Mr. Speaker, because of Nortel's collapse, I would like to table a petition signed by many Canadians who would like to draw the government's attention to the following.
The petitioners note that he Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act currently do not protect the rights of all Canadian employees laid off by a company receiving pensions or long-term disability benefits during bankruptcy proceedings. The people do not have any preferred status over other unsecured creditors.
They note that employees are unlike any other creditor. They have been largely responsible for creating value for all stakeholders and unlike debit holders, banks and suppliers, they are not diversified businesses taking risks and managing tax writeoffs for financial loss.
They also note that currently under the Investment Canada Act, the federal government fails to ensure the proceeds of sales of Canadian assets are allocated to Canadian employee-related claims before funds are permitted to leave the country before these requirements are made.
Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament and the government to amend the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to protect the rights of all Canadian employees, to ensure that employees laid off by a company receiving pensions or long-term disability benefits during bankruptcy proceedings obtain preferred creditor status over unsecured creditors and to amend the Investment Canada Act to ensure employee-related claims are paid from proceeds of Canadian assets sales before funds are permitted to leave the country.