Mr. Speaker, this is truly a catastrophic situation. Behind the numbers and the statistics, there are people suffering from chronic stress and anxiety, people who wonder daily if they will finally be paid what they are owed.
This situation is not only outrageous, it is nonsensical, because the Phoenix pay system's second anniversary, a dark day indeed, is just days away. I am sure that most of my colleagues will agree with me when I say that it is not exactly a day worth celebrating.
I have lost track of how many times I have risen to criticize the government for its lack of leadership and for being so slow to respond to a problem that is affecting thousands of our fellow Canadians.
It is high time the government stepped up. Half of all public servants have been affected by the Phoenix pay system, and things have only gotten worse over the past two years. I am once again asking the government to show some leadership and take swift action to fix this situation once and for all so that this time next year, we can say that the system is working well for everyone.