Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2007-04-17 17:50:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Chris Warkentin (Peace River, CPC)",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"550819\" data-originallang=\"en\">Mr. Speaker, in the last two weeks I spent a fair bit of time in my constituency, particularly in the farming communities. Again and again the one thing I heard was that yes, CN has some issues and CN has to resolve this union issue. The farmers said that we have to get these trains rolling again because their farms are on the line. Again and again I heard from desperate farmers and desperate farm families that they are not able to deliver their product. They are not able to deliver their commodity to port to get the sales they desperately need so that they can get cheques in their pockets to make the payments that are coming due.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"550820\" data-originallang=\"en\">There are some legitimate concerns that the NDP has brought forward and CN will have to resolve them. However, a lot of the issues that the NDP is bringing forward have nothing to do with the negotiations that are happening right now.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"550821\" data-originallang=\"en\">There are many people who do not have anything to do with CN who are going to end up paying the price for any prolonged labour action in the case of CN. The farmers that I talked to again and again expressed with tears in their eyes that they will lose their farms will and their families will be on the streets if they cannot move their product.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"550822\" data-originallang=\"en\">By stalling this, the opposition members who are opposing this are saying to the farmers, to the mill workers, to the value added producers in my constituency and many constituencies across the country that they do not care about those people. They do not care that tomorrow those people will go out of business. They do not care that farmers will lose their farms. The members opposing this are saying that they believe the country should come to a halt and that product should not flow. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"550823\" data-originallang=\"en\">I want to make the submission to those members who are considering voting against moving this legislation forward that these farm families, the people in my community and across the Prairies and in many other small communities where there are lumber mills, are demanding that we stand up for them so that they can be protected and their families will have an income moving forward.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"550824\" data-originallang=\"en\">I ask the member if he has considered the people who are impacted, who are not CN employees or CN management, the people who will be affected, the people who truly have the most to lose.</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"550819\" data-originallang=\"en\">Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, ces deux derni\u00e8res semaines, j\u2019ai pass\u00e9 pas mal de temps dans ma circonscription, en particulier dans les collectivit\u00e9s agricoles. \u00c0 maintes reprises, j\u2019ai entendu dire que, oui, le CN \u00e9prouve des difficult\u00e9s et que, oui, le CN doit venir \u00e0 bout de ce probl\u00e8me syndical. Les agriculteurs disent que les trains doivent recommencer \u00e0 circuler parce que leurs fermes sont en jeu. Je ne sais combien de fois j\u2019ai entendu des agriculteurs et des familles d\u2019agriculteurs aux abois dire qu\u2019ils ne peuvent plus livrer leurs produits. Ne pouvant plus livrer leurs produits, ils ne peuvent r\u00e9aliser les ventes dont ils ont d\u00e9sesp\u00e9r\u00e9ment besoin pour avoir dans leurs poches l\u2019argent n\u00e9cessaire pour acquitter les factures qui viennent \u00e0 \u00e9ch\u00e9ance.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"550820\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Le NPD a fait valoir des pr\u00e9occupations l\u00e9gitimes que le CN devra dissiper. Cependant, un grand nombre des probl\u00e8mes dont parle le NPD n\u2019ont rien \u00e0 voir avec les n\u00e9gociations actuellement en cours.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"550821\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Au bout du compte, bien des gens qui n\u2019ont rien \u00e0 voir ave le CN vont devoir payer le prix de tout conflit de travail prolong\u00e9 au CN. Les agriculteurs \u00e0 qui j\u2019ai parl\u00e9 ont souvent dit, les larmes aux yeux, qu\u2019ils allaient perdre leur ferme et que leurs familles allaient se retrouver dans la rue s\u2019ils ne pouvaient faire transporter leurs produits.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"550822\" data-originallang=\"en\"> En faisant tra\u00eener les choses, les d\u00e9put\u00e9s de l\u2019opposition qui sont contre cette mesure disent aux agriculteurs, aux travailleurs des scieries et aux producteurs de produits \u00e0 valeur ajout\u00e9e de ma circonscription, et de bien d\u2019autres circonscriptions partout au Canada, qu\u2019ils se moquent bien d\u2019eux. \u00c7a leur est \u00e9gal si demain ces gens font faillite. \u00c7a leur est \u00e9gal si des agriculteurs perdent leur ferme. Les d\u00e9put\u00e9s qui s\u2019opposent \u00e0 cette mesure sont en train de dire qu\u2019\u00e0 leur avis, le pays devrait s\u2019arr\u00eater et que ces produits ne devraient pas circuler.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"550823\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Je voudrais dire aux d\u00e9put\u00e9s qui songent \u00e0 se prononcer contre le projet de loi que ces familles d\u2019agriculteurs et les gens de ma collectivit\u00e9, et de partout dans les Prairies, ainsi que de bien d\u2019autres petites collectivit\u00e9s o\u00f9 il y a des scieries, nous demandent de prendre leur d\u00e9fense afin qu\u2019ils puissent \u00eatre prot\u00e9g\u00e9s et que leurs familles puissent toucher un revenu. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"550824\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Je voudrais savoir si le d\u00e9put\u00e9 a song\u00e9 \u00e0 tous ceux qui sont touch\u00e9s, qui ne sont pas des employ\u00e9s du CN ni des membres de la direction du CN, \u00e0 ces gens \u00e0 qui cela va nuire, \u00e0 ces gens qui ont vraiment le plus \u00e0 perdre.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2007/4/17/chris-warkentin-1/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/chris-warkentin/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/610/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "2009307",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Government Orders",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Railway continuation Act, 2007",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2007/4/17/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2007%2F4%2F17%2F"
    }
}