Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This is clause 71. Concerns were raised by the Customs and Immigration Union. Currently, in terms of safeguards, in clause 71 the wording is as follows:
Nothing in section 67 or 68 is to be construed as
—and then there's a series of measures that follow—
(a) affecting the powers and rights of the Commissioner or President;
(b) authorizing the Commissioner or President to initiate any process...;
(c) preventing the application of any applicable law or collective agreement;
(d) authorizing the commencement of any process...;
(e) authorizing the imposition of any measure in relation to any conduct...; [and]
(f) authorizing the collection or use of information other than information collected or used in relation to an investigation of, a hearing into or a review of a complaint under this Act.
Of course, the concerns raised by the Customs and Immigration Union are that those safeguards apply only to sections 67 and 68. On the concerns, for example, around collective agreements, none of the other clauses have those safeguards in place.
Amendment NDP-55 seeks to amend section 71 to read, “Nothing in this Act is to be construed as”, ensuring that the safeguards apply to the entire bill—in particular the application of laws and collective agreements—as opposed to just to section 67 or 68.