Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, I want to thank you for coming.
Now let me speak to both employer associations, the railway employers and the telecommunications employers. They all have concerns. Both parties want to strike a balance and they want to find a key to this balance. It seems to have to do with the essential services issue. I gathered that Mr. O'Farrell, among others, said that if we had anything of this nature, we should know what it is before speaking out. Mr. Bouvier, who is on the union side, said that we had to provide an essential mechanism defined by industry. He did not say "for industry", but he said "by industry". I am trying to understand your concerns and to answer them at the same time. Here is what I am driving at.
I worked in the hospital sector from 1957 on. If any sector is sensitive and needs essential services, it is that one. Briefly, I want to say that in 1958 there was a three-month strike at the Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur in Hull. In 1963, the nurses of Hôpital Sainte-Justine went on a one-month strike. In 1966, there was a three-month strike in all the Quebec hospitals. In 1972, there was a 12-day public sector strike in Quebec, while there was not yet any anti-scab legislation. We saw a bit of everything in these disputes. I could speak to you about other similar cases.
My colleague said that the essential services legislation was adopted before the anti-scab legislation. Since we have had an anti-scab legislation, we have not experienced any more such events, except during the strike led by the Fédération des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec, a few years ago. Each time, in all these sectors, the parties themselves defined essential services. This is what I mean. We must deal with essentials, and it is essential to know whether both parties in the dispute are comprised of responsible people, responsible citizens. My answer is yes, given my experience. Once we have had such a concrete experience, which goes beyond figures... I am not talking about mere figures, I am talking about a real, concrete experience before and after adopting this legislation in Quebec. I have always lived in Quebec and I could see the difference between the two systems.
When you hear me say this, what is your answer? Do you think that my statements make no sense? These are concrete facts, we are not crunching numbers. If I say that there are responsible people and that we can leave this up to industry or to the company involved, would that reassure you?