The industry representing Canadian telecommunications carriers and manufacturers is warning that new"anti-scab" legislation could leave Canadians in the dark if a network goes down during a labour stoppage.
But Eric Smith, senior vice-president of the Canadian Telecommunications Association, said the ban may unintentionally leave telecom companies in the lurch when their workers go on strike. While the board said it's possible network outages could occur during a work stoppage, it attributed them to an"intervening event" such as a natural disaster, accident or"act of god," rather than the strike or lockout itself.
"It should not be assumed that a previous CIRB decision would dictate a future CIRB decision," said spokesman Hartley Witten in an emailed statement. The government legislation was a key element of the Liberals' political pact with the New Democrats, and passed through the House of Commons with unanimous support.
Still, Groves said telecom companies are right to be concerned, saying the legislation"represents an incredible tightening."