Marcel Massé

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

In fact, Mr. Chairman, all the correctional workers should be designated as essential services, which means that there is no right to strike. It is because of a quirk, a loophole that was used, that now 500 to 600 of them have the right to strike.

We believe that they must not have the right to strike because they provide essential services. We are re-establishing the position that should have existed where none of them had the right to strike.

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Chairman, the member is right to say that this is indeed the difficulty. The various questions that have been resolved are the questions that had to do in particular with the various clauses in the collective agreement, but the reason we have to continue with the law and bring forth back to work legislation is that this risk exists. We have been told that there may well be strikes between now and ratification.

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

Yes, Mr. Chairman, we asked the union that in the negotiations and it said no. It wants to have the right to strike until ratification.

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Chairman, I am told there is a cost of living adjustment in the Vancouver region also because of cost of living conditions.

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Chairman, there is nothing in the agreement, I am told, that affects the operations of the Canadian Grain Commission.

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

No, Mr. Chairman. I have been kept informed on a daily basis of the output at the Department of National Revenue by its Minister, Mr. Dhaliwal.

In the initial weeks, the backlog in uncompleted or non-processed returns was 900,000. A few days ago the Minister of National Revenue told me that the backlog was 1.2 million returns.

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Chairman, the figures have varied from day to day. I am told that there have been up to 20 ships immobilized in Vancouver's port.

There have been up to 1,300 grain cars immobilized there as well. A $9 million contract has been lost, according to the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.

In any event, the farmers themselves have seen their wheat exports drop significantly. I think that in the west it was clear that this was an emergency that was costing them millions.

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Chairman, the basic question is that what was asked by the unions and their negotiators was much more than this. The reason we have an agreement is that they have come down to a level that makes sense in terms of the employees in our view and in terms of the employer.

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Chairman, I am told that the cost is something like $5 million out of a total bill of about $500 million. Therefore the difference is about 1%, perhaps 0.9%.

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Chairman, in the agreement only the blue collar workers are covered. The CXs are a different table. It would be a different agreement and there is no agreement with them. The agreement that was initialled tonight covers only the blue collar workers, what we call table two, but they are both in the law.

On the other question, there is agreement between the unions and ourselves that they would not be tabled for reasons that are easy to understand. Yes, the union may reveal it, but we cannot break our word to the union that we would not reveal it until there is an agreement on it.