Mr. Speaker, here is the question I wish to ask of the hon. member for St. John's East.
At the beginning of his speech, the member for St-John's East mentioned that not much weight had been given to the issues raised by the public service unions.
I would like to know the position of the members from the Progressive Conservative Party. They surely are familiar with the recommendations in the Fryer report and those of all the committees that have been established since 1998, that co-determination or joint management should be used to establish classification criteria and achieve staffing in which the unions, union officials and the employer would participate.
The preamble of this bill expresses a desire for better relations between unions and management in the workplace. Why, then, are they completely absent from this bill, and is no mention made of co-determination? I would like to hear the position of the Progressive Conservatives on this.