Mr. Speaker, the Liberals would not know the right thing to do if it jumped up and bit them.
A few years ago, my private member's bill, Bill C-525, received royal assent. The bill protected workers' rights by ensuring that mandatory secret ballot voting was used in the certification and decertification of a union.
Shortly after the Liberals took office, they introduced Bill C-4. This piece of poorly written legislation sought, among many other things, to remove a worker's right to a secret ballot vote. Clearly, Bill C-4 was a regressive attempt by the Liberals to gain favour with union bosses as it would have made it easier for unions to use intimidation tactics in the workplace during a union drive.
Yesterday, the Senate of Canada got it right where the Liberal government got it wrong. I am pleased that in the 43-34 decision, the Senate voted to amend Bill C-4 and keep the provision of a mandatory secret ballot vote in place.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the senators for their leadership on the bill and for protecting the rights of workers across Canada.
I would further encourage my colleagues across the way to accept the amendments as presented by the Senate, or get rid of this clearly misguided bill altogether.