Mr. Speaker, I do not really understand my hon. colleague's motion, but I imagine that we must try to be constructive in our work and I fully intend to be.
First, I would like to thank all public servants. I think that today's bill is what they have been waiting 35 years for. It is there to protect them and help them develop so that the system functions better.
We know how much everyone here depends on the public service. They provide services we need and use regularly, day in and day out. We know the vision and efficiency they bring to their job. Today, I would like to pay tribute to them because they all deserve it.
That said, I must admit that I have only glanced at the bill because I received a copy of it just yesterday. It is not the minister's fault, on the contrary. Rather, my party asked me to speak because I am familiar with the Canada Labour Code. I was asked to take this on, and I was pleased to accept.
I accepted because I believe that, in the House, we have the tools we need to advance issues such as the public service. It is not a simple matter. The federal public service is very complicated. We know how big Quebec's public service is, but it is not, of course, as cumbersome as Canada's.
Bringing about change and trying to please everyone is almost impossible. It is a bit like when we amended the framework legislation on the environment, an experience I will never forget. We had the environmental groups on one side, industry on the other and, in the middle, all the other stakeholders. It is clear that you cannot please all of the people all of the time, but it is possible to agree on some things.
I would like, at this point, to address a comment to the Treasury Board president. I hope, and I would like an assurance of this, that in committee, we will actually be able to hear all the witnesses who want to come before us, as well as all the unions. The unions work with the employees, represent them and very frequently receive grievances.
I would like for the committee to be able to hear all the witnesses, to take the time to really work on this bill to ensure that it is effective not only for the next few years, but for a very long time.
However, and I will be speaking about this, I hope that the review period will be much less than 35 years. This does not make sense.
As we consider the bill and propose amendments, I hope that we will focus on this, and I also hope that the government will not do anything behind our backs. Let me explain.
Last year, we reviewed the Employment Equity Act. Perhaps the President of the Treasury Board is not aware of this, but while the committee was reviewing the legislation, Treasury Board decided to shut down the enabling resource centre for persons with disabilities. This was an essential service. It was not a costly operation; its annual budget was $566,000.
But this step was taken just as we were reviewing the Employment Equity Act and hearing witnesses, including people with disabilities, who told us that the centre was extremely useful and of critical importance. In fact, we asked the minister to appear before the committee, but I believe it was not possible. What I am saying today may be news to the minister.
I strongly believe in the work of committees, because I think there are responsible people there who do their research. There are members who really want to get things done. But, while we are reviewing something of great importance, the government should not be making changes behind our backs. I am making this comment in the hope that it will be a lesson and that this sort of thing will not happen again.
I want to be clear on this. I have made my point. The enabling resource centre for persons with disabilities in the workplace is a centre that provides services to people with disabilities who join the various departments. These departments do not necessarily have what is required to allow these people with special needs to do their job. So, we are talking about a very important service that has not yet been reinstated.
This is a message for the President of the Treasury Board, if she takes a particular interest in this issue. We had been told that the departments were able to provide this service, but this is not true. It is not the case for every department. There are only three departments across the country that can provide these services, which are rather important.