Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Obviously, every member appreciates how significant the priority issue is. When my fellow member Marilène Gill introduced her bill, unionized workers asked for assurances that a company could obtain refinancing in order to avoid bankruptcy. That means that banks providing the mortgage on the plant, business or facility would have priority over pension funds.
All payments are, of course, important, but unionized workers told us how important it was to make sure that the company could be refinanced. Unless the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act is completely over my head, this bill is in keeping with that spirit. As I understand the act, mortgage creditors take priority over pensioners.
If we do a comparison, Ms. Gill's bill put creditors above super creditors such as the government and the Canada Revenue Agency. Ms. Gladu's bill seeks more balance by not raising the payment priority level as high as what Ms. Gill proposed. Nevertheless, as the bill is currently worded, mortgage creditors take precedence over pensioners. That is my understanding, and that is why I don't think we need to adopt the amendment.