Mr. Speaker, as hon. members are no doubt aware, Bill C-55, the Wage Earner Protection Program Act, was proposed and passed into law with the unanimous support of all political parties in both Houses during the previous Parliament.
Bill C-55 then became chapter 47 of the Statutes of Canada. This legislation was passed by the previous Parliament very quickly and it was well understood at the time that technical amendments would be needed to ensure that the legislation would operate as it was intended to do. The previous government gave an undertaking to the Senate not to bring the legislation into force until the Senate had been given the opportunity to review it in depth.
Canada's new government has tried to move forward quickly with the amendments to chapter 47. The Minister of Labour and the Minister of Industry have developed an amending bill. The Minister of Labour introduced a notice of ways and means motion on December 8, 2006, and the government then worked with opposition parties to ensure that there was support to pass this legislation through the House quickly so that it could be referred to the other chamber for indepth review.
The Bloc Québécois has now changed its mind and has refused to give its support. Without the unanimous support of all opposition parties, workers across Canada and in Quebec are being denied the protection that would be provided under this legislation.
There is no need for this delay. The amending bill is consistent with the will of the House of Commons in the last Parliament. It is time to let the other chamber do its work and then move forward with bringing chapter 47 into force.
The wage earner protection program has strong support from parliamentarians, labour unions, employers, as well as the insolvency community, and for good reason. Every year, 10,000 to 20,000 workers are left with unpaid wage claims due to employer bankruptcies at a time when they need their wages the most.
Let me take this opportunity again to encourage the Bloc Québécois to join the rest of the parties in the House of Commons and support this important legislation so that it can be passed as quickly as possible. Canadian workers and their families are counting on this legislation. The longer we delay these amendments, the longer they will have to wait for this program.