Mr. Speaker, I am not sure I heard a question in there, but I will be pleased to respond regardless.
Let me first suggest something to the member. If what I said before upset him, let me give him something to really get upset about. We took a look at this and wondered why the Conservatives were doing this so soon. It has only been the better part of last week since this started. Why so quick? One of the things that comes to our mind is the government wants to leave the options open for a potential election call in a couple of weeks hence. Some think it has cooled down.
I hear them roaring up. The best defence is a good offence. We do not know for sure. There is a lot of Orwellian doublespeak, but in this case it is in the bill, not in my speech.
However, we wonder whether it was a matter of getting this out of the way because the Conservatives could not pass this law if the House were not sitting. If there were an election, they could call us back for an emergency session, but that really would muck things up. Would life not be a lot neater for the Conservative caucus? And of course that is all why we are in Canada, to ensure the Conservative caucus is happy.
Maybe what the Conservatives want to do is get this out of the way this week so they have the flexibility, which once again would show that workers to the government are mere pawns to be moved around as it suits the needs of the politics of the governing party, or at least the currently governing party.
I appreciate the member for Edmonton—Leduc listening and taking the time and effort to stand. Let me give him a serious answer on what I think was a serious, if not question, statement. A lot of people lose during a strike, but those that lose the most are the people who are on strike. For all those who talk about the power of the unions and say that they have too much power, let me tell them this. We are not talking about some gang of union goons. We are talking about ordinary everyday Canadians who do a job and happen to belong to this union.
For all the massive disruption the member is concerned about, make no mistake the disruption is meant to put pressure on management so it will cave and come to the table. The pressure that is on the strikers is a lot more. For as long as these strikers will have to stand out there and fight and are given the right, Mr. Hunter, with his $56 million a day, will not be hurting. However, the workers who are on that picket line are paying an enormous price, most of whom are living paycheque to paycheque.
In every one of the industries that the member for Edmonton—Leduc mentioned there is unionization to one degree or another. If there is a strike, it can cause a domino effect that puts a lot of pain and pressure on others. Fortunately, 95% of all the negotiations are settled without a strike. We are not in constant turmoil. These things can work. All we need to do is give the legislation that we have a chance to work and ensure that the government provides a fair, open, just process for workers in all these sectors. Then we will go on to continue having a strong Canadian economy and also ensuring the people who do the actual work get a decent living wage out of it in the process.