Mr. Speaker, I got the answer to my question.
The answer from the member for Richmond—Arthabaska allowed us to see the Conservatives' true colours. He gave a very convoluted answer to try to explain that his leader has said that he will protect the jobs in question. However, we are seeing the Conservatives' true colours because, after the member concluded his brief remarks, he simply said “no”. He showed the Conservatives' true colours on this issue. The Conservatives are refusing to add a simple phrase concerning job protection to the motion.
The member said that his leader would protect the jobs, so why does including something to that effect in the motion pose a problem? His leader is already saying that that is what he will do. The problem is that the Conservatives do not believe in protecting jobs and they are using this proposal to eliminate jobs in the federal public service. I got the answer to my question. The member rejected a rather simple amendment that would uphold what his leader said. If his leader is prepared to say that he will protect the jobs, then the member should be willing to include something to that effect in the motion. This shows the Conservatives' true colours. Unfortunately, they are using this issue to support their budget-balancing ideology. They see this as an opportunity to cut 5,000 jobs in the federal public service.