Mr. Speaker, I wish to take part at this stage of the debate that is now drawing to a close. I would like to correct certain remarks made by the member for Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert.
With the anti-scab legislation that they recently proposed to implement, on February 24, when an agreement in principle was reached between the union and Canadian National, the employees would have been unable to return to work. We would have had to wait for another two months. A 14-day strike alone represents $1 billion in lost exports for our economy. We can imagine the state of our country with another two months of a CN strike. There would be no transportation from one end of Canada to the other, no delivery of goods and no delivery of essential services to remote communities. It would be an economic disaster.
There is a second point. The legislation before us tonight allows for negotiations at any time. Canadian National and the union can reach an agreement. If there is an agreement between them, that agreement will prevail.
However, since the parties do not seem willing to agree and we cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel in the short term, we believe the Canadian economy should be our first concern. That is why we have introduced this back to work legislation, with the provision of what is called final offer selection, after the arbitrator has tried to work with the parties to reach an agreement within the next three months. If there is no agreement in three months’ time, the arbitrator will ask the two sides to submit their final offers and the arbitrator will choose one or the other. It is our belief that this method of making a final offer is more positive, and that, under the circumstances, each side will take its role very seriously.
At the same time, I would like to remind the members of the Bloc Québécois that they will have to assume full responsibility for their decision tonight to set aside the economic health of our country in their desire to cozy up to the union, thereby failing to maintain a balance between the two sides.
In conclusion, I believe we are dealing with an excellent piece of legislation tonight. It is a serious bill that allows for negotiation and it will also enable our economy to continue to function. It is that light that we see this legislation tonight.