Madam Speaker, I have a couple of comments to make after listening to the member.
I found it very ironic, if I may say so, because often we hear from the Reform Party how it compares Canada to the United States. In the member's presentation he compared us to California and the United States. Not too long ago the leader of the Reform Party visited Mr. Gingrich of the United States, at which point he said: "We don't do things the way you do in the United States". Yet all of a sudden they want to compare us to California.
I want to go beyond that point because it seems to me they want to suck and blow at the same time.
I refer to an article about Reform in the House that states: "Reformers cast themselves as the official opposition but they have a few flaws". I believe the flaws keep flopping back and forth.
In my private life I came from the employment industry. I would like to give a specific example of some problems that had to be overcome. A major retailer wanted to hire a computer operator. In that area there were rotating shifts, sometimes eight-hour shifts, sometimes twelve-hour shifts three days consecutively or five days a week.
The employer indicated to my firm that he was adamant he did not want to hire a female simply because there were rotating shifts. Somehow or some way we convinced the employer to hire a female. I am proud to say today, six years down the road, the female is still with the company. She has been promoted three times and is doing an excellent job. What would have happened if the placement agency decided to listen to the employer and be swayed by him that because she was a female she could not work shift work?
I am proud to say the legislation will open avenues, allowing people to go ahead, move forward and compete for jobs equally. I believe employers will hire based on merit, not just on the fact that someone is oriental, black, male or female.
I encourage the party across the way to stop posturing and being intellectually dishonest with the people of Canada. Reformers cannot have it both ways. They either compare us to the United States or they do not. They cannot keep flip-flopping.