Press Release
Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty today tabled Bill C-338, which will better protect the severance and termination of workers when their employer enters bankruptcy proceedings.
“The tabling of this bill is the fulfillment of a promise that I made to former Buchanan workers some time ago to seek justice on their behalf moving forward,” Rafferty said.
“C-338 won’t change what happened in their case or help with their current situation, but it will ensure that no one else suffers the same fate in the future,” he noted.
Rafferty’s bill consists of a single clause that would elevate the status of severance and termination pay from “unsecured” to “preferred” creditor status during bankruptcy proceedings.
If passed, Bill C-338 would not guarantee the full payment of severance and termination pay, but would provide for a much higher payout in most bankruptcy proceedings.
C-338 is the continuation of Rafferty’s work on the issue following the passage of Bill C-501 through two votes in the last Parliament before it was nullified as a result of the May 2 election.
“This bill is not a political statement,” Rafferty stressed. “It is a measured and effective proposal that could help workers who are owed money during bankruptcy proceedings.
“And [it] would do so without disrupting capital markets or negatively affecting the borrowing costs of struggling companies,” he added.
