A hotly-anticipated final report and recommendations for the Changing Workplaces review has landed on Labour Minister Kevin Flynn's desk in full – and will address an NDP critic's bill, tabled Tuesday, that would make it easier for workers in the province to join a union.

Flynn's office suggested the governing Liberals would shoot down NDP MPP Cindy Forster's private member's bill because it "misses the mark, and will not address the root issues surrounding precarious work in this province."

Forster's bill, the Fairness in First Contracts and the Right to Representation Act 2017, "would bring back card check certification and first contract arbitration legislation – functions that allow employees to choose to have a union, and help the employer and union arrive at a first, fair deal," according to an NDP release.

“The nature of work is changing at a significant pace and people – including so many young people and racialized women – are finding their work less and less stable,” Forster said. “People can’t plan their lives if they don’t know how many hours of work they’ll be scheduled for next week. They have a harder time caring for their families without benefits. And, without some basic protections, I hear some say they’re worried about being punished for calling in sick."

Forster said making it easier to join a union would address those issues. Her bill was promptly lauded by the Ontario Federation of Labour and Unifor.

But Flynn disagreed.

"Fundamental changes are needed, and this rather incomplete legislation being proposed by the NDP will do nothing to create a sustainable framework where everyone in Ontario can share in our province's economic success," the Labour Minister's office said in an email to QP Briefing.

Meanwhile, Flynn has received the final report and recommendations from special advisers C. Michael Mitchell and John C. Murray, who embarked on the Changing Workplaces review two years ago. The report will update the Labour Relations Act and Employment Standards Act for the first time in about two decades, and comes after months of consultation with the public, unions, and businesses, as well as a 300-page interim report.

The report is being translated into French and prepared to comply with accessibility laws before its publicly released. Flynn said in question period that it could be "three weeks or four weeks" before the final report is published.

The New Democrats have previously accused the government of stalling on the review, but Flynn has defended the process, saying it was necessary to prod some groups, namely businesses, into providing meaningful feedback. As such, the advisers were asked to draft the interim report with several "options" for potential reforms, which took longer than expected.

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Labour Minister: NDP unionization bill ‘misses the mark,’ will be addressed in Changing Workplaces review

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