Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Once again, my thanks to Mr. Blaikie for the quality of his arguments. However, I cannot agree with him. Let me go over some basic facts. The labour relations model to which Mr. Blaikie is referring—and this is not a criticism—dates back to the 19th century, the age of the industrial revolution. Since then, it has been adapted many times. Think about it: we see it being used by professional athletes, medical specialists and home child caregivers. However, in each case, the model was adapted to reflect each community’s special circumstances.
We cannot lose sight of the text of the legislation. It specifies that the collective agreement cannot include some items and then lists a series of restrictions. The Supreme Court made a point of saying that the model is not a unique one. In keeping with that, I would like to go back to a point that Mr. Blaikie has raised. He said that they are preparing to return to the Supreme Court. No certified employee association can actually go directly to the Court. If the case is before the courts and is subject to adjudication as well as to litigation, a process has to be followed.
But let me reassure Mr. Blaikie and any other group or association by saying that this is the beginning of our mandate and, as a result, we will be able to see how the system in place evolves. As I said, this is not a unique model. Some aspects of the model being developed are addressed in other pieces of legislation or through other mechanisms.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court did not say that this is unacceptable. On the contrary, it took the time to reiterate what it had said in other decisions, that it is not a unique model. Bear in mind that the Court, in its wisdom, has set a very tight deadline for action to be taken and the bill to be passed. So we are faced with this constraint, and that is why I agree with Mr. O'Toole. We have less than a month to ensure that the legislation comes into force. That is an extremely tight deadline. We had asked for a longer time, but the associations whose case is before the Supreme Court were imposing conditions that we could not honour. Hence the tight deadline we have to work with.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.