By William Crooks

Local Journalism Initiative

The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) is raising concerns over what it describes as the widespread use of inaccurate government data to justify Bill 89, newly adopted legislation in Quebec that places stricter limits on workers’ right to strike.

David Bergeron-Cyr, vice-president of the CSN, said that data published earlier this year by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and relayed through Statistics Canada grossly overstated the number of labour conflicts in the province. “The issue is that their numbers were wrong,” Bergeron-Cyr said in an interview. “Those numbers were way higher than the reality.”

The federal data claimed Quebec saw 759 strikes in 2024. But according to Quebec’s Ministry of Labour, the correct figure was 208—a number that places 2024 only slightly above the annual average and far from a record year. Following inquiries from the CSN, Statistics Canada removed the disputed data from its website earlier this month.

“Those inflated numbers were used to justify Bill 89, which restricts the right to strike,” Bergeron-Cyr said. “We contacted the federal agency and they admitted the data was wrong. They even suggested we use the Quebec Labour Ministry’s numbers instead, as they are more reliable.”

Introduced by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government, Bill 89 amends the Labour Code to impose stricter conditions on legal strikes in essential services sectors, including early notification requirements and broader arbitration powers. The government has said the law aims to ensure service continuity in critical public sectors. Labour unions, however, say it undermines the fundamental right to collective action.

According to Bergeron-Cyr, employer groups such as the Institut économique de Montréal (IEDM) repeated the erroneous federal data in public commentary to support Bill 89. “L’Institut économique de Montréal and some politicians continued to use them as if they were right,” he said.

A CSN press release issued on July 16 notes that even Quebec’s Minister of Labour, Jean Boulet, echoed the incorrect numbers, despite his own department holding the accurate figures. The CSN asserts that a simple verification could have prevented the spread of misinformation and calls for greater caution from public figures and media alike.

François Enault, first vice-president of the CSN, also weighed in. “No, there is no explosion in the number of labour disputes. No, 91 per cent of Canada’s strikes are not happening in Quebec,” he said in the release. “Now we need to return to the real question: who benefits from restricting the right to strike? Certainly not workers.”

While acknowledging that strike activity has increased slightly in recent years, Bergeron-Cyr attributed the change to rising living costs and labour shortages. “Workers are fighting for their rights more because they’re not scared,” he said. “They know they can find another job, and they want better pay because the cost of living is crazy.”

The CSN contends that even this uptick does not justify sweeping legislative changes. “The big deal isn’t the numbers,” Bergeron-Cyr said. “The big deal is that it was used to justify a bill that attacks democratic rights. In a free society, workers have the right to fight for their rights, and striking is part of that right.”

Although Bill 89 has already passed, the CSN hopes public pressure will eventually lead to its repeal. “If the CAQ doesn’t change its mind, we hope a future government will,” Bergeron-Cyr said. “We’ll continue to protest and challenge it however we can. We cannot accept this kind of thing.”

The CSN represents more than 300,000 unionized workers across Quebec.