Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Martin, just before you came in I was mentioning in my opening remarks that we filed today a copy of a study by Human Resources and Social Development Canada dealing with the impact of replacement workers, or their key observations.
Let me just quote a couple of the conclusions from the study. We filed it with the clerk, and I think there'll be copies for you. I think it'll answer some of your questions, although maybe not all.
These are a couple of the conclusions or their observations:
There is no evidence that replacement worker legislation reduces the number of work stoppages. There is no evidence that replacement worker legislation results in shorter duration of work stoppages. Several academic studies on the impact of replacement worker legislation have concluded that a legislative ban on replacement workers is associated with more frequent and longer strikes.
The government department responsible for labour issues has done this study. It's well documented, with economic and investment assessment as well as impact...and compares Quebec, B.C., and Ontario labour statistics. So there's a wealth of information there, and I'd encourage you to look at it.