Mr. Speaker, I understood the question very well. What I said is that we have to solve a crisis in the short term. Once that is done, we can look at a long term solution, but we have to take action regarding the current situation.
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Labour March 21st, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I understood the question very well. What I said is that we have to solve a crisis in the short term. Once that is done, we can look at a long term solution, but we have to take action regarding the current situation.
Labour March 21st, 1995
Mr. Speaker, there is currently in Canada a major crisis, and we are aware of if. This crisis has an impact on the economy across the country, and we are taking action. We tabled a bill in this House yesterday.
I want to thank Reform Party members for supporting this legislation, but the fact is that the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP are not helping us.
Maintenance Of Railway Operations Act, 1995 March 21st, 1995
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-77, an act to provide for the maintenance of railway operations and subsidiary services.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Port Of Montreal March 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, most disputes are resolved without government intervention. We must be aware of this. Secondly, when the government does intervene, most disputes are resolved without a strike or a lockout. We therefore have a very good system. There is always room for improvement, but we are not going to change it 150 per cent as the hon. member for the Reform Party would have us do.
Port Of Montreal March 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, we are very much aware of the economic impact of a work stoppage. However, one of the principles of good government is that a way must always be found to establish a balance between the forces involved. It is certainly not the intent of this Liberal government to side against the workers, as the Reform Party is doing. We want collective bargaining that is fair to both parties in the majority of cases.
Port Of Montreal March 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the government still believes in collective bargaining. It still believes that the best solution is when the parties involved reach an agreement. And in every situation, we will do the impossible, before we consider legislating.
Port Of Montreal March 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, each situation must be considered separately, especially where labour relations are concerned, and I think the hon. member for the Bloc Quebecois will agree that no two situations are alike.
In the case of the port of Montreal, no conciliation commissioner had been appointed. There had been only one conciliation phase, so this is entirely different from the situation at the railways, where we had another very long phase, from November 1994 until February 1995, when a conciliation commissioner intervened.
So I assume the hon. member for the Bloc Quebecois is quite satisfied with the decision I made today.
Port Of Montreal March 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, action has already been taken. I met both parties, the employers and the union, this morning. I asked them to go back to work immediately and to resume negotiations. I also appointed a mediator who is to report to me in ten days' time.
Rail Transportation March 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the right to strike and to lock out workers still exists under the Canada Labour Code. In fact, over 60 per cent of labour disputes are settled without government or departmental intervention. Over 90 per cent of cases referred to the Minister of Labour are settled without strikes or lockouts. Our current system is very effective, except in emergency situations with a major impact on the economy or the population, as is now the case. We must strive to achieve results.
Unfortunately, the parties have been negotiating for months without reaching an agreement. The time has come to achieve results in this dispute.
Rail Transportation March 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, if we have to bring a back-to-work bill before the members of this House, it is because the impact of this work stoppage requires the government to take action.
There is first of all an impact on all the people who use VIA Rail services. All the passengers faced a significant problem this morning. As far as the rail transportation network is concerned, this strike also affects an important part of the Canadian economy, not only rail companies but also all the other companies that depend on this form of transportation to speed up their operations.
Therefore, I think that it is in the public interest for the government to take action in this matter.