Madam Speaker, I am aware that some hon. members wonder why the Government of Canada does not get rid of regional pay rates for its blue collar workers and simply pay the same scale nationally. There are good reasons behind the present practice, some very good reasons to continue it.
Those who know the history of the House know that regional rates were put in place in 1922. In those days the Government of Canada recognized that wages paid to certain trades were determined by local and regional market realities, realities that have remained unchanged and realities the Government of Canada cannot ignore.
I remind the House that in 1962 the Glassco royal commission recommended regional rates be maintained as a compensation policy where markets are regional or local. Thus in 1967 the government set forth its recommendation when it instituted collective bargaining processes within the federal civil service. If we had decided to go with a uniform rate rather than a regional rate that reflected local realities what would have happened? Quite simply we would have created local inequities in pay scale that would have engendered instability in local labour markets especially for private sector employers seeking to hire at rates that reflected the local market realities.
We must all recognize that incomes vary from place to place as a function of cost of living and other factors. I remind the member that representatives of the government and the unions are currently at the negotiating table. We all hope for a positive outcome and we value the important work that all members of the public service provide to the people of Canada.