Documents provided to the Sun show Canada’s largest union representing public servants spent nearly $2 million on political action last year.
“That raises a lot of questions,” said Poilievre. “That money belongs to workers, not the union bosses and it’s being spent on radical, divisive political causes that workers don’t support.”
Financial statements from a 2011 PSAC meeting show the union spent $1,694,900 on political action and campaigns, including their National Fightback Campaign protesting public service cuts, money invested to raise awareness about the federal election campaign and to pay for surveys from Leger Marketing.
PSAC collects roughly $76 million each year in union dues from 172,000 members.
It’s not the first time PSAC has been caught with their wrench in the political engine.
In 2011, several high-profile unions — including PSAC — helped funnel $344,000 to the NDP party during the federal election campaign.
The money wasn’t donated outright, but rather sold as costly sponsorships at its major labour conferences. PSAC was said to have donated $28,000 out of its coffers and the NDP was mandated to return the money.
Unions and corporations like PSAC are banned from giving political donations. Only private individuals can do so, and only to the tune of $1,100.
“That’s a clear breach of the laws imposed on them,” said Poilievre.
Again during the student protests in Montreal, PSAC was found to have donated $5,000 to help organize student rallies against Jean Charest’s Liberals.
Those rallies escalated to violent riots, damaging small businesses, barricading streets and closing down schools.
And most recently, PSAC announced it supported the separatist Parti Quebecois in the Quebec provincial election as the party that most ensconced the union’s values.
However, PSAC’s executive vice president Larry Rousseau said his union has never endorsed a political party.
“That is simply not what we do,” he said. “We make it clear to our members which parties are most compatible with the fundamental values of our union — workers’ and citizens’ rights, public services and unions.”
While the NDP has always been a staunch supporter of unions, Poilievre said unions shouldn’t be taking a clear stand on political debates.
“That is a serious breach of the principle of non-partisanship in the public service workplace,” he said.
Yet professor Francois Rocher from the University of Ottawa’s school of political science said unions plays a crucial role in modern democracy.
“When unions take political action, it plays a very important role in public debate,” he said. “If private businesses are allowed to take a political stance, then so too should unions.”
He argued it’s never been proven that unions have swayed any major political election.
“Instead, they serve to inform their union members, and then those individuals can make their own decisions,” he said.
The union also spent $1,422,333 on human rights activities in 2011, including conferences to raise awareness about women’s rights, racially visible minorities, pride issues and Aboriginals in the workplace.
Another $50,000 was spent on relief funds send to Haiti after the devastating earthquake wreaked havoc on the country.
Original Article
Source: ottawa sun
Author: Mike Aubry
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