Mr. Speaker, Canada was built on the strength of an effective transportation strategy. That was our national dream: to defy the massive geography of this country and to link the regions together into one great nation.
John A. Macdonald's national dream has turned into a national nightmare for the 4,800 hard-working employees of Canada 3000. Those airline workers woke up to find they were the victims of the government's ambivalence and neglect toward this essential air transportation industry.
This afternoon union members from the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Canadian Autoworkers Union and the IAMAW machinists are in front of this building demanding that the Government of Canada take action to restore health to the airline industry. More than that, these members want the government to take the kind of action necessary for them to get working again.
The government may be devoid of ideas but the workers in this industry are not. These workers and their unions have put together a concrete action plan that will put the airline industry back--