Mr. Speaker, I did go to the Vidéotron workers' picket line in Rivière-du-Loup. They were locked out for almost a year. I met with them right at the beginning to support their position.
I would like to put on the record an observation by Paul-André Lapointe, a professor in the labour relations department at Laval University. It captures exactly what these people went through during this dispute:
In the absence of federal legislation, a dispute turns into a war of attrition where the most powerful wins. This encourages traditional strategies that are disruptive and damaging for economic and social performance.
I think this is the most concise explanation of what happened in the Vidéotron dispute.
Besides, if our labour code prohibited the hiring of strikebreakers, we would not have had to go through this, as is clear from what I just read. This dispute hurt not only workers but the employer as well. It was terribly expensive for the employer to find a way out and save face after using all kinds of tough measures against the workers. Workers had to do the same.
Thanks to our anti-scab legislation in Quebec, we no longer have this kind of behaviour, or very seldom. If honourable members do not believe us, they should talk to employers, workers and employer associations in Quebec. They will find out that nobody would like to do away with this legislation, which has made it possible to regularize labour relations and make them more civilized, and which has ultimately reduced the number of strike days.