Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned. Today we often heard a distinction made between a company and its workers. The word “corporation” comes from the Latin corpus, which means that it is the body of the people. As we can see here today, the body is sick.
Just 11 days ago, Pershing Square Capital Management took control of Canadian Pacific's board of directors. One person is happy about this and it is not a Canadian—it is a New Yorker. Bill Ackman is very pleased that the government is doing what he wants and passing special legislation to increase the company's profits for shareholders. At present, the only thing about Canadian Pacific that remains Canadian is its name.
Why does the government continue to protect a company that is currently being run by Americans? Why will it not promote the rights of workers here in Canada? Does it not see the valuable contribution that our workers make to the Canadian economy?