Mr. Speaker, I am highly tempted to dedicate this speech to the government whip, but I will resist the urge.
It might a good idea to remind everyone of what this bill is all about. Thanks are due to the member for Manicouagan for having introduced this private member's bill, the purpose of which is to prohibit the hiring of persons to replace employees of an employer under the Canada Labour Code or of the Public Service who are on strike or locked out.
Why did I insist on reading the purpose of this bill word for word? Because the bill under consideration is a logical follow-up to rights workers presently have, the right to unionize, the right to strike. What surprises me, in the statements I heard from the government majority as well as from the Reform Party, is that they claimed that providing anti-scab mechanisms would hinder any attempt at mediation prior to a strike.
Members will agree that, in a labour organisation, a strike is a final step and it is defined as such by the legislator. No parliamentarian wishes to see strikes become a spontaneous solution in the workplace. Everybody agrees on the fact that any group that goes on strike was forced to do so by circumstances. Adopting antiscab legislation does not spare us the previous steps.
I cannot see why government members as well as our Reform Party colleagues have presented this bill as a rather sorry mess without going into this kind of nuance that we feel is very significant. Worse still, the parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister-whom I usually respect and will continue to respect as long as you are in the Chair-argued that this measure was put forward by the Conservatives in Ontario.
First, you will allow me, Mr. Speaker, to ask the parliamentary secretary not to quote that government too often. I do not think that government should serve as reference to the government majority unless, as we suspected, blue or red in Ottawa amounts exactly to the same thing and that no distinction has to be established.
Until very recently, three provinces making up 70 per cent of the labour force were protected by antiscab provisions. What did this have as a concrete effect? Two things. As we have said on several occasions an antiscab legislation brings an element of civility, of courtesy to a power relationship that could be tempted to break negotiations. That is the first thing.
What very concrete effect does this have? When we look at the specialized literature on the subject, we learn, and that has been a powerful argument raised by the member for Manicouagan, that in provinces where there are laws such as this one, labour disputes do not last as long. I think this is an objective which must be supported.
It is not the first time that we have a legislation such as this one. In its time, the NDP suggested a similar provision. The member for Richelieu did so in a more recent past. Yet, no agreement was achieved, they were not successful in ensuring that a provision, without being insignificant, would be a tool for the legislator, a tool for those who are concerned with labour relations and a tool for the management of human resources.
What do we say when we are in favour of a provision such as this one? We say that, a few years ago, as a society, the people of Quebec and Canada democratically voted for a recourse, and that is the right to strike. Admittedly, this is a last resort. A strike is never fun for the union, the workers or the employer, because this has to do with carrying out work.
When there is a work stoppage, we can all agree that, unavoidably, the economy in general is affected. This kind of situation is not desirable. Once it has been democratically recognized by a society-and you will recall that, around the time when discussions started, people used to say, even in the public service, before there was a legal right to strike: "The Queen does not negotiate with her subjects". I am sure that those of us who are older will remember. For me, this is history, but some were there when all this was happening.
Once the choice has been democratically made to give workers the right to strike, we, as legislators, have the duty and responsibility to ensure that strikes are carried out with civility and without violence.
When you have workers who get up every morning to earn a living, who must go on strike for various reasons including improved standards and better salaries, and who see their jobs threatened by scabs doing their work, you end up with a potentially explosive situation.
As even the political neophytes among us know, without antiscab legislation all long term strikes involved violence.
We as legislators-and I am sure my colleagues across the way will agree-have a responsibility to ensure that the people who exercice their right to strike, a right that is recognized and well defined, can do so in the right conditions.
I did not quite understand the comments made by the previous speaker, who, as we know, is rather easy to get along with. He seemed to be saying that they would rather try to use existing mechanisms. That goes without saying.
Furthermore, the hon. member for Manicouagan, wise man and experienced parliamentarian that he is, provided in the legislation a sound instrument known as an essential services board. This is to say that, even in cases where the final step a strike is taken, it will be recognized that nobody can be taken hostage because a democratic right is used, and that certain conditions have to be met, a notice has to be given and essential services have to be maintained.
Where have all the true Liberals gone? People on the other side-the government whip among them-tell us that they are Liberal in the noble, true and historical sense of the word. They tell us they are Liberals. To be a Liberal, to be a liberal, is to recognize a number of rights in a very clear context.
What are they afraid of? I would like to ask them, through you, why they are afraid of such a bill. Is it because workers will be able to exercise their democratic right to go out on strike? If this legislation is not passed on the pretext that it is incomplete, this will bring us back to a dramatic truth about this Parliament, which is that our labour minister is a time shared minister, a part time minister. A full time minister would have had taken her responsibilities. Since it came into office two years ago, this government has had ample time and opportunity to introduce a major revision of the Labour Code.
We have a part time minister, and the government whip will agree that this is why we are in a deplorable situation where the Labour Code has not undergone a major overhaul.
This is a balanced and democratic bill. It reflects values that are widely recognized in our society.
If the government majority went so far as to oppose this bill, I am sure that the price it would have to pay would be extremely high, both in Quebec and elsewhere, because workers under federal jurisdiction have the right to be legally protected against the possible use of scabs.
You are indicating to me that my time is up. My colleagues will be disappointed, but I will use this last opportunity to urge them to adopt such a bill.