On May 31 Canadian Labour Congress president Ken Georgetti issued a press release suggesting supporters of union financial disclosure legislation currently before the Senate "cannot find a single constitutional expert who will agree that Bill C-377 is constitutional." We've received a legal opinion that says otherwise.

Dear Mr. Poilièvre: Everyone knows how little empathy the government, including yourself, has towards unions. In reality, Bill C-377 is your way of attacking a workers freedom of association. As a Senator, I refuse to take advice from someone who is against a firearms registry but is in favour of creating a registry of union data.

Canadians should be made aware that Bill C-377 is a competition issue, not a national public policy issue. Canadian tax payers will be footing the bill for the design, start-up, maintenance, and monitoring costs that the CRA will incur for the increased union reporting.

When the Senate returns this week, one of the major items on its agenda will be Private Member's Bill C-377, which would impose new financial reporting requirements on organized labour. With that in mind, here are five key aspects of the legislation to consider as the Senate debates the Bill and union leaders engage in a renewed propaganda campaign.

An important piece of legislation was passed by the House of Commons this week. Bill C-377, sponsored by British Columbia MP Russ Hiebert, will require unions and other labour organizations in Canada to file annual public reports detailing their financial statements, salaries paid to top employees, the amount of time spent on lobbying and political activities, and certain information about expenditures over $5,000. Regardless, union leaders will undoubtedly spend even more money to now try to defeat the bill in the Senate. All of which raises the question: why are union leaders so afraid of transparency?

The Conservative government has a disturbing habit of introducing significant changes to Canadian public policy by sleight of hand. Bill C-377 would force every labour organization in Canada to file detailed financial information. It is more about helping employers, the Conservative Party and special interest groups with close ties to them. If passed, Bill C-377 will tip the balance of labour relations in Canada.

Often the first sign of someone losing a debate is the tactics they employ. This maxim has proven true in recent weeks with the public and parliamentary debate on Bill C-377. The recent rhetoric and tactics employed by unions and their proxies in parliament, the New Democrats, have ranged from abhorrent to desperate.

Just as the 2012 budget is dubbed the "jobs and growth" budget while it slashes at least 20,000 jobs from the civil service, Bill C-377 is being presented as a measure to increase transparency and accountability, when it is nothing but an attempt at attacking and distracting a key element of civil society -- labour unions.

The war drums of a Tory-led campaign against Big Labour beat louder each day, with calls to make union dues optional and financial disclosure mandator...