Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, I would like to thank our guests for their testimony. I think they will understand that we will not be able to decide on the fate of Bill C-257 merely on the basis of the fact that it has previously been rejected nine times. If that were the case, women would still not have the right to vote. It took many attempts before the House of Commons allowed women to vote. What I would like to address—and Mr. Dryden noted this effectively—is the question of whether the allegations concerning the fears that are apprehended are well founded.
Before asking Mr. Hogue a question, I would like to comment on your statements. My colleague Mr. Silva mentioned earlier that the economy in British Columbia was humming along nicely, etc. You replied that there had been constructive initiatives by companies, management, etc., and that these have yielded results. Are we to understand that if one day things were not going well, it would be because the province has passed an act prohibiting the use of replacement workers? That is what is being implied. If things are going well in British Columbia, despite the act, can we then say that it does not prevent the economy from doing well? We would therefore have to draw that conclusion as well, would we not?
Mr. Hogue, and you as well Ms. Furlong, mentioned that all of the effects of such an act on the workings of the new economy, which is based on rapid communications contacts for business, including the use of credit cards. Everything depends on cards, and the system is managed by the banks. At the banks, the rate of unionization is below 1%. We know that services are offshored. For example, when I called Visa for information, my call was answered in Italy. A colleague was also transferred to another country. You get my drift.
The question was well put by our Liberal colleague: where are the concrete examples to indicate that your concerns are well founded? In Quebec, there is no justification for such concerns, and there is no apparent crisis because the percentage of workers under federal authority compared to the total number of workers is approximately 20%. Each time there is a dispute like the ones my colleague mentioned earlier, there is always talk of percentages. For workers, they are genuine crises.
I will allow you to answer that.