Michelin North America told Nova Scotia officials that plans to revise the province’s labor laws would damage the company’s Canadian operation’s ability to compete.

Bill 102, currently being considered by the Nova Scotia legislature, would allow first-time collective bargaining agreements to be settled by an arbitrator or the province’s labor board.

Michelin Canada president Dana LeBlanc feels that doesn’t lead to stability and reliability.  

Testifying before legislature’s law amendments committee earlier this week, LeBlanc said the “labor environment” is a “key component” of MNA’s decision-making process regarding plant investment. MNA has 18 plants in North America, he explained, and they compete among themselves for investment dollars from the parent company.

“Simply put, it makes it very difficult when you have legislation such as Bill 102…and the instability in the legislation, it makes my job and other peoples’ jobs very difficult to sell Nova Scotia as a better place to invest in,” LeBlanc told the media. “We’d like to hire more Nova Scotians than we have working today. And part of that challenge is, if you don’t have that investment, that’s very difficult to do.”

MNA has more than 3,500 employees in Canada, and its only three Canadian plants – Granton, Bridgewater and Waterville – are in Nova Scotia. All three are currently non-union.

A number of large employers from the province have testified against the bill. On the other side, labor leaders have accused the business lobby of “fear mongering.”