When Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberal Party of Canada ran for re-election in 2025, they made a series of commitments to Canadians promising new investments and good, well-paying jobs for workers.

Yet, one year into office, the Liberal government seems more committed to building a strong economy on the backs of workers rather than for them. In the past six months, the federal government has doubled down on an aggressive form of anti-unionism that threatens to upend the rights of workers and their unions.

The latest is the “Keep Canada Moving” report released by the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications.

Under the auspices of supply chain management and “economic security,” the report examines sections of the Canada Labour Code dealing with the maintenance of activities during a strike or lockout, along with the powers assigned to the Minister of Labour under Section 107.

What is being proposed, under the banner of “modernization,” is a commitment to clamp down on the rights of workers to bargain and strike — an open attack on the right to engage in collective action.

When industry sets the agenda

The Senate committee’s chief recommendation closely resembles demands from the Federally Regulated Employers — Transportation and Communications group, an association representing employers in the rail, marine and communications sectors.

The group has called for a federal backstop to restrict workers’ rights “when nationally critical sectors and supply chains are at stake.”

The result is the Senate’s call for a new Supply Chain Reliability Act. This legislation would create a permanent, specialized supply chain tribunal with the power to impose binding arbitration and completely prohibit a strike or lockout if a dispute “adversely affects the national interest.”

The report also recommends weakening Section 87.4 of the Labour Code by removing the word “immediate” from the criteria required to designate an........

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