The Conseil provincial du secteur incendie-Syndicat des pompiers et pompières du Québec (CPSI-SPQ) and the CUPE took part in a parliamentary committee on Bill 88, a law governing the bargaining process for collective agreements and dispute settlement in the municipal sector.

This bill, tabled by the minister of Labour on December 6, 2024, finally rectifies Bill 24’s infringement on the right of association, namely by abolishing the dispute resolution board and, at the same time, the provisions surrounding its constitution. It returns to an arbitration procedure with assessors and re-establishes the previous consultation process on the choice of arbitrators.

“We do emphasize the changes made by current Labour minister Jean Boulet, which go slightly beyond the ruling of higher courts. We’ve just closed the loop, and the government will amend the legislation to be compliant with the ruling by the Court of Appeal, therefore we’re satisfied. We hope the municipal sector can move on, once and for all, and you’ll be able to keep counting on the CPSI-SPQ-CUPE to improve labour legislation,” explained Sylvain Charbonneau, general secretary of the CPSI.

The CPSI-SPQ and CUPE have submitted three recommendations to the minister that would amend the mediation and dispute resolution process, and would ultimately optimize the firefighters’ negotiation system through minor amendments to the bill.

“We are asking for a mediation-arbitration process, and we hope that the Labour minister will restore the provisions of the Labour Code that existed prior to the 2016 amendments in regards to economic criteria considered during a dispute arbitration,” said Patrick Gloutney, president of CUPE Quebec, who also attended the parliamentary committee.

The CPSI-SPQ-SCFP believes that these new provisions will put an end to decades of confrontation and major tension in municipal labour relations in Quebec.

CUPE Quebec and the SPQ vehemently denounced Bill 110, which later became Bill 24, right from the time it was tabled by Martin Coiteux, minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy, in June 2016. Both organizations subsequently challenged the legislation before the courts. This move paid off, as a Superior Court ruling in 2021 struck down some provisions pertaining to dispute resolution board membership. This decision was validated by the Court of Appeal in 2024, thereby resulting in the reform presented today.