Mr. Speaker, let me say that our government has great respect for the workers of Canada's nuclear industry. We are committed to doing everything we can to support the workers of our country's nuclear industry.
These employees do crucial work, helping to develop and deliver innovative applications for Canada's nuclear technology. They are nuclear scientists, operators, and engineers, just to name a few of their important roles. They deliver a range of nuclear services, from design and engineering, to research and development.
The Harper Conservatives' decision to outsource the running of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's nuclear laboratories has had a lasting effect on these employees.
I should note that this is only one of a long list of ideologically driven decisions by the previous Conservative government that our government inherited. Conservative cuts led to the Phoenix pay system debacle, and were done just to create an illusory surplus on the eve of an election. Conservative cuts caused the closure of veterans' offices across the country, denying veterans access to important government services. They led to an under-equipped Canadian Coast Guard, and much more.
Our government continues to be committed to a new way of doing things, to treating Canadians fairly and with respect, making decisions based on facts and on evidence.
In terms of the situation at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, the public service pension plan is not open to, nor intended for, people who are not employees of the federal government. Due to the action the Conservatives took to outsource the operations at CNL, those employees are not federal government employees.
In 2015, the Conservatives entered into a contract with a private company, and that contract stipulates that the private company will operate the nuclear facilities and will employ and provide pension benefits for the people who work at those facilities. Employees of private companies, such as CNL, are not and have never been eligible to participate in the public service pension plan.
I will note that we continue to be engaged with the employees and their unions on this issue, and we are committed to doing everything we can to offer pension protection for the impacted employees. As I said, our government has great respect for the workers of the nuclear industry. We are committed to supporting them.