Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to build on the last exchange.
Mr. Lewis, I enjoyed hearing you say that if you had wanted to get involved in provincial politics, you would have run in the provincial election.
As for me, I was not elected to evaluate the quality of snow removal in the streets of the city of Joliette, in my riding, nor to evaluate how health services should be delivered or how nurses should organize themselves. On the other hand, I was elected to ensure that Ottawa contributes to the funding, as this is a federal responsibility.
Since I have been elected and have been in Parliament, there have been two occasions when the federal government has used special legislation against Canada Post workers. Each time, I was on their side and I denounced the federal government's lack of respect for basic labour laws. This is where it played out.
Let me return to your important bill and my question.
There are people who live in rural or remote areas who are showing some fear about your bill. They think that if there are deductions for workers who come from far away to work, maybe the construction people from their part of the country won't be hired before the others. So they are afraid that there will be competition and that, consequently, there will be less work on construction sites for workers from the regions.
Do you think this is a valid fear? What do you have to say to these people to reassure them?