Madam Speaker, it is my duty and privilege to rise and speak to Bill C-77, an act to provide for the maintenance of railway operations and subsidiary services.
I wish to address my concerns to the railway employees who may be watching this important debate. For the reasons enunciated so clearly by the Minister of Labour, the Minister for International Trade and the Minister of Industry, the service you, the railway workers and management, provide is the lifeline and key component of the country's extensive transportation infrastructure.
You supply a vital service for the industrial trade and agricultural sectors of our growing economy. We in the House can appreciate concerns for your personal finances, but would you disagree with this member for Hamilton West when I say that the best job security you can have is to work for a company that makes a profit.
The economic impact of the current rail strike has been made painfully clear to each and every one of us. We hear of it in our ridings. We see the impact on the operations of a broad range of large and small industries and employers.
In its opposition to the legislation, the Bloc Quebecois is parochially principled. The official opposition is pretending that it is acting in the interest of collective bargaining rights by criticizing the mediation and arbitration provisions of Bill C-77, the merits of which have not been questioned by the stakeholders.
By perpetuating this kind of navel gazing, the official opposition is not only missing the entire point of the legislation, it is also thumbing its nose at the real concerns of both labour and management.
While the opposition's thinly veiled political agenda continues to cripple the Canadian economy, 2,500 Canadian auto workers at Ford's St. Thomas, Ontario plant have been sent home because of shortages. Three thousand, nine hundred Canadian auto workers at Oakville and Windsor were forced to work half time this week. Seventy thousand commuters in Montreal and Toronto are lined up on the highways and at the bus stations facing long delays getting to and from work. Not to mention it is estimated the national rail strike could end up costing this great country, a country in a period of growth, $3 to $5 billion by the time it is finally resolved.
In the same way that railway employees and management would like to stabilize their labour related economic circumstances, we in government must do everything we can to stabilize the nation's economy. In short, from an economic standpoint we have to be productive to survive. It is that simple.
The transportation critic for the Bloc Quebecois went beet red in the face a few moments ago decrying the economic advantages of management. I agree with the opposition critic. They
are outrageous but there are two sides to that story. There are two sides to every story.
He conveniently forgets about the 600 employees on full salary who are not working under the current arrangement. If CN needs 250 employees in Calgary, not one of the 600 fully salaried, non-working employees in the east can be moved to Calgary to fill those jobs.