Thank you very much.
Good morning. The British Columbia situation is similar to that of Quebec. The Quebec legislation was introduced in 1977 and it made the negotiation process much more civilized. As in British Columbia, the number of strikes and lock-outs went down in Quebec. The average number of days lost due to labour conflicts fell significantly: it went from 39 days per year before 1977, the year the law was introduced, to 15 days per year today.
But in Quebec, employers had predicted chaos. They claimed that salaries would skyrocket. They said that the legislation would dramatically change the way business was done. In fact, they said exactly the same thing that people like the Minister of Labour, Mr. Blackburn, are saying when they predict that the same things would happen if Bill C-257 were passed. However, Quebec employers were wrong. I think that Minister Blackburn and certain employers who fall under federal jurisdiction, and who have publicly stated that we would be on the brink of an apocalypse, should take the time to study the real situation.
Ladies and gentlemen, the facts confirm that the legislation in Quebec practically led to the elimination of any violence during labour conflicts, brought down the number of strikes and lock-outs compared to what the situation was before the law was passed. Incidentally, compensation agreements in Quebec resemble those in the rest of Canada, except for Alberta, where salaries are skyrocketing and where there is no anti-strike-breaking law.
The reality is that unionized workers do not want to go on strike. That's not what we want. Based on our experience, responsible employers feel the same way. Neither party sits down at the negotiating table hoping for a picket line in front of a company. That's why over 97% of all negotiations end with an agreement and without conflict. In areas where strikebreakers are illegal, that percentage is even higher.
Mr. Chairman, I come from a town called Buckingham, which is not far from here. One hundred years ago, two men lost their lives because strikebreakers were called in during a labour conflict. I think it's time we put an end to these types of situations.