Mr. Speaker, I should remind my hon. colleagues on the backbenches of the Liberals that it was this government that brought the situation to this point.
Last August the minister of public works promised John Gustavson of the CDMA that there would be back to work legislation regardless of what happened in bargaining. Then he denied it. Then he reiterated that it was true. It was not the postal workers or small business that caused this uproar. We should not even be here tonight. It was this Liberal government that made promises behind the back of the negotiation process. That is where the problem was, and the NDP stands behind bargaining.
For the minister to make the accusation that we would in any way try to deflate small business in this country is simply scandalous. The fact is—