Article content

VICTORIA — The B.C. government is doubling the time available for workers to organize into a union, but insists the change, made in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, has nothing to do with the pandemic.

Labour Minister Harry Bains said a cabinet order last week to allow union sign-up cards to remain valid for six months, instead of three, was a lagging provision of a labour code law passed unanimously by all parties in the legislature in 2019.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or B.C. alters rules to make unionization easier Back to video

“If I had my way, it would have been done a few months ago,” said Bains. “But I think the Labour Board took a bit longer.”

The order comes amid widespread layoffs, business closures and overall economic damage done by social distancing rules put in place last month to limit the spread of the coronavirus. But it is not related to the crisis, nor is it intended as a response to the labour challenges faced by COVID-19, said Bains.

“It would have happened whether COVID-19 (had occurred) or not,” he said.