Madam Speaker, as a member of the human resources development committee and a member of the official opposition, I oppose the amendment brought forward by the Reform Party. This amendment seeks to abolish-as the government whip pointed out-the position of labour minister. It seeks to eliminate the possibility of appointing such a minister.
Through magic or a simple amendment, an important position would thus disappear. The hon. member for Mercier mentioned all the things that a labour minister in Canada could do to settle certain disputes. She alluded to the role that the former labour minister could have played in the railway conflict. In my riding, there are 500 CN employees working at the Charny yard. They were very dissatisfied with the performance of the then labour minister.
However, this does not mean that we should eliminate that position. If you exclude the amount that is used to pay interest, almost half of the federal government's budget goes to the Department of Human Resources Development. The human resources minister already has enough on his hands without having to assume the duties of labour minister.
If we eliminated the position of labour minister and transferred the responsibilities to the Minister of Human Resources Development, the latter would sometimes find himself in awkward or difficult situations.
The human resources development minister manages not only money, but also human resources everywhere in Canada, as well as financial resources which are allocated to organizations and businesses. The minister might not find himself in a conflict of interest situation, but it would put him in an awkward position.
It is good and also important to keep the position of labour minister separate. This is what I had to say on the issue.