Mr. Speaker, as a Canadian I am disappointed that the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP have not seen fit to support the legislation. Perhaps they do not realize the economic impact of their stalling from coast to coast to coast. It is affecting the daily lives of Canadians. The economic condition of the country is deteriorating mainly because a party interested solely in the separation of Quebec is not acting appropriately. It is important to note that in this process.
I will give some examples of the economic impacts Canadians have experienced in various sectors of the economy. The shutdown of CN paralyses approximately 60 per cent of the country's freight traffic. The country's freight traffic capacity is further reduced by the disruption at CP Rail, where services are maintained with workers not on strike and 2,000 managers and staffers at approximately 60 per cent of normal capacity.
General Motors and Ford Canada employ some 21,000 workers in the greater Toronto area. Two Ford plants have been closed, putting 3,000 employees out of work. Others are operating at half capacity due to a shortage of parts for their production lines. Further layoffs are likely if the strike continues.
It takes approximately five trucks to replace one freight car. Ford Canada indicates that there are not enough trucks available to replace the shortfall in railway services.
The core manufacturing sector is being affected to the tune of $200 million to $500 million in economic losses per week. A spokesman with the Canadian Manufacturers Association estimates production losses to the economy if the strike continues to the tune of $3 billion to $5 billion.
Numerous companies that rely on rail transportation to ship both goods in the resources and manufacturing industries across Canada are suffering. The economic impacts of the rail shutdown are enormous.
I mentioned the major auto manufacturing locations in Ontario. Some of the companies affected are in the province of Quebec. Kruger Paper in Trois-Rivières is shutting down Tuesday due to the lack of wood chips coming in. There is a loss of $1 million a day and 500 workers are affected. Stone Consolidated in Port Alfred was shut down on Monday. Petromont in Varennes will shut down on Wednesday. Shell in Montreal is burning the equivalent of four tank cars of liquid gas daily. Port of Bécancour will shut down on Wednesday. Several aluminium plants are experiencing a slowdown in production: Alcan in Chicoutimi, ABI, Reynolds and Lauralco in Baie Comeau.
This is the message that the Bloc Quebecois should be paying more attention to instead of playing petty politics.