Mr. Speaker, CN, CP and VIA Rail management responded to the strike called by rail unions on Saturday by locking out over 10,000 workers, thus paralysing the whole Canadian transportation network. According to Commissioner Hope's February 6 report, these three employers have refused to back down from any of their demands as employers.
Given the employers' attitude, how does the Minister of Labour explain that, in the night between Saturday and Sunday, barely 12 hours after the dispute started, she prepared, at the
employers' request, to legislate employees back to work and to make arbitration compulsory?