British Columbians will soon be voting in local and provincial elections. In contrast, workers have no democratic vote on union certification. B.C. ended the guaranteed right to a secret ballot, and we are seeing the consequences.
The B.C. government replaced mandatory certification votes by workers in 2022 with a card-check system. Under the updated rules, a union can be certified automatically when enough employees sign membership cards. Some argued the change would make unionization easier and more efficient. Critics warned it would reduce transparency and erode confidence in the process. Business groups still stand by the secret ballot.
Absent a workers' vote, we expected the card-check system to be transparent, verifiable and trusted. That is not the case.
According to the B.C. Labour Relations Board, union certification applications are exploding. This makes the accuracy of membership cards, not a vote, the central feature of the process. It also raises the question: how rigorously are those cards being verified?
The actions of the B.C. Labour Relations Board suggest verification is discretionary. Some applications are audited. Others are not. This inconsistent application of verification processes should concern anyone interested in its integrity.
If a bank, election authority, or government agency discovered that most contact information supporting an application was invalid, it would likely trigger extensive scrutiny. Yet there appears to be no defined threshold establishing when inaccuracies become serious enough to invalidate a certification application.
"Confidence in any process depends on verification, not assumptions."
The challenge is compounded by the fact that employers are prohibited from reviewing signed membership cards. While employee privacy must be protected, the result is a system in which the certifying authority does not consistently verify every application, and the party best positioned to confirm employment information cannot examine the evidence. Confidence in any process depends on verification, not assumptions.
Technology further complicates the situation. Historically, unions submitted original paper cards bearing the physical signatures of employees. Those records could be examined for inconsistencies or irregularities. Today, electronic card-signing is increasingly common. Digital systems offer efficiency, but they also raise legitimate questions. How is identity authenticated online? How does the board ensure the employee, rather than someone with access to an account or device, completed the process? Are verification standards consistent across all applications?
These are not anti-union questions. British Columbians are routinely required to verify their identities when voting, banking, signing legal documents, or accessing government services. Verification is not considered an obstacle to participation. It is what gives the process credibility. Workplace representation should be no different.
The B.C. Labour Relations Board has acknowledged that audits help maintain confidence in the card-check system. But confidence cannot rest on random reviews conducted when resources permit. It requires clear standards, transparent procedures and consistent application.
The government's 2022 reforms placed enormous importance on the collection and verification of union membership cards. Yet the safeguards supporting that process have not kept pace with the system's growing reliance on them.
If B.C. intends to maintain card-check union certification, every application should be subject to robust and systematic verification. Identity authentication of employees should be mandatory. Error thresholds should be publicly defined. The board should have the resources necessary to conduct reviews.
In the spirit of voting this fall, the B.C. business community is calling for a return to the principle that governed certification decisions for decades: a secret-ballot vote supervised by an independent authority, allowing every worker to make a private choice free from pressure. If that is not the case, the incoming government should make sure the card-check system is consistently verified.
Major workplace decisions deserve transparency, verification and democratic legitimacy. B.C.'s certification system should be held to nothing less.
Originally published in Business in Vancouver, October 16, 2026
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