Before she or her successors use new legal authority to order the end to a strike or lockout, the public will get to see exactly why the government thinks more bargaining isn’t worthwhile, Labour Minister Patty Hajdu said in a round of media interviews. She was defending a bill that would entrench a novel interpretation of the Canada Labour Code that major unions say favours employers who negotiate in bad faith. (The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press)

Talking point: Part of the Liberals’ Building Canada Strong Act would spare the government from needing to legislate an end to a work stoppage in a federally regulated industry like railways or ports; Hajdu could just order it. She argued that publishing a report from a special mediator first, as the bill requires, would show everyone why binding arbitration is better than letting a labour dispute play out—including by revealing whether one side isn’t taking negotiations seriously enough.

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