Restoring Rail Service Act  Madam Speaker, I am very proud to rise in this House this evening to defend the fundamental rights of the workers of this country. Today, those rights are being threatened, I could even say violated, by this bill that, once again, we must now study in this expeditious, but unfortunate way.

Restoring Rail Service Act  Madam Speaker, I am going to take this brief opportunity to respond to the speech made by the Minister of Labour, who praised the values of the railways in Canada and told us just how important they are, how wonderful they are, how great they are, and how much they are loved. In the NDP, the official opposition, we also love the railways, but we would like the workers who make them run and keep the freight trains rolling to be treated with a little more respect.

Continuation and Resumption of Rail Service Operations Legislation  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to ask a question following on the wonderful speech by my leader, the member for Outremont and leader of the official opposition, who has described the situation very accurately. I think that in his speech he has shown the House the trajectory, the direction, being taken by the Conservatives.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, if you want to see beautiful images from the four corners of the world, sign up for the Grands Explorateurs. A season ticket to attend six fascinating talks costs $83.50. That is quite a bit cheaper than the $10,000 it cost to send the president of the Old Port of Montreal Corporation on a trip.

Labour  Mr. Speaker, impunity and hypocrisy are the Conservatives' trademark. When it came time to protect the economy of the Montreal region, protect jobs and enforce the Air Canada Act, the Conservatives sat on their hands. They did nothing. Aveos employees were not entitled to the special treatment received by CP, Air Canada and Canada Post management.

Canada–Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for having very clearly described the framework for the debate and the discussion we are engaged in with respect to this free trade treaty. He brought out the finer points, while focusing on the things that are important to us as progressives, which is to say environmental protection and respect for human rights.

Work  Mr. Speaker, again, the Conservatives have pushed the panic button. Here we go again with another back-to-work bill. This time, it is the railway workers whose rights are being trampled on. Five ministers held press conferences today. Were they trying to protect pensions? No. Were they defending good salaries?

Work  Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. It will not happen. It is always a race to the bottom with those Conservatives. This is the sixth time in six years they have legislated workers back to work. They have beaten the Liberal record for back-to-work laws. Well, 5,000 workers and counting are asking themselves what they have done to deserve the wrath of the minister.

Continuation and Resumption of Rail Service Operations Legislation  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech and ask him a very simple question. This government keeps interfering in the free bargaining process that exists in this country, and attacking workers' right to organize and to bargain. Canada has established labour relations, 99% of which are peaceful in this country, and yet we have a government that systematically hammers workers' rights and always sides with employers.

Continuation and Resumption of Rail Service Operations Legislation  Mr. Speaker, under the pretext of wanting to stimulate investment, the government is handing our raw materials, our natural resources and much of our industrial sector over to foreign investors. I share my colleague's concern. We are losing control of our own economy. We have a government that is deaf and blind when it comes to maintaining an important manufacturing structure in Canada.

Continuation and Resumption of Rail Service Operations Legislation  So few workers, Mr. Speaker? Five thousand workers? Five thousand families in this country are hit by this company, and the government is taking sides with the company. Come on. I imagine that the farmers he is talking about are those who were in favour of maintaining the Canadian Wheat Board.

Continuation and Resumption of Rail Service Operations Legislation  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her frank question. To use an expression that we hear around here from time to time, I do not agree with the premise of the question, quite simply because it is irresponsible and completely bizarre to have a minister interfere directly in the bargaining process of a profitable private company, when she should let the parties continue to negotiate.

Continuation and Resumption of Rail Service Operations Legislation  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for that very relevant question. Indeed, we in the official opposition, in the NDP, share this concern. We have a bulldozer government. It is bulldozing again with this special legislation. As a result, it will be up to us here in this House to sort this out.

Continuation and Resumption of Rail Service Operations Legislation  Mr. Speaker, I am rising once again in this House to defend the rights of Canadian and Quebec families and the fundamental rights of workers. This government is a repeat offender in attacking the rights of workers to associate and bargain freely. In this case, 5,000 workers and their families are being affected.

Continuation and Resumption of Rail Service Operations Legislation  Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House in order to ask a very important question of the Minister of Labour. This issue is extremely important because not only does it affect 5,000 workers, including 5,000 Canadian families, it also sends a signal to every worker in the Canadian federation.