KITCHENER — Ontario's carpenters' union is hitting back against regional Coun. Michael Harris and his support for changes to labour laws he says would save taxpayers money on municipal construction projects.

The Carpenters' District Council of Ontario has brought an application to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, alleging that Harris has a conflict of interest on the issue and should lose his job.

The union claims that since the councillor's wife, Sarah Harris, works for the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), he has a "pecuniary interest" in changes to the labour laws. She's worked in CLAC's training department for about two years.

In January, Michael Harris introduced a motion of support for changes to Ontario's Labour Relations Act proposed under Bill 66. The motion was passed unanimously by regional council, which wants non-unionized contractors to be allowed to bid on projects.

Harris, the former MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga, has been arguing since 2012 that restrictions on bidding creates a construction monopoly that hurts local companies and drives up the prices of those projects. He tried to change the law with a private member's bill 2013; the changes have largely been adopted in the proposed legislation.

The region was classified as a "construction employer" seven years ago, meaning only unionized carpenters are allowed to work on municipal construction projects. Since then, the average number of bids the region receives for public projects has been cut by more than half.

The union argues Harris should have declared a conflict of interest and excused himself from the debate as a regional councillor. It wants the court to rule that he broke the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. It says the CLAC would benefit directly if Bill 66 is passed.

The carpenters' union argues Harris should vacate his seat, and be barred from holding an office in municipal politics for seven years.

"Under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, Mr. Harris should never have introduced his motion at council given his clear pecuniary interest in its outcome based on his spouse's employment with CLAC," said Mike Yorke, president of the union.

"Accordingly, had another councillor moved the motion, Mr. Harris should have declared a conflict and recused himself from the debate and vote on the motion."

Harris was unaware of the union's legal action when reached late Monday afternoon, and said he'd need to speak to his lawyer before responding formally.

"I have been a staunch defender of fair and open tendering in the best interest of taxpayers and skilled workers in this community since 2012," he said.

"I will be consulting legal advice and have more to say in the coming days."

The union's legal move is the latest in an ongoing battle over open tendering for public construction projects in Ontario. If passed, the changes would allow more contractors to bid on municipal, hospital, school board and post-secondary infrastructure projects.

In 2012, the Region of Waterloo became a "construction employer" under the Labour Relations Act when two of its employees asked to join the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners after being told to build a shed in Baden.

The fight went to the Ontario Labour Relations Board and critics argued the subsequent ruling would create a virtual monopoly on taxpayer-funded projects.

The amendment to the labour laws is one of 32 proposed changes under the Progressive Conservative government's Restoring Ontario's Competitiveness Act.

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