Mr. Chair, Air Canada, when Air Canada Express is included, carries on average about 103,000 passengers per day and that is easily one million passengers. That is a lot of people who are flying either because of travel for leisure or business. Every one of those people would have to make alternate arrangements.
The reality of the matter is that no matter how great an airline WestJet is, no matter how great an airline Porter is, and the great services those airlines provide, Air Canada is 3.7 times bigger than its nearest domestic competitor in the version of WestJet. Other air carriers do not have the capacity to carry the passengers that would be displaced.
A work stoppage would have an immediate effect. Passengers would be stranded. Stories in the press would be about those individuals and families who would be stranded in a place that is not their home. That is why we are acting in the best interests of the Canadian public, and not picking a side at the table as the opposition is doing with respect to the unions.