What We Can Learn from the SNC-Lavalin Fiasco

Canadians have good reason to be outraged. The SNC-Lavalin scandal is the greatest example in a generation of the insidious temptation to abuse power and process for political advantage or expediency.

For politicians and senior political staffers of all stripes, valuable lessons can be gleaned from the wreckage of the entire SNC-Lavalin affair, which has yet to fully play itself out.

These lessons are equally applicable to all leaders who operate in a political environment—including unions. Fortunately, CLAC stands apart from most unions in Canada with a governance structure and hiring practices that make it easier for us to avoid the self-inflicted misery brought upon the authors of this particular debacle.

Prime Minister Trudeau and his team fell victim to the blurring of lines between national governance and political self-interest. Once elected, a government must resist the constant temptation to make every decision with partisan interests in mind—especially when it comes to all matters related to the rule of law and the independence of the courts.

The appeal of one political party over another should be about the policies and priorities advanced by each party and experienced over time by the whole of the government’s constituency. It must not be pursued with sneaky tactics behind closed doors—the kind that all governing parties enjoy access to—such as attempting to manipulate the attorney general.

To allow this behaviour to become the norm for a governing party is to lose sight entirely of the spirit of our political system. That is why Canadians are right to be so disgusted with the current story playing out in Ottawa regarding SNC-Lavalin.

So what’s the connection to unions? Many traditional unions operate under a similar democratic leadership model. Like politicians, top union management—those responsible for decisions related to collective bargaining, policy initiatives, and other member services—are also subject to reelection pressure every few years.

Union elections tend to have low voter turnout. Often, the union members who bother to vote are those who have a political agenda or the most aggressive views about what the union should be doing. Not surprisingly, elected union leaders often end up making decisions that give them the best chance at reelection—decisions that appeal to radical elements within their membership who show up to vote.

This is not theoretical. Many strong, progressive union leaders have been voted out by a small minority of unhappy members after they made smart but hard decisions that were in the membership’s best long term interests. All too often, these good leaders subsequently were replaced by regressive leaders who pandered to narrow self-interests. By doing so, they have contributed incrementally to the overall decline of the labour movement in Canada.

CLAC’s organizational structure is different than most unions. It is governed by a National Board elected by delegates of locals from across the country at the union’s National Convention held every three years.

The union’s professional representatives and leaders are hired at the behest of the National Board and charged with serving CLAC members through collective bargaining and member services. Thus, they are granted authority to serve members by an elected body, but are not held hostage in the carriage of their duties by political self-interest or radical elements within the membership.

CLAC’s organizational structure preserves democracy while eliminating the potential for electoral abuse. It’s a brilliant strength bestowed upon CLAC by those who founded the union some 67 years ago. 

With the organizational structure of most traditional labour unions, the line between doing what’s right and political self-interest can become easily blurred. It’s a governance structure that utterly depends on elected leaders resisting temptation and behaving with dignity, integrity, and a solid understanding of what their true job is in representing all members.

On Canada’s national stage, it took a principled stand by the former attorney general to prevent an abuse of power and process for partisan advantage and expediency. For those who operate in a political environment—including unions—this is the greatest lesson to learn from the SNC-Lavalin fiasco.