Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, I am never going to stand up to say there is something wrong with paying people a fair wage, an equitable wage based on the effort, the scope, and the responsibility of a job. I know for a fact there are women who are working for less than men but with the same responsibilities and their jobs having the same scope.

Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, some of my hon. colleague's comments support what I was saying here. The point is that in order to keep that profile and in order to keep those economic development agencies a part of the government's policies and budget, those particular regions of the country need a voice that has come from the ground up and that keeps the government making relevant decisions based on what those regional differences are.

Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, Bill C-24 is an interesting bill. Ostensibly, it sets out to address a gender wage gap in cabinet by doing two things: changing or limiting the current title of “minister of state” to “minister”, and then paying all ministers the same salary. It would also create three new placeholder cabinet positions to be filled and defined at the pleasure of the Prime Minister.

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, this government has acknowledged that pay equity is a fundamental human right, so why is it asking Canadian women to wait another two years? Enough is enough. The previous Liberal government shelved pay equity legislation in 2005. Women should not have to wait until 2018 for this Liberal government to do the right thing.

Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, I am going to follow up on my Conservative colleague's question and talk about the vagueness and some questions I still have, even after the speech, about what we are talking about today and voting on at a later date. First, what is the difference between the designation of minister for a department versus a minister in respect of whom a department is designated, which is what we formerly called ministers of state?

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, for no reason, the government announced it would wait two more years before introducing pay equity legislation. The Canadian Labour Congress says: After all the expert testimony, and with the Task Force and Committee’s recommendations in hand, it’s unacceptable that the government would decide to make women wait another two years for pay equity legislation.

Standing Orders and Procedure  Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about private members' business. For me personally, being a new MP, I think it is a shame that in a four-year term, I may never have a private member's bill come up for debate. I think what happens is that members bring forward many private members' bills for their constituents, to have at least spoken about them in the House.

CANADA LABOUR CODE  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his great speech and comments, his passion, and all the years of advocacy he has done on behalf of working people in his riding. I would like to give my colleague a few more minutes to comment on the theme of his speech around how this is a good first step, and what might be a second great step for the government to take.

CANADA LABOUR CODE  Mr. Speaker, I want to underline that what we have heard from the other side was a need to bring more balance and fairness to the relationship between unionized employees and their employer. One thing we need to point out is that the Canada Labour Code review is best done by a tripartite, but that process is not always going to be able to arrive at a consensus.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present an e-petition signed by many folks and concerned citizens across Canada calling for the complete ban on all products containing asbestos, as well as ensuring that Health Canada and the federal government inform and educate all Canadians about, and provide funding to treat and prevent all ailments arising from, exposure to asbestos.

Montgomery Community Association  Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, September 17, I had the honour of bringing greetings to the Montgomery Community Association in celebration of its 70th anniversary and its recent designation as a national historic site. In 1946, the first 25 homes built through the Veterans' Land Act were occupied in the Saskatoon neighbourhood of Montgomery.

CANADA LABOUR CODE  Madam Speaker, I was very heartened to hear the member use words that I used in my speech, which were about having a more balanced approach to labour relations and that the legislation before us was a first step toward correcting what I feel was anti-worker legislation from the previous government.

Canada Labour Code  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to talk about this issue and to reflect on the previous government's attitude toward unions. It certainly was not the champions of unions, and I think most of us in this House would agree, except for perhaps a few.

Canada Labour Code  Madam Speaker, my brief answer would be that they both set back labour relations, workers' rights, and health and safety. They worked in tandem. They were part of a larger agenda, and I am very proud to stand today to support the government's leadership here and to make those two bills history.

Canada Labour Code  Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his comments, and for his offer to allow me to comment on Bill C-377 and Bill C-525 with the lens that they were simply mean-spirited, anti-union legislation that did nothing on a number of levels. First let me talk about Bill C-377.