Madam Speaker, I would say a couple of things. First, we do this as a least favoured option. I will be very clear that we are not hiding that. Of course, we want the parties to reach an agreement at the table, but that clearly, after two and a half years of negotiation and over 100 negotiation sessions, with mediation support provided by the federal government, the parties are not close to reaching an agreement. We have to look at the reality of the situation, and the reality is dire.
Second, if we want to talk about workers, there are hundreds of thousands of workers whose jobs come into jeopardy when the work stoppage starts at the port. Yes, we want the parties to continue to negotiate. Yes, we want workers to be supported in this. This is why we continue to say to the parties to reach an agreement, and in the legislation we are putting forward there are up to 21 days during which they can still negotiate and come to an agreement in the presence of a mediator and arbitrator.