Mr. Speaker, I am pleased, on behalf of the Bloc Quebecois and as critic for labour issues, to take part in this emergency debate requested by the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake.
The issue is the current labour conflict in Vancouver, which opposes the Public Service Alliance and 70 of its members who work for the Canadian Wheat Board. These people work in the elevators that handle grain exports.
The employees have been on strike since March 15, which means for the past two or three working days. Based on our information, this work stoppage has a major impact on the region's economy.
Still, we must put the decision of these 70 employees to go on a general strike in its proper context. It seems that, on March 10, a Public Service Alliance official did warn the employer, that is the government and the Canadian Wheat Board, that if there were no progress in negotiations, the union's strategy would be to target wheat to put pressure on the employer. Therefore, the message was rather clear.
On March 14, the union began a rotating strike which had the merit of continuing wheat operations. It was not until the following day that the unions put up a picket line, which was respected by the other unions working near the export elevators. Undoubtedly, therefore, the strike had a considerable impact and achieved its goal, which was to establish a balance of power between the two parties.
We have a strong suspicion that the Reform Party's strategy in pushing for this emergency debate today is to set the stage for the employer—in this case, the government—to introduce special back-to-work legislation.
This is not the position of the Bloc Quebecois. This is not our approach, because we think that, if there is a right to strike, it should be respected. It has to go on for a while at least, there has to be a deadline after which, if negotiations have failed to resolve the situation, public interest must be taken into account and a decision can be made to settle the issue and move to other things.
It is unthinkable that, because negotiations have gone nowhere after three days, drastic action is in order. In the context of the public service, it is too easy for the government, as both employer and lawmaker, to find the situation too complicated and the repercussions too serious and to turn around and use its legislative authority to thwart the effects of the strike and the strike itself. We find this excessive.
While we hope that negotiations will go on, there must be a true power relationship and we must feel that there is no other way to ensure the continuation of operations before bringing in special back to work legislation. It must be a measure of last resort.
We can see here the philosophy of the Reform Party, which does not have much respect for labour legislation and for workers. As the President of the Treasury Board said, it is not fun to suffer the impacts of a strike. But it is not fun either—and we tend to forget that—for those on strike or for their families. It is not fun for those who are on the picket lines. These people go through a period of serious insecurity and discomfort and, may I add, strike action is legal in that industry.
The President of the Treasury Board spoke earlier about security and health, two issues that are being ignored here. There is some sort of an essential service in Canada, which has been provided for in order to protect public health and security. We are talking about economic impacts, which are very difficult to assess. We should be careful not to go too far in that regard.
Instead of hinting at the quick passage of a special act to put an end to that kind of labour dispute, we would prefer to see the parties negotiate in good faith, accept negotiation and reach an agreement that will be well accepted and honoured.
The right to strike, the legal right to strike is a clear sign of civilization. Why should a society invent such means to provide working conditions? The right to strike was not given by the employers, either in the public or private sectors. The right to strike is a hard won right in the history of western societies.
A strike always causes inconvenience. The fate of farmers is of great concern to us. In Quebec also farmers are hurting a lot because of the international economic conditions, globalization and its harmful effects. Institutions and individuals are paying the price. Western farmers are feeling the pinch too, and we sympathize with them.
It would be too easy to say, as soon as we are slightly inconvenienced, that we are going to pass special back-to-work legislation to solve the problem. We are not ready to go along with it.
We want the obviously difficult situation the parties have arrived at to be settled through negotiations, negotiations conducted in good faith recognizing what it means for the regional economy. One should not fall into the trap nor be tricked into using this all too easy approach called back to work legislation.
I will sum up my thoughts and those of the Bloc on the matter: our position is very clear. Freedom of association exists in principle in Canada, and workers, when they have good reason to do so, go on strike.
This is part of a fair balance of power, except when the employer, which happens to be the government, abuses its legislative power. Again, back to work legislation should only be a last resort, until the government gets back to the negotiating table with an offer acceptable to workers and settles the dispute in a democratic and civilized manner through negotiations.
When one speaks of good faith, when one speaks of the federal government as employer, one is entitled to a few concerns. Contrary to rumour, the federal government is a tough employer. We know that it recently rejected a court decision on pay equity. Really now, a judgment is a judgment. In its wisdom, the government in its power and arrogance, has decided to appeal the judgment rather than comply with it.
This is a government that has already obtained orphan clauses, at Canada Post in particular, where working conditions vary greatly depending on seniority. I know some postal workers personally and I know that their conditions are truly precarious.
When a person works a few hours a week, and cannot be guaranteed more than 15 hours of work a month—if memory serves me right—working conditions at Canada Post are far from enviable. In the past, jobs at Canada Post were highly coveted, but now, thanks to the interventionist attitude of this government as employer, this is no longer the case.
This is a government which, in the latest revision of the Canada Labour Code, refused to include an anti-scab provision. In Quebec, this matter was settled a long time ago, to everyone's satisfaction. The use of replacement workers during a strike is forbidden. The Canada Labour Code does not contain any such provision for Canada.
This government has refused to pass Part III of the Canada Labour Code, which would give pregnant women better treatment, through preventive leave to safeguard the health of women who are soon to give birth by allowing them to stop working.
The federal government will not allow it. It is not the highly progressive and generous one people think. For example, we know that it will not allow RCMP employees to unionize.