Thank you very much.
Welcome, everybody, and thank you for attending on this important issue.
Coming from my background, I have actually lived the experience of going through a bankruptcy at Stelco and the first CCAA, and I can tell you that it is disastrous. It's disastrous for the working people and it's disastrous for the retirees. All I saw during that time of two and a half years of CCAA protection was lawyers who made millions of dollars and executives who got rich on bonus payments, and it all came at a cost to the workers and the retirees.
As for what they did, the very first thing was that they wiped out all the retirees' health benefits. Then they suspended all the payments from the actual pension plan. Also, if they do liquidate, people get hit again. As well, all the termination severance pay for the people who are laid off is wiped out, and then they have to go and collect pennies. It is disastrous, and I believe it's unfair.
This question is for anybody who wants to answer. During a bankruptcy under the current legislation, are workers and retirees at a significant disadvantage when the company deals with creditors such as large financial institutions?
Anybody can respond.