Mr. Speaker, I am somewhat disappointed by the hon. member's comments to the effect that the member for Bourassa was not born here, but came to Canada later. She wondered if he was aware of the working conditions here.
I believe he was very aware of those conditions; in fact, he probably knows them better than she does. It is deplorable that such a distinction be made by a member of this House.
As regards the port of Halifax, I want to point out that the Bloc Quebecois took the same stand in the case of both Vancouver and Montreal harbours. I did not hear the hon. member allude to the port of Montreal, where a lockout has been in effect for some ten days now. Is this because it was just fine with the people in Halifax? Some of her Liberal colleagues told me: the strike or lockout in the port of Montreal can go on because, in the meantime, Halifax is doing very well. Things were going well, but this is no longer the case.
In Montreal, the union proposed to go back to work if a mediator was appointed. Last Wednesday, the labour minister promised that such a mediator would be appointed, but she has not done so yet. Part of the problem in Montreal is that one employer, Calmar, which belongs to CP, refuses to let normal activities resume in the port of Montreal.