Absolutely. How long did the hep C victims have to fight to see some kind of settlement? We still have some who are not covered. We will keep at it because we know that little by little maybe somebody on the other side will listen. Perhaps there will be enough voices raised in Canada to get those Liberals onside, to say nothing of my hon. colleagues on the other side who are busy mumbling because they have to stay late. Perhaps we will get something done.
The government should have got on with it and had things working. It should have made plans, rather than wasting the last five years.
We saw the same thing with the recent airline crisis. The government could have done something about it. We did not have to be in this situation with a monopoly carrier. However, for the sake of deregulation and privatization, we had to make sure we did not have any of that because it was really bad. We needed a competitive industry. We really got the depth of a competitive industry in Canada, did we not? We have a monopoly carrier and numerous problems to go with it, all because the government did not act a number of years ago.
Today we are arguing over the high price of air fares and the treatment we are getting from Air Canada. The employees are taking the brunt of it. They are the ones who are at the counters with lineups two miles long. They are the ones who are taking the flack from the passengers, not the Prime Minister, not the Minister of Transport, not the Minister of Industry. Not them at all. Not the president and CEO of Air Canada. The workers are taking the flack, the ones who cannot afford to invest in the Cayman Islands. The workers are always taking the brunt of the policies and decisions of the government.
There is no question that the government does not look as though it will do anything about the amendments to this bill. It is shameful. It is very shameful. There is no question that none of the other parties will do anything. They have other things which they think are more important.
We have the Canadian Alliance members who are all rushing off to make phone calls to get someone to vote for Preston or Stockwell or Tom. I am surprised they did not send someone out to get Joe onside because pretty soon we will see the rest of them moving over there too. Then they will just move in with the government, because there is really no difference.
It is disappointing that none of those hon. members are here speaking out for ordinary workers and for the miners of Cape Breton. It is extremely disappointing.