GM Out of Luck in a Canadian Bankruptcy

If (and it should) General Motors ends up in bankruptcy court in the U.S., it can bust the union contracts that have a stranglehold over it, but in Canada, GM faces a stiffer challenge.

Canadian bankruptcy law is federally written, but the constitution reserves civil rights and property settlements to the provinces in bankruptcy proceedings. These areas include employment, so GM would have to present its case for altering its Canadian union contracts to a provincial (maybe several provincial) Labour Board(s). Fat chance of victory, eh?

One final caveat: If you buy a unionized company in Canada, you inherit the union contract, for better or worse, till death do you part.

Canada--a good place to work, a bad place to employ.