Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me an opportunity to speak to Motion No. 294, which is a very important motion. This is not the first time that we have seen this motion in the House of Commons. This has come to the House of Commons almost a dozen times.
The last time it came to the House for a vote I was proud to stand and support this issue. When I stood in the House, basically I wanted to keep in mind that we have a fair balance. On the one hand we want to make sure that the rights of the workers are protected. On the other hand we have to make sure that we keep the economy moving and we have the essential services moving as well.
I can give a perfect example. During the 2004 election when I was going door to door in my riding of Newton—North Delta, I had heard many concerns from the Telus workers who were on strike for many months. Those families were going through very tough times at that time.
When we look at that perspective, we have to make sure that their rights are protected. Even during the hard economic times that we are going through now, we have to respect the rights of workers.
On the other hand we have to be certain that we are competitive globally. In these tough economic times it is very clear, and it is known, that the government has failed to protect those workers and Canadians. When we look at surplus budgets, budget after budget we had a surplus, but the government brought us down and it has driven us into a tough situation where we have to make decisions on how these workers can protect themselves. They are all worried about their jobs.
Last week I met with the police association. Their members are also worried because the government brought in a pay cut for those police officers. They are the first responders and if they do not have the right to protect themselves, that is a shame. That is why they had to go to the court to protect themselves and ensure that they could form unions.
Last month I was travelling through western Canada. I was in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. I saw one thing in common. When we talked to the people in research and development, all the cuts that have come from the government have affected that workplace as well programs for women.
I was visiting women's entrepreneur programs and they are saying the same thing. In my role as critic on western economic diversification I have seen that the minister on that file has failed totally as well.
When it comes to this motion, Motion No. 294, workers must ensure that their right to strike is protected. On the other hand when I say we have to remain competitive, we have to protect the essential services as well.
If we cannot do that, then certainly this will not work in these tough economic times. I personally think that we have to make sure that when the motion comes to the House of Commons for a vote, that we have to see the pros and cons.
I also met with bigger companies too, CN Rail and CP Rail. They have concerns as well. They are already going through a tough competitive global economy. They are worried about workers striking. What are the consequences? What is the ultimatum?
Certainly, the government can chip in and Parliament can vote for back-to-work legislation. On the other hand, the way I see it today, it is not feasible for us to take a hard line one way or the other when it comes to making sure that we keep a balance between the rights of workers and businesses.
That is where I stand, and I would ask all members in the House to do a comparative study to see how we can achieve that, making sure that this legislation is given due consideration.