Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I was a Minister. I was the Minister responsible for Sport, I was the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, where I managed more than 75,000 employees and a budget of $1.3 billion, and with great pride, I worked closely with people. I was also President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, so I am well aware of what a minister's job entails.
The role of a minister is not to be a member of Parliament with convictions or a minister responsible only for his own turf; the role of a minister is not to be constantly tagging along behind someone else. The role of a minister is also to be a source of inspiration. When you are aiming to work towards equity and for the environment, when social peace is challenged, when you are seeking a balance between the rights of workers and the rights of employers, the role of a minister—in other words, your role, Minister—is to bridge the gap between the two.
So, you can forget about coming here this morning and telling us all kinds of stories about not wanting to force the hand of the provinces. You have legislation called the Canada Labour Code. In Quebec, the strikes that lasted the longest occurred in companies that are subject to the Canada Labour Code, as opposed to the Quebec Labour Code. That creates problems in families, it creates significant social problems, and you know as well as I do that I could cite the Vidéotron example. So don't bother coming to tell us this kind of thing, because we're not suitcases; we don't have a handle on our back.
Minister, I'm going to give you one last chance before moving on to another matter. At the time, you quite rightly demonstrated a certain amount of conviction as a member of Parliament. I don't even want to give the impression of having doubts about that; I believe you. You are a kind hearted man and you are capable of making decisions. So, please tell me why you were in favour of anti-scab legislation back then, but now you are against it.
Was it the Department that told you—just as they told the former Minister of Labour—not to get involved in this and not to support it? Is it the Prime Minister's Office, which seems to control every member of Parliament and Minister, telling you that? What is your answer?