What are we debating here this weekend? I understand that the government is very unhappy to be working on Saturday and Sunday-maybe not as unhappy as NDP members, our allies in the defence of social causes, who have not shown up at all during these two days-but are we not dealing with some important issues? We did not come here this weekend to talk about trivial things. We came here to talk about Canadian democracy. We came here to try and find a way to reconcile two fundamental rights, namely the right of citizens to have access to public services, in this case rail transport, and the right of unions and workers to negotiate their own working conditions instead of having these conditions imposed on them by the government or by an arbitration commission.
Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, that the Bloc Quebecois is proud of the way it has defended the rights of workers in this dispute. Even if we were the last party left in this House to defend the rights of workers, and it seems to be the case, we would be proud to do so. It is a tribute to Canadian democracy and I think that we should be recognized for doing this job for and in the place of the Liberals who have abandoned their traditional creed and who, just like the New Democrats, frightened by the right wing wind that has been blowing in this House since the arrival of the Reform Party, have caved in to the pressure in a situation which, normally, would not have warranted this course of action.
All the Liberals who are here have made speeches in the House in the past to defend the very same viewpoint that we are defending today. I am sure that they feel bad and that they regret giving in to the pressure from the Reform Party because soon there will be only one party in Canada apart from the Bloc, and it will be the Reform Party and what it stands for.