this News Release is a copy of the exchange.

HANSARD – September 14, 2009
Question Period

Tembec
Employee Lock-Out
Mr. Gerald Hawranik (Lac du Bonnet): From January through August of this year, Tembec laid off its employees for a total of 12 weeks. On September the 1st, it imposed a lockout on its employees and now 300 people are out of work in Powerview-Pine Falls.
I ask the Minister of Labour: Is she going to get the parties together to negotiate a collective agreement or is she content to sit on the sidelines and watch families in Powerview-Pine Falls suffer?
Hon. Nancy Allan (Minister of Labour and Immigration): Well, this is a very important issue, and I appreciate the opportunity to inform the member. I know that he’s very concerned about this issue and is representing his constituency, and we on this side of the House are just as concerned, Mr. Speaker. And I want him to know that we have our conciliation services working with the employer and with the union, and we will do everything we can to resolve the situation.
Mr. Hawranik: Mr. Speaker, families and businesses are suffering in Powerview-Pine Falls. The Minister of Competitiveness and now the member from Minto a couple of weeks ago visited the mill and employees were, at that point, optimistic because he said to the community that he would clear his calendar to deal with this issue. Then, just as suddenly, the minister promptly resigned as minister.
The member from Thompson visited the mill yesterday. Offered no solutions to end the lockout but was actively seen drumming up votes for his leadership campaign. Instead of looking to help families in distress, they were looking to help themselves, Mr. Speaker.
So I ask the Minister of Labour: When will she take an interest in this lockout? She hasn’t visited Powerview-Pine Falls. When will she take an interest: now, or when it’s too late?
Ms. Allan: Well, Mr. Speaker–[interjection]
Mr. Speaker: Order.
Ms. Allan: Well, Mr. Speaker, this is a very, very serious issue, and I really would prefer that the member focus exactly on what this is about. This is about collective bargaining. This is not about the leadership race. This is a very serious issue, and we want to make sure–and that’s why we have our conciliation services working with the parties. And the best thing that we can do right now is hope that this matter is resolved through the proper process.
Mr. Hawranik: For the minister’s information, Tembec employees are ready and willing to negotiate a fair and equitable collective agreement, but Tembec, through its take-it-or-leave-it attitude, has locked out nearly 300 employees and has not returned to the bargaining table and refuses to return to the bargaining table.
So I ask the Minister of Labour: Will she stand up for the 300 employees of Tembec? When will she offer, at the very least, to appoint a mediator or an arbitrator to end this lockout?
Ms. Allan: Well, the member knows, the member knows full well that if there was going to be an arbitrator appointed that the parties would agree to that, Mr. Speaker. And I don’t think he would want me to impose anything from my ministerial office that isn’t agreed to by the parties that are right now in some very difficult collective bargaining. The best
thing that we can do right now, at this point, is hope that this is resolved quickly and that we can get the company back running and the workers back to work.