They can go back at any time and get all of their supplies back from the businesses.
This is a ludicrous situation that has been going on for years. I worked in labour organizations at one time, a while ago, but in those days, I must tell you I fought hard for the value of employment to be recognized. I will come back to that aspect some other time. For years now, workers have been in a situation where they are thrown out on the streets without notice and with no means of getting paid for salaries owed to them, no pension fund and no vacation pay, compensations they earned by working hard and that are owed to them. They are totally helpless and deprived of everything. Now we say it is because of the banks.
This all powerful House of Commons could certainly give some thought to this issue. I think members here must vote according to their own consciences because we all know this is a matter of principle. It suggests that the government deal with this issue as a priority.
I understood very well the speech made by my friend-I am sorry, I meant my colleague-here besides me and I cannot say I am insensitive to what he said, but I will reply the same way. We cannot let others tell us what to do regarding workers who have earned salaries, small salaries, when we see banks threaten not to finance them.
I am proud of my colleague who is here in the House. Let me explain that the maximum of $9,000 he mentioned when he introduced this bill, would, of course, be an exceptional situation because in most cases, employers pay salaries on a weekly or bi-monthly basis. It is an exceptional situation, but there have been cases where some very substantial amounts have accumulated.
The hon. member also pointed out that if they are protected, employees will be more inclined to take a chance to help a small business through a rough patch, if they have the assurance-as my colleague argued-that they will recover their stakes. This aspect can be extremely important for a small business because, as far as I know, the banks often do not treat them very well and give no warning before they pull the plug, as they say.
Consequently, it is important for small businesses to know that employees will have certain guarantees and will be able to stick with their company, even when times are hard. Today, however, employees bear the brunt of these hard times, while when business is good, they do not get any of the profits.
To me, it is a case of elementary social justice. I think we should look at what we can do to make the banks take this into consideration. In fact, the government has promised it will prepare a plan for small business financing and for dealing with their specific problems. But it should not let the success of small businesses depend on their ability to avoid paying the wages, annual leave and pension benefits to employees who earned them.
I expect the House to vote in favour of this bill. It is a vote that reflects a principle and a commitment and tells the government: Do what governments have been promising all along and what workers now consider to be a running gag. If that is what the unions think, you can imagine what non-union workers are saying.