What I learned quickly was that we didn't have the same benefits that some of my dad's friends had who were unionized. I was just a kid growing up. My dad never had a pension plan. He was basically minimum wage. There were no benefits. He was diabetic. There were no health benefits or anything like that.

We grew up just kind of accepting that's how it was, but as I got into my teens, I realized that where he worked wasn't unionized and that there really wasn't somebody that spoke on their behalf. It was a great job, but I quickly realized that a lot of his friends who were unionized had different benefits than we had. This study is important to me, and I hope all of my colleagues around the table will support it.

Thank you.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Ms. Chabot, you have the floor.

4:50 p.m.

Bloc

Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Given my past experience, I have every reason in the world to support this motion. However, in all honesty, I do not understand its objective.

What Mr. Long is trying to tell us has already been shown. There are plenty of studies showing that, in general, unionized employees receive benefits and better compensation.

I have read the motion several times and I am still wondering what its objective is. Is it to show something? I don't understand why we want to show something that has already been shown.

Given the number of studies we have to do, I hesitate to support this motion. Sometimes a committee does a study because it wants to do research and make recommendations. In this case, I'm trying to understand where such a study would lead us.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

MP Chabot is saying something that's already shown. I think the purpose of the study, again, is to reinforce the impact that unionization has. Unions do fight for the middle class, and unions do fight for wages that help everybody, all workers, so I think it's an important study.

I would appreciate Madame Chabot's support.

Thank you.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

I see that there is no further discussion.

You have the motion as introduced by Mr. Long. I'll call a recorded vote on the motion by Mr. Long.

(Motion agreed to: yeas 11; nays 0)

I think the air has changed in this room.

4:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

We still have the last item to carry on the bill.

Shall the chair report the bill to the House?

(Reporting of bill to the House agreed to: yeas 11; nays 0)

We still have a bit of time, committee members. I wish to advise the committee that I have had to make a slight change to the subcommittee meeting. It will be on Wednesday evening for one hour. Had I already...? Maybe I didn't, because that was a Tuesday.

The subcommittee of HUMA will meet Wednesday from seven to eight o'clock. That's the time when the services will be available—I have to have interpretation services—to review the growing list of items on the committee's agenda. That is scheduled at that time. We will forward you the room number. That's when the resources and translation services will be available.

As you know, our next meeting will be on Thursday, February 29.

Does anybody have anything else for the committee at this time? If not, is it the wish of the committee to adjourn?

Seeing nodding heads and everybody happy—the air has remained the same—we shall adjourn.

Thank you, committee members. You have put a lot on your plate.

The meeting is adjourned.