Ms. Davies, I just want to come back to my point about the importance of achieving balance in this area. I think this is extremely important. The legislation was amended in 1999 by Parliament. That was seven years ago.
There was a consensus at the time, which was that employers can use replacement workers when a labour dispute arises, but that they must not do that with the aim of undermining union representation. If the unions feel they have suffered harm as a result, they have the option of filing a complaint with the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
I would just like to come back to the numbers now. Despite the fact that this legislation is in force in Quebec, between 1975 and 1977, on average, work stoppages in that province lasted 37 days. The average went up to 47 days between 2003 and 2005. Both Statistics Canada and the Workplace Information Directorate at Human Resources and Social Development Canada have been compiling these data for twenty years now.
I repeat: it's important to remember the need to maintain balance in Canada. Only two provinces have passed anti-scab legislation: Quebec, in 1977, and British Columbia, in 1993. The other provinces don't want such legislation. And Ontario, even with the new government now in office, is not moving in that direction either.