House of Commons Hansard #370 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was election.

Topics

Elections Modernization ActGovernment Orders

5:55 p.m.

Conservative

Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB

Mr. Speaker, I am shocked by how much I agree with my colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley. My sister is a very strong member of the NDP, and we agree at the family dinner table that we are the principled ones, so it is a good to hear so much from that member.

It was we, the Conservatives, who were left holding the government to account in regard to Bill C-76 throughout this entire process. We were the bad cop; they were the good cop. Every time we said whoa, they said go. Why did they not do more? I am hearing today that they did not think it was a great piece of legislation. Why did they not do more to put the brakes on it, rather than letting it go forward so easily, when we worked so hard for Canadians to put the brakes on it?

Elections Modernization ActGovernment Orders

5:55 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Mr. Speaker, we proposed a whole bunch of amendments. The government did not accept many of them. As for putting the brakes on it, what I think my friend is referring to is the filibuster at committee where the Conservatives just talked out the clock to delay the bill. That was a big part of it.

We may have agreed on some of the points I raised in my speech, but we fundamentally disagreed on vouching and some of the other things in this bill. As my friend knows, there are pieces missing from a large piece of legislation like this. There are pieces that we would like to see in it, but we have to look at the entire net of the bill and ask if it is a move forwards or backwards. That happens with many pieces of legislation. On this one, we wanted to see something happen and we enjoyed the substantive debates that we had. That is what our job is here: to have those debates.

Elections Modernization ActGovernment Orders

6 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

It being 6 p.m., the House will now proceed to the consideration of Private Members' Business as listed on today's Order Paper.

The House resumed from December 5 consideration of the motion that Bill C-316, An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (organ donors), be read the third time and passed.

Canada Revenue Agency ActPrivate Members' Business

6 p.m.

NDP

Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to debate Bill C-316, an act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act with regard to organ donors, introduced by my colleague from Calgary Confederation.

My colleague's bill would authorize the Canada Revenue Agency to enter into an agreement with a province or a territory regarding the collection and disclosure of information required for establishing or maintaining an organ and tissue donor registry in the province or territory. With authorization from the taxpayer in their last tax return, the CRA could disclose to the province or territory the individual resides in the information collected under the agreement.

The NDP supports this bill. We firmly believe that we must take all necessary steps to ensure that every Canadian gets the organ or tissue transplant they need. This is not new to us. Since 2002, two NDP MPs on five occasions have introduced a bill to create a Canada-wide organ donor registry and to coordinate and promote organ donation across Canada.

This bill is essentially a weaker version of what we have been calling for for some time in order to allow anyone who needs a transplant to have access to the organs or tissues needed.

In this Parliament, the Conservative member for Edmonton Manning, whose son has received three liver transplants, had once again introduced a bill to establish a Canadian organ donor registry. Bill C-223 was debated in the House in 2016, but was defeated when the Liberal caucus voted against it. The health minister at the time, who is currently Minister of Indigenous Services, defended that Liberal Party decision by saying, “This is a matter that is under provincial jurisdiction, and it is for that reason that the bill was unsupportable.”

It is interesting that the Liberals claim to be the great champions of the provinces when it suits them, but then impose their decisions in other situations. That is another story.

That being said, we truly hope that this time the Liberals will support this new bill that essentially seeks to have the federal government collaborate with the provinces and territories to help them implement their own organ and tissue donor registry. What everyone in the House needs to realize is that Canadians registered on a waiting list to get an organ or tissue transplant are dying, in part because of our low donation rate.

Currently only 20% of Canadians are registered organ and tissue donors in their province or territory. Some provinces and territories are already taking steps to increase the number of registered donors, but, unfortunately, despite these initiatives, far too few people consent to have their organs or tissue removed and transplanted to people in need.

According to a recent study by the Standing Committee on Health, in 2016 alone, 260 out of 4,492 people registered on a transplant list died before getting the organ or tissue they needed to survive. These are our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and children. This has to stop. Losing one person is one too many.

The NDP believes that, by passing the bill, the federal government could help without interfering in provincial jurisdiction. I will say it again: if it is passed, the bill we are debating today will make it possible for the federal government to co-operate with the provinces and territories and make it easier for people to sign up to be organ donors.

Of course, special measures would have to be implemented to ensure that taxpayers consent to giving personal information to their province or territory of residence so they can be added to an organ donor registry, as it would otherwise not be possible to forward this type of information to other levels of government.

One donor can save up to eight lives and help more than 75 people by consenting to the harvesting of organs or tissue. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, Canada is lagging behind when it comes to organ donation. In fact, Canada's donation rate of 18 donors per million people puts us in the bottom third of developed countries.

The objective of this bill is to increase the number of donors by making it possible for Canadian taxpayers to register with their province's or territory's organ and tissue donation registry by providing their consent on their income tax return.

This legislative change will improve the consent rate and promote a culture of organ and tissue donation in Canada. Many health professionals and organizations support this bill and additional incentives for people to consent to organ and tissue donation. All it takes is a little political will.

I would also like to take this opportunity to speak directly to everyone tuning in and strongly encourage them to sign up for organ donation using whatever procedure their home province or territory has in place and, most importantly, to discuss their wishes with their family members.

I really want to emphasize that last point because, unfortunately, even if a person has made the choice to be an organ donor, family members have the final say. According to a 2016 Ontario study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, families vetoed the donor's wishes in one in five cases, which is huge.

I would also like Canadians to keep in mind what I said earlier, and that is that one donor can save up to eight lives and improve the quality of life of 75 people through tissue donation. What is more, age does not prevent people from becoming donors. In fact, the oldest organ donor in Canada was over 90 years old, and the oldest tissue donor was over 100. Medical history also does not prevent people from registering as donors. People with serious illnesses can sometimes donate their organs or tissue. Each potential donor is assessed individually.

If this bill is passed, Canadians will have a new way to consent to donating their organs and tissue. They will be able to do so via their income tax return and by consenting to allow their personal information to be shared with their province or territory of residence. If the bill does pass, I strongly encourage people to use this method. It will save lives.

I want to take advantage of this opportunity I have to address the House today to thank all those who work behind the scenes and who make us look good every day and to wish everyone an excellent Christmas break. With the subject of Bill C-316 in mind, I ask everyone to be very careful over the holidays, especially on the roads.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to wish you and all of my colleagues a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Canada Revenue Agency ActPrivate Members' Business

6:05 p.m.

Conservative

Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be joining the debate at third reading on a private member's bill which I seconded, and which I support. I know it is late in the day, but I still want to give credit where it is due to the member for Calgary Confederation for the work he has done to bring it this far and to get consensus from both sides of the House on the value of the bill, the contents of the bill and also what it would do for Canadians.

They say that a good name is better than a precious stone. That is a Yiddish proverb. Members know I like Yiddish proverbs, so as it is my last opportunity in this place to use one, I had to do it. In the fall economic statement, the Government of Canada made an allocation of $4 million to ensure there is follow through on this private member's bill's intent and purpose. I am hopeful.

I see a great opportunity to help Canadians who are in need of that precious gift of life, an organ or tissue donation sometime during their life. I will not repeat the statistics that members have heard repeatedly. Members also know that my two oldest boys will some day likely need a kidney transplant. Therefore, I have taken this issue to heart. That is why I want to give credit to the member for Calgary Confederation who has used his good name to advance this cause of organ donation.

It has taken over three years to get this to the point where members from all sides could agree that making a very small change to the information the Canada Revenue Agency collects and a simple, small modification to the schedule 1 tax form would ensure that perhaps over the next few years we will save a dozen, 100, 200, and hopefully more lives. It is a very small change. Our provincial and territorial governments would be able to use this to their advantage.

I do not often say two Yiddish proverbs in one speech, but I will since it is my last time rising in this House. It is said that health comes before making a livelihood. Those who have either donated an organ or received one will tell us that in the lead-up period, their lives change drastically. Someone who perhaps is in his or her thirties or forties and is in need of a kidney transplant and is on dialysis has to give up all the foods he or she ever loved eating during his or her entire lifetime. For the period of time the individual is on dialysis, the entire diet of the individual has to be adjusted. The individual has to learn to love things like no-salt food. French onion soup is something we often hear transplantees talk about. Those who are waiting for a lung transplant, like Robert Sallows, will tell us it is very difficult to work or earn a livelihood. I know the member for Calgary Confederation could speak volumes about Robert's activism. Robert is the recipient of a double lung transplant. We absolutely depend on our health to further our careers and earn a livelihood.

I will not be speaking for too long today, which will please a great many members. I will not be taking up the full time I have been allotted in Private Members' Business. However, I will say this. When this week comes to a close, we will be moving from this chamber over to the interim chamber in West Block, in the new renovated space. In this chamber, many members have come before us to take on the great issues of the day. We heard the House leaders speak about this too. The NDP House leader made an excellent statement on our ancestors who spoke in this place about the great issues of the day.

The person I will mention is John Diefenbaker. Everyone knows about the office he used. He was a member of Parliament who spent decades in this place, trying to make it better. He loved the House of Commons. He loved the space. He loved the debate. He thoroughly enjoyed the cut and thrust of it. His biographers have said of him that he would use a speech crutch. Whenever he would forget the next sentence of a speech, he would stop and say, “But, Mr. Speaker, I am still a House of Commons man.” He would pause for a moment so he could catch up to where he was going with his next argument, and then he would continue. His speeches are peppered with that speech crutch. He would use it quite often. Many members use “ums” and “ahs” and say, “Mr. Speaker,” which is all fine. It is just part of the debate.

When I was a very fresh member of the House, I used written speeches. I would write them out ahead of time because I was always afraid of making a mistake or not covering all the points I wanted to make.

A great number of members have vastly improved in their ability to do that and it is thanks to hours of Private Members' Business, where we can spend 10 minutes on a specific subject that we are passionate about, hopefully, to provide personal viewpoints and viewpoints of constituents, or personal experience or the experience of constituents told through a letter or an email to make a case for a legal change, a regulatory change or simply a different viewpoint that needs to be put into Hansard.

As our time comes to a close, I will be supporting this legislation at third reading. I want to thank the member for Calgary Confederation and also all those who seconded the bill to take it this far to ensure that those who are looking for that gift of life, the precious gift of an organ or tissue donation, will have it that much easier in the future.

Many members perhaps will agree with me on this, that the Canada Revenue Agency will be seen as being a great help to Canadians instead of being an impediment to them, especially during tax season.

Bill C-76—Notice of time allocation motionElections Modernization ActPrivate Members' Business

6:10 p.m.

Waterloo Ontario

Liberal

Bardish Chagger LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am definitely warmed by the words of that member.

It is interesting to rise in this place because so much has been done. I do know that we are able to accomplish much. Unfortunately, an agreement could not be reached under the provisions of Standing Orders 78(1) or 78(2) with respect to the consideration of the Senate amendment to Bill C-76, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other acts and to make certain consequential amendments.

Under the provisions of Standing Order 78(3), I give notice that a minister of the Crown will propose at the next sitting a motion to allot a specific number of days or hours for the consideration and disposal of proceedings at the said stage.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank all the people who work around you to make this place function. I can assure the House that we will continue to try to work even better to ensure that we are serving Canadians.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-316, An Act to amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act (organ donors), be read the third time and passed.

Canada Revenue Agency ActPrivate Members' Business

6:15 p.m.

Liberal

Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE

Mr. Speaker, I rise briefly to speak to the bill and indicate that this particular piece of legislation has strong support from the minister and all members in the House.

We support the bill and will not be putting forward any more speakers to speak to it as an indication of the support coming from this side of the House.

Canada Revenue Agency ActPrivate Members' Business

6:15 p.m.

Conservative

Len Webber Conservative Calgary Confederation, AB

Mr. Speaker, I will be brief as well.

In the week since we have debated this legislation, five more Canadians have died awaiting a life-saving transplant. Delays are costing lives at a rate of five per week.

Bill C-316 has been unanimously supported through a health committee study and it has been unanimously supported by all parties at second reading. The bill was unanimously supported by health committee when it reviewed it. Bill C-316 has had all-party unanimous support in every single vote it has faced to date.

In a moment, the Speaker will ask for a unanimous decision on the bill. If it passes on a unanimous voice vote, the changes will make the 2019 tax return. If someone forces a recorded vote, this will not take place until next year and we will miss that 2019 deadline. The changes will only be on 2020 tax returns. In that year, 250 Canadians will die waiting for a life-saving transplant.

Bill C-316 will be the last private member's bill debated in this chamber for a very long time.

Everything that needs to be said has been said. Everything I wanted to say I have said. There is nothing more really to be said.

Canada Revenue Agency ActPrivate Members' Business

6:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

The question is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

Canada Revenue Agency ActPrivate Members' Business

6:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Canada Revenue Agency ActPrivate Members' Business

6:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

I declare the motion carried.

(Motion agreed to, bill read the third time and passed)

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

International TradeAdjournment Proceedings

6:20 p.m.

NDP

Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to bring back to debate a question I had posed prior to us signing onto the new USMCA or the new NAFTA as it is being called. At the time, we did not know what was happening in the negotiations. They were quite contentious, as Canadians know, but we were hearing about U.S. proposals that would lead to higher drug costs for Canadians.

We also were talking about the expectation Canadians had that Liberals would defend good jobs in the new NAFTA. Of course, we know now that the steel and aluminum tariffs remain on the table. This has left tens of thousand of Canadians, steel and aluminum workers and small businesses across our country in a very precarious position. It is a true failure of the Liberal government to not have achieved the removal of these tariffs and to protect those jobs.

Now we find ourselves in a very odd space where we have signed onto the agreement and we have no leverage with the United States to remove these tariffs. Communities across my region of southwestern Ontario, Essex in particular, are extremely hard hit because of these tariffs and the underlying ecosystem they support with respect to the automotive and manufacturing sectors that flourish and are really a key driver not just of the economy in Ontario but of the entirety of Canada. This is a complete failure of the Liberal government to have left these tariffs and jobs in jeopardy.

Tonight I want to focus my comments on what at that time we knew as being a leak, that there was a proposal that would lead to higher drug costs for Canadians and for public drug plans. We now know that is the case. It is ironic that I rise today on the exact day the protocol replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement with the agreement between Canada and the United States of America and the united Mexican states was brought to the House by the parliamentary secretary. Through this document, we now know Canadians will pay a higher cost for medication.

The question really is this. Why would the Liberals sign us on to an agreement that would cost Canadians more for drugs, life-saving drugs, drugs that make lives more comfortable every day. People who suffer from chronic conditions are making very difficult choices about whether to pay their bills or their medication.

At the time, the response I received from the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs was, “Mr. Speaker, I know how proud Canadians are of our public health care system and we are going to defend it.” We now know that to be completely false. The Liberals did not defend the cost of medications in the new trade agreement, and we have left Canadians to pay the cost of that. There is a health cost to that. There is a mental health cost to that.

Canadians widely want to see us have a pharmacare plan, which continues to be studied and never implemented by any government in the country to the great detriment of the health of our citizens. This is a sweetheart deal for big pharma. This is the Liberals letting Canadians know that they will stand up for big pharmaceutical companies and they will not stand up for Canadians.

Why did the Liberals agree to these provisions that would increase the costs of medications for Canadians? I am hopeful the response will not be a canned response, talking about the deal itself. I want to specifically hear why the Liberals have made it more expensive, in signing this deal, for Canadians to afford their medication?

International TradeAdjournment Proceedings

6:20 p.m.

Stéphane Lauzon Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here tonight to participate in this important discussion on drug prices in Canada. Our government is committed to strengthening the health care system across the country and supporting the health of Canadians. We know that Canadians are proud of our publicly funded and universal health care system. However, we recognize that almost a million Canadians give up food or heat to afford the prescription drugs they need, or do not take their prescribed drugs them due to the high prices.

This is why our government is taking action to make prescription medication more affordable and accessible. We realize that we can do even more.

In budget 2018 we announced the creation of an advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare. The council, chaired by Dr. Eric Hoskins, will work closely with experts, as well as provincial, territorial and indigenous leaders.

In addition to assessing the options and exploring national and international models, the council will deliver, in spring 2019, independent advice to government on how to best implement affordable national pharmacare for Canadians and their families, employers and governments.

Over the course of the summer and into the fall, the council has been engaged with a broad range of stakeholders and Canadians. Through its consultations, the advisory council received over 150 written submissions and over 15,000 responses to its online questionnaire. The council also heard from many Canadians through its online discussion forums, public community dialogue sessions and regional stakeholder round tables.

The council will also carefully examine the reports from the Standing Committee on Health and the Parliamentary Budget Officer on national pharmacare. It will look at the best way to move forward on this important issue.

However, as we await the findings from the council, our government will continue to work to lower drug prices, provide more timely access to the new medicines Canadians need, and support appropriate prescribing. For example, our government is working closely with the provinces and territories through the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance to lower drug costs.

By capitalizing on the combined negotiating power of governments, the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance carried out more than 207 joint negotiations on brand name drugs.

They obtained price reductions on more than 70 generic drugs. In 2017, it was estimated that the efforts of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance had led to nearly $1.3 billion in savings per year.

Health Canada is making changes to better align its drug review process with health partners and to expand its priority review process to more effectively meet the needs of the health care system. This will include establishing new regulatory pathways for drugs and working more closely with organizations that assess the cost-effectiveness of drugs.

All the measures I have outlined today are significant. However, our government recognizes that there is an opportunity to do even more. We look forward to the recommendations by the advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare on how to move forward on this important topic.

International TradeAdjournment Proceedings

6:25 p.m.

NDP

Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberals have been promising this since 1997. It is now 2018. In every single election, the Liberals have had a promise in their platform to implement a pharmacare program across our country, and every single time, including in 2015, they have broken that promise. Canadians no longer believe the Liberals when they say they are going to implement pharmacare in this country. How many times can Canadians be fooled by the government and, basically, the untruths being told, as if there were some culture of caring by the Liberals about Canadians who are struggling to afford their medication?

Once again, we are studying this. The member speaks about the money we are spending to once again study this. How much money have we spent to study something when there already is a plan? We have studied this issue over and over again. There is a wide consensus across the country on what needs to happen. The problem is that the Liberal government has failed to act on those recommendations.

Once again, we see that in 2019 there will be another carrot dangled in front of vulnerable and sick Canadians who cannot afford their medication. Once again, there will be a Liberal promise of a pharmacare plan that will never see the light of day. Now we see them spending money on pipelines and different things that are not improving the lives of everyday Canadians.

Again, I ask, why is the Liberal government not being honest with Canadians and saying that it will not implement pharmacare?

International TradeAdjournment Proceedings

6:25 p.m.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.

Stéphane Lauzon

Mr. Speaker, now my colleague is comparing pharmacare to pipelines. That comparison is problematic, because pharmacare is not something we can achieve overnight. It will require working closely with experts from all of the relevant areas, as well as with the provinces, territories and indigenous people.

A key part of the role of the advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare, led by Dr. Hoskins, is to help us identify a workable path forward. We have to get the details right and do this right.

International TradeAdjournment Proceedings

6:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

The hon. member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue not being present in the House to raise the matter for which adjournment notice has been given, the notice is deemed withdrawn.

Canada Post CorporationAdjournment Proceedings

6:25 p.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Mr. Speaker, despite the Prime Minister's claims of being a friend of labour, he and his government have proven, once again, that there is no difference between Liberals and Tories.

It is postal workers who are suffering the tragic fallout of the same old story. Despite the fact that the Conservatives' back-to-work legislation forcing CUPW back to the Canada Post workplace in 2011 was deemed unconstitutional by the Ontario Superior Court, the government one-upped Stephen Harper.

It put profits ahead of people, and rammed Bill C-89 through in record time, using time allocation and procedural tricks to ensure less time for debate and consideration than Stephen Harper ever did.

The Prime Minister has managed to out-Tory the Tories, all the while claiming to be on the side of labour. What a joke. Bill C-89 forced postal workers to return to work on November 27 under their previous collective agreements, after five weeks of rotating strikes, which means that between then and this Christmas, at least 315 disabling injuries will happen to postal workers. Rural and suburban mail carriers will work roughly 250,000 hours without pay. Urban postal workers will work thousands of hours of forced overtime.

In 2011, the Conservative government imposed back-to-work legislation after Canada Post locked out CUPW members for two weeks. Ontario Superior Court Justice Stephen Firestone later determined that the legislation violated the rights to freedom of association and freedom of expression under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada declared the right to strike to be fundamental and protected by the Constitution.

CUPW was fighting for its members' lives and safety. The rate of workplace injuries has skyrocketed since postal transformation. Rural and suburban mail carriers continue to be paid less than urban workers, despite an arbitrator's decision that Canada Post should pay all workers equally. Forced overtime means workers are unable to spend time with their families and unable to see their children before bedtime. It means longer hours walking longer routes with heavier loads in dark and dangerous conditions.

All the while, Canada Post Corporation is profitable. If it were to consider any of the proposals in delivering community power offered by the union and its partners, its increased profitability and sustainability would be ensured for generations to come.

The government, in its arrogance, has ignored workers' charter rights to organize and to withdraw services when the employer refuses to bargain a collective agreement in good faith. Every person in this country who earns a living from employment should be aware of, and hopefully furious with, the government's abuse of their human and constitutional rights.

New Democrats stand with workers. New Democrats stand with CUPW. Make no mistake about it, CUPW is fighting for every worker in this country, for safe working conditions, for fair and equal treatment, and to be compensated fairly for ensuring profits for the corporation.

The Prime Minister's sunny words in support of labour have tarnished in the light of his actions. The joke is on Canadians, and it is a sadistic joke played on Canadians who thought they had gotten rid of Stephen Harper.

The anti-work agenda and the refusal to advocate for those who create the wealth and deliver the services is alive and thriving under the Liberal Prime Minister.

Canada Post CorporationAdjournment Proceedings

6:30 p.m.

Cape Breton—Canso Nova Scotia

Liberal

Rodger Cuzner LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post Corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers had been negotiating collective agreements for unionized urban and rural workers, but they were unable to reach an agreement. Our government has done everything it can to support and encourage Canada Post and CUPW to reach a new negotiated collective agreement.

Throughout the process, which had been going on for over a year, the parties were assisted by federal conciliation officers, mediators and a special mediator. Despite these efforts, the parties were unable to reach new agreements. On November 22, the Government of Canada tabled Bill C-89, which set out a process by which the parties were required to work with an independent mediator-arbitrator while the employees returned to work.

We legislated a fair and balanced process, not a deal, not a one-sided agreement. Our government took action because of the effects the rotating strikes were having on Canadians and small Canadian businesses.

Canada Post and CUPW were unable to agree on a mediator-arbitrator as per the process outlined in the legislation. On the advice of the chairperson of the Canada Industrial Relations Board, Elizabeth MacPherson, a former CIRB chair, has been appointed to serve as mediator-arbitrator to assist the parties in reaching a new collective agreement.

Canada Post and CUPW have seven days to come to an agreement. This period can be extended to 14 days if both parties consent. If agreements are not reached in this period, Ms. MacPherson will be required to arbitrate all outstanding issues based on a number of guiding principles that are fair and balanced to the interests of both parties.

These principles include the need: to ensure the health and safety of employees; to ensure employees receive equal pay for work of equal value; to ensure the fair treatment of temporary, part-time and other employees in non-standard employment as compared to full-time and permanent employees; to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of Canada Post; to create a culture of collaborative labour-management relations; and to have Canada Post provide high-quality service at a reasonable price to Canadians.

Make no mistake that Canadian workers will be heard through this process. The government remains hopeful that the two parties will be able to negotiate new agreements. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely.

Canada Post CorporationAdjournment Proceedings

6:35 p.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Mr. Speaker, I see no reason to change the question I asked in November, because I am still waiting for an acceptable answer. Why did the government rule against workers and not against the corporation?

While Canada Post refuses to acknowledge the needs of those who deliver the mail, CUPW is literally fighting for the lives of workers. Postal transformation is taking its toll on the workers' bodies, mental health and families.

Despite the Harper Conservatives' imposed legislation in 2011 being deemed unconstitutional, the current Prime Minister has done the same, all in the interest of greasing the wheels of commerce. That price is too high. Why are corporate profits so much more important than the lives of workers?

Canada Post CorporationAdjournment Proceedings

6:35 p.m.

Liberal

Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS

Mr. Speaker, no government wants to legislate workers back to work. However, parties of all stripes have legislated workers back to work. Seven NDP premiers have used back-to-work legislation on 15 different occasions. Three members of the current NDP caucus were members of NDP provincial governments that enacted back-to-work legislation.

The member for London—Fanshawe and the member for Hamilton Centre were both members of the Ontario NDP government that legislated teachers from Lambton, East Parry Sound and Windsor school boards back to work.

The member for Vancouver East, in her sanctimony, chastised us. She also was a member of the NDP government that voted to legislate support workers, not essential workers, and cleaning staff back to work in 2000 in just one day.

In 1995, federal NDP members like Bill Blaikie, who is a great friend of mine and who I love, said that the the railway workers needed to be brought back when they were on strike, that it had gone on long enough.

The sanctimony from that corner never gets stale. It is always fresh, and I appreciate the load they are shooting tonight.

Canada Post CorporationAdjournment Proceedings

6:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

This House never disappoints.

The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6:38 p.m.)