Thank you, Madam Chair.
Barbara has just concisely answered the question that I wanted to ask. I was involved in negotiations in the private sector for over 30 years, and I can say that pay equity is a huge battle that women have been waging for over 50 years. They have made progress little by little, with this kind of legislation being passed in most jurisdictions. In Quebec, the legislation is a bit unusual. It is gradually being modernized, and women are continuing to make progress as a result.
As you have mentioned, two classes of workers are being created at the federal level, just in the public sector. We know that there will be no easy win through bargaining. Even if bargaining is poorly handled, women will be the losers.
I would like you to give us a little more detail about the consultations and how you see this negotiation being done at the federal level. Do you think the negotiations might be botched and that you might be told that there is not enough time to deal with pay equity, that other things need to take priority and that pay equity will be dealt with later?