Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her question.
I started to quickly mention it earlier during my speech. At CN, there are some serious safety concerns. The Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities saw this when people came to speak.
In my opinion, the Minister of Labour should ask himself some questions and participate as closely as possible in the work of the committee so that he realizes that there are very serious safety concerns at CN. During negotiations, the unions tried to warn management about this. However, CN management did not seem to want to listen. It did not seem very aware of what was going on within the company.
On February 8, CN managers appeared before the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. The senior vice president and chief legal officer made some very particular statements that show he is out of touch with reality. For example, he was opposed to the anti-scab legislation, and said, “This would mean a return to a system where any nationwide railway work stoppage would inevitably require government intervention.” I hope he is not an astrologer, because he is not very good.
He also said, “First, the commuter rail service in Toronto and Montreal would quickly grind to a halt—”
Obviously, he is not very good at astrology. He lacks vision, and lacks an understanding of the issues. He does not understand consequences and repercussions.
He went on to say, “In some cases, depending on which union is striking, VIA Rail service could largely stop.”
We can see that CN management is out of touch with reality. The Minister of Labour should call it to order as quickly as possible and ask it to focus on the safety of workers. First and foremost, it must sit down with the unions and negotiate properly.