Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak at third reading, the final opportunity to talk about Bill C-19.
It has been an interesting process for me because as a rookie MP I have been able to watch the bill from the time it was tabled, through the various stages of debate, through some rocky times and through some very interesting manoeuvres in terms of some people with a will to try to stop the legislation. They have thrown everything they could to grind it to a halt and to avoid this day actually happening where we are finally at third reading.
Prior to question period we heard two very lengthy, long winded speeches that were very negative about Bill C-19. They were very critical about the content. They even went beyond the content and the actual amendments to the Canada Labour Code. They seemed to challenge and attack the whole idea of a strong and healthy labour movement in Canada. They seemed to have an underlying tone, almost a sinister undertone, to their comments and remarks that indicated to me they were not supportive of the idea of a free and active trade union movement in the country.
I regret there is a group of people and organizations that do not see the value of the trade union movement as an integral aspect of democracy. Even as we debated Bill C-19 the larger issue was not really the amendments to the Canada Labour Code. It was the pursuit of social and economic justice and labour's role in that pursuit.
I personally do not believe that any legislation will lead us toward social justice. I do not think social justice can be achieved through parliamentary means. I think that is the role of the labour movement, but we do need to create the legislative framework within which unions can flourish, prosper and do their job and help to distribute the wealth of a great nation to larger groups so that we can narrow that gap between rich and poor.
That is really what the last two years have been about as we have been spiriting Bill C-66 and now Bill C-19 through the process whether or not it has been stated overtly.
We have been talking about the redistribution of wealth and the ability of unions to function, prosper and flourish in our community and in our society.
Some of the amendments put forward by the Reform Party were very worrisome. There is a point in law which states that a person can be presumed to have intended the probable consequences of his or her actions. Thinking that through, it is kind of scary.
I wonder if Reformers really did think through the probable consequences of some of the amendments they were putting forward. If they had, what they would be advocating is limiting the ability of labour organizations to elevate the standards of wages and working conditions of the people they represent. I think most Canadians would agree that is not a good thing, a valuable function or a valuable role.
As I listened to some of the amendments put forward by the Reform Party, there was a familiar theme. I almost felt that I was having déjà vu, that I had heard all of this before.
After going through committee stage and hearing speaker after speaker as they filibustered, and then coming to the report stage and listening to the same diatribe, the same tired, lame, old thoughts, it came to me where I had heard this before. It was all contained in the right to work doctrine being pushed by the Fraser Institute. It is yesterday's news. It is a tired and outdated ideology that somehow the Reform Party has stumbled upon and thinks it has come up with a new idea in labour relations.
In actual fact, the right to work means the right to work for less. There are 21 states in the United States that are burdened with this right to work legislation. The way we talk about the states in the United States now is that there are free states and there are right to work states. The 21 right to work states are not free for workers. There is no free collective bargaining because they have essentially outlawed it. They have passed legislation that has stopped the ability of unions to do their job to elevate the standards of working people.
In those right to work states all the social indicators about social well-being, wages, mortality rates, infant mortality rates and the amount spent on education per student are far below the national average. In the right to work states they have managed to grind down the standard of living by eliminating the ability of unions to help keep the standard of living up.
If those are the consequences that the Reform Party has contemplated by its amendments, then I really wish it would reconsider them because what it is pushing is poison. It is bad for working people, it is bad for the economy because consumers have less disposable income and it grinds the economy to a halt.
The point of our caucus is that fair wages benefit the whole community. There is nothing wrong with the concept of workers earning fair wages and spending accordingly. That is a good thing.
We are very frustrated and frankly tired of listening to the right wing Reformers pushing this particular brand of poison.