Mr. Speaker, to say the words “Conservatives” and “labour” in the same sentence is an oxymoron. I have been in the House for 16 years and have watched the Conservatives vote every single time to order striking workers back to work. I have watched them oppose every single proposed minimum wage hike. I have watched them try to increase the retirement age from 65 to 67.
If someone works in the House of Commons, that is one thing, but members should try being a bricklayer, roofer, drywaller or carpet layer working at 67 years of age. That is what the leader of the Conservative Party, when he was in the Harper government, proposed and supported. The Conservatives not only are no friends of labour; they will make life harder for every worker in this country.