Mr. Speaker, after announcing that it would eliminate 10,000 jobs between now and 1997, Bell Canada refuses to use the voluntary departures of 328 telephone operators in Quebec to avoid having to lay off 100 other employees.
Bell Canada justifies its decision by pointing to the stiff competition which it must face since the CRTC forced the company to end its monopoly.
We can understand that Bell Canada must remain a profitable venture; however, it must not do so at the expense of many families and without any consideration for the economic survival of several Quebec and Ontario regions, which are severely affected by the company's decision.
While all of this is going on, the Minister of Labour remains silent. She does not do anything to reduce the negative impact of that situation on the families concerned. The centralizing approach of the federal government is now being copied by large companies and that is unacceptable.