Good afternoon.
It is well understood that federally regulated industries, such as transportation, telecommunications, and financial services, provide services essential to Canadians and Canadian business, as they constitute the framework of a well-functioning Canadian society and economy. Federally regulated companies are service providers to all Canadians and bear the responsibility of ensuring that goods, services, capital, and people flow freely across the country and across borders.
Whenever there is a work stoppage involving a federal sector employee, two outcomes generally occur. First, the work stoppage causes considerable national economic disruption. The shutdown of a federal employer—an airline, trucking company, broadcaster, or postal service—has wide-ranging consequences for Canadian society and businesses, which depend on the uninterrupted provision of such services.