As the Coalition Avenir Québec moves to make portions of union dues optional, critics warn the government is not promoting transparency — it is quietly undermining one of Québec’s most important democratic counterweights. This week on Mentalité verte, Green Party of Quebec leader Alex Tyrrell and deputy leader Halimatou Bah laid out why the proposal amounts to union busting by stealth — and why the Parti vert du Québec is refusing to stay silent.
At the heart of the CAQ’s plan is a proposal to allow workers to opt out of funding union activities deemed “non-essential,” such as political advocacy, legal challenges, public campaigns, and social justice work. The government claims this is about choice. The Greens argue it is about power.
“Any reduction in union funding directly reduces their ability to intervene — and that always benefits powerful economic interests.”
— Halimatou Bah
Unions in Québec have never been limited to negotiating collective agreements. They have historically driven advances in women’s rights, workplace safety, pay equity, environmental protection, and broader social policy. Weakening that role, Bah argues, is not a neutral administrative reform — it is an ideological attack on organized labour as a political force.
During the discussion, Tyrrell highlighted what he sees as a glaring double standard. While unions face new restrictions and oversight, corporate actors — from mining companies to multinational firms — continue to enjoy privileged access to ministers and the premier’s office without comparable limits on their political influence.
“There are no measures to restrict the influence of multinational corporations, banks, or mining companies — but suddenly unions are the problem.”
— Alex Tyrrell
The impact of the CAQ’s proposal would not be evenly distributed. Bah emphasized that small and local unions would be hit hardest — particularly those representing precarious workers. Unlike large federations, smaller locals lack the resources to absorb new administrative burdens or sudden drops in funding.
“It’s the smallest unions — often representing the most vulnerable workers — that will be affected first.”
— Halimatou Bah
These unions frequently represent migrant workers, low-wage sectors, and workers with limited legal protections. Ironically, the activities the CAQ wants to make optional — legal advocacy, political pressure, public education — are precisely the tools unions rely on to defend workers beyond the bargaining table.
Tyrrell compared the proposal to tactics long used by conservative groups on university campuses, where student associations are weakened by making fees optional. The result, he said, is predictable: diminished participation, fewer services, and the erosion of collective life.
“When you make collective funding optional, you don’t empower individuals — you destroy collective life.”
— Alex Tyrrell
Both Greens also criticized the media’s treatment of the issue, noting that coverage quickly shifted away from the substance of the proposed reform and toward controversies over tone and rhetoric. Instead of examining how the law would reshape labour relations, attention focused on whether union leaders had used language deemed inappropriate.
“The story became about an insult instead of a law that undermines workers’ rights.”
— Alex Tyrrell
For the Green Party of Quebec, the issue cuts to the core of democratic balance. Tyrrell argued that unions are not special interest groups operating on the margins of society, but essential institutions through which workers participate in civic life and defend their collective interests.
“Unions are not outsiders. They are workers, citizens, and communities organizing to defend themselves.”
— Halimatou Bah
As Québec grapples with rising living costs, strained public services, and growing inequality, the Greens argue that weakening unions is not only a misplaced priority — it is a dangerous one. The Parti vert du Québec says it will continue standing with workers, not corporations, and opposing any attempt to erode the collective power that has shaped Québec’s social progress for generations.
