Mr. Chairman, I would like to speak very briefly to this amendment which would put in place final offer selection arbitration to address the matter of pay schedules rather than having it done through an arbitrary manner.
Certainly when these matters arose in the House and during question period when we questioned the Minister of Labour, he stressed the need to have a negotiated settlement. We agree with him. We think a negotiated settlement far surpasses an imposed settlement any time. However, we also believe the use of final offer selection arbitration is a tool that can be used equally by both sides and is a very worthwhile tool that can be used in instances like these without having to use this method of back to work legislation, a method, I might add, that has come to be counted on by labour and management. It is less than a perfect situation at any time.