Mr. Chair, as Mr. Nicholls said in his testimony, what problem do we want to solve by adopting these amendments? For a number of years now, the Canada Labour Code has provided for a limited restriction on the use of replacement workers, and the Canadian Industrial Relations Board has had to make no decisions on this subject. There is no indication that the prohibition against the use of replacement workers would reduce the length of strikes or violence on picket lines.
I'd like to make a comment, Mr. Chair. I hope that every member here present will denounce violence on picket lines. Violence is unacceptable under any circumstances.
British Columbia and Quebec are the only two territorial jurisdictions that prohibit the use of replacement workers. We have observed that a much larger number of strikes are triggered in Quebec than any other provinces that do not have anti-strike breaking legislation and that the duration of work stoppages in Quebec has not declined. In fact, the studies show the contrary.
Certain sectors come under federal jurisdiction because they are important to Canada as a whole. Most of those sectors are not product producers or manufacturers, for example, but rather businesses that offer essential services to all Canadians and are responsible for guaranteeing the free movement of goods, services, capital and people across the country and beyond borders.
Work stoppages in sectors regulated by the federal government inevitably have negative impacts on the economy, on our construction sector and in general.
Mr. Atkinson.