Yellowknife (Apr 22/05) - Northern union leaders are furious with Western Arctic MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew after she voted against a private member's bill that would prohibit the use of strike breakers.

Bill C-263, put forward by Bloc Quebecois MP Roger Clavet, was defeated on first reading 143 to 131 in the House of Commons, April 14. Private members bills rarely get beyond first reading and almost never become law.

Some Liberal MPs joined the Bloc and the NDP in supporting the bill, but Blondin-Andrew did not.

"It's very, very dismaying that she would vote against this bill," said Mary Lou Cherwaty, president of the Northern Territories Federation of Labour.

She wrote a letter to Blondin-Andrew prior to the vote, asking her to support the legislation, but that didn't change her mind.

Cherwaty said it's particularly distressing that Blondin-Andrew voted against the bill considering the enormity of the tragedy that occurred in Yellowknife during the Giant Mine labour dispute in 1992, when nine replacement workers and former strikers were murdered after they crossed the picket line.

"When the government allows replacement workers, that kind of situation (to happen again) is always a possibility," said Cherwaty.

"The members involved are still suffering the consequences."

In a press release issued last Friday, Union of Northern Workers president Todd Parsons encouraged Northerners to contact Blondin-Andrew to register their dissatisfaction.

"I would have thought that as a Northerner she would be just as aware as the rest of us of the negative impact strike breakers can have during a legitimate labour dispute," said Parsons.

Blondin-Andrew, however, said she voted against the bill because it went too far. If passed, the bill would've essentially made it illegal to hire replacement workers under any conditions during a lockout or strike.

"If you've been involved in any labour issues you will know that it is the most polarized and difficult issue to find common ground on," said Blondin-Andrew. "It's not an easy thing to come by."

She said the government passed compromise legislation after the Canadian Labour Code was reviewed in 1999, that prohibits the use of replacement workers "for the demonstrative purpose of undermining a trade union's representational capacity."

She said Labour Minister Joe Fontana plans to conduct another review shortly.

"The minister of labour is committed to re-examining the issue," said Blondin-Andrew.