Category: Canada

Mediation News in Canada.

Quebec Spring Mediation Rejected

Government Rejects Quebec Spring Mediation Author: Stephen Alexander – Rejecting the idea of mediation to resolve the dispute with students in Quebec, Finance Minister Raymond Bachand said the only solution to the Quebec Spring is an election.

The minister told the French daily Le Monde that “the only possible exit from the crisis is by way of an election.” Saying that “The state budget is not managed through mediators,” the minister rejected the idea of using mediation to bridge the gap with the Quebec Spring.

Blaming the students, the minister said, “They don’t want to negotiate. There will be a discussion when they’re ready to accept the principle of the tuition hike.”

Allegedly in the past, the minster has called students names, such as “radicals,” “Marxists” and “Communists.” Previously in the Quebec Spring, students dressed in black t-shirts walked into the law school and forcibly ejected students ready to go back to school.

Mediation Request from Striking Students

Striking Students in Montreal Request a Mediator

Author: Stephen Alexander – Students from the College of General and Professional Education in Montreal, Quebec, requested the government begin the process of mediation in order to resolve the tuition fee dispute.

Currently, the response towards negotiations is cold, according to a press aide for Education Minister Michelle Courchesne. The aide, Kimberly Labar, said that the issue of grants to poor students has already been addressed.

President of the Federation etudiante collegiale du Quebec, Eliane Laberge, said that a using mediators “is the only means to end the strike.” She said that no one should be ashamed of the process.

She said that a team of three mediators would be beneficial to all the parties. They could help the negotiations and bring both sides of the dispute together. She recommended that the Quebec Bar or the Institut de Mediation et d’Arbitage du Quebec oversee the process.

As far as the strike is concerned, less than one hundred people attended.

Mediator Cancels Meetings With Teachers

BC Public School Employers' Association and BCTF Mediate Author: Stephen Alexander – The Canadian mediator between BC Public School Employers’ Association and the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) in Vancouver, British Columbia unexpectedly cancelled the scheduled meeting with the teachers’ union.

The mediator, Charles Jago, was accused by one side in early June of being biased. Jago’s bias was reportedly called into question by a lawyer for the teachers’ union as being an advocate for the government rather than a skilled negotiator who can help both parties reach a compromise.

Lawyer John Hodgins said a report in 2006 by Jago allegedly showed that the mediator favored a position held by the government. Moreover, the lawyer alleged that Jago was offered the mediator position prior to the asking the union for a list of mediators who could deal with the contract issues.

BCTF President Susan Lambert expressed disappointment and surprise at the cancellations. Lambert was concerned that the parties have not “tackled any of the very hard issues that are central to this impasse,” referring to the issues the government has brought to the negotiations.

Jago has until the end of June to finalize his report.

Mediator Wanted in British Columbia

Mediator wanted in British Columbia, Canada

Author: Stephen Alexander – The largest public sector union in British Columbia (BC), Canada wants a mediator in the failed negotiations with the provincial government. The union also warns that a strike is imminent if the mediation fails.

President Darryl Walker of the BC Government Employees Union says the parties have large divide on the main issues. He hopes that a mediator can bridge the gap.

The government has tendered an contract with a three percent pay increase over two years. The employees union wants more than the government is offering, including a cost of living increase. It says its members have not had a pay increase in three years.

Mr Walker says that if mediation fails to reach a consensus, then a strike will occur. However, the union wants to stay at the negotiation table and purse all other options.

The union represents around 25,000 workers who voted eighty-two percent in favor of a job action last month. A strike would involve clerical workers, liquor store employees, and social workers to name a few professions involved with the union.

Police Mediators Go Between Protesters

French royal symbol with police officer behind it.

Author: Stephen Alexander – A police mediator’s job in Canada is to calm tense situations before riots and chaos erupt. In recent weeks, student protesters have caused chaos, resulting in hundreds of arrests, vandalism, physical injuries.

Just as the summer tourism season begins in Montreal, Quebec, the nightly protests have improved with fewer arrests and waning vandalism. The protesters are now willing to change their random routes when a line of officers direct them.

In the past, the protestors were yelling to the police to “Get out!” Some credit can be given to the police mediators for calming the protests in Montreal.

The police mediators walked where few other officers were willing to venture. When they first arrived on the scene, they were taunted with words, such as “political police” and “billy club law,” and were targets of rocks and bottles from protesters.

Of course, a police mediator doesn’t venture into a mob wearing armored vests and helmets. The Montreal police mediators wear jeans and running shoes, with jackets that say Police – Mediation Cops.

As they go between the police and the student protesters, the Montreal police mediators provide information to the protesters in an attempt to disarm the tense situations. For example, they inform protesters about why police are blocking certain streets. This goodwill can pay off handsomely down the road when situations flare up once again.

Mediation – 8D Technologies – Bixi

Bixi Bikes

Author: Stephen Alexander – Legal disputes over software may end up in mediation if the Canadian company, 8D Technologies Inc., gets its way. 8D Technologies, a Montreal company, claims $26 million in damages from the Public Bike System Co. (PBSC) over the decision to exclude 8D from the new bike-sharing systems.

Public Bike System Co., a non-profit firm controlled by the city of Montreal, runs Bixi and is suing 8D for $2.5 million for alleged over-billing. 8D Technologies hopes to mediate with Public Bike System Co. “as soon as possible to resolve the dispute.”

Public Bike System Co. spokesperson, Michel Philiber says they offered to mediate with 8D in the past and that 8D has refused mediation requests. Public Bike System Co. would agree to mediation if 8D Technologies provides billing documentation at the heart of the dispute.

Public Bike System Co. uses Bixi, 8D Technologies’ software, for payments and for management and operation of Bixi’s older systems. The city of Montreal runs Bixi and through the Public Bike Sharing Co. sells bike-sharing systems around the world.

Recently, PBSC began utilizing new software developed by another company for bike-sharing systems it recently sold to the cities of Chattanooga, TN, New York and Chicago. Under the name Bike Chattanooga, the new software is reportedly problematic.

Bike Chattanooga was suppose to start operating on May 1, 2012. However, the starting day was canceled on April 30th after software problems were found. The start dates for the New York and Chicago operations are set to begin this summer.

Mediation: Canadian Pacific Railway

Teamsters Canada and Canadian Pacific Railway

Author: Stephen Alexander – Teamsters Canada, the union who represents 4,800 engineers, conductors, and rail traffic controllers, reached an impasse in the mediation with Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd on May 27th, 2012..

Teamsters Canada said in a statement that the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is no longer involved in the negotiations. Moreover, no further negotiations are planned between Canadian Pacific Railway and the union.

According to Canadian Pacific Railway, the government mediator has withdrawn from the negotiations. The dispute now becomes a legislative issue in Canada, as thousands of Canadian Pacific Workers walked off their job on Tuesday night. Freight services across Canada have been halted, while commuter train services in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal still operate on Canadian Railway lines.

Canada’s largest trade and industry association, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, has asked the Canadian government to get involved in the labor conflict. Canadian manufactures and industries are losing up to C$50 million each day that the labor conflict remains unresolved.

Lisa Raitt, the Minister of Labor, said on Sunday that the government is “ready to act” on the labor issue, if the parties failed to reach an agreement. Given that the mediation is at an impasse, the “parliamentary process,” referred to by Minister Raitt on Sunday’s morning TV program, “Question Period,” is ready to begin.