When the relationship between an employer and a union is good and the working relation with workers is good, there is no need to wait until the end of a collective agreement to start negotiations. Very often, we sit down, agree with the employer and draft letters of agreement. That has happened to me on multiple occasions in 35 years. The process always works much better at the expiration of a collective agreement when you have that kind of relationship, because there are no accumulated frustrations on the part of the employer, the union and the workers.
If there is a healthy relationship between the two parties, where both want to negotiate and there are situations where everyone wins, there is not need for section 107 or to try to restrict workers' right to strike. A lot of people seem to forget that, at the federal level, 95% of collective agreement negotiations are settled without any conflict and with a good agreement, where everyone comes out a winner and thinks there was something in it for them. This is extremely important.
There are provisions in the act. We have seen the application of back-to-work legislation, but only after they were debated in the House and as part of existing legislation. We went through that at Air Canada, with postal workers and many others. Therefore, section 107 is not necessary; it could be removed.