Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to make general comments on the bill. First of all, I would like to speak with respect to the 110 names I received today from my constituents opposing the passage of the bill to amend the Public Service Act. I want to assure all those people that I will be available to discuss this process that lead to the bill being brought to the House today. I will have a meeting with all concerned parties upon my return to Hay River.
The bottom line is that we have a projected deficit of $150 million. We put this bill into committee and we consulted with the union representatives. I feel that the government moved considerably on the concerns that were raised by the unions. I sat in on every meeting possible to hear both sides of that because I wanted to obtain a certain level of comfort with what was being said and what was being done. We do not want the public service to be unduly or unequally treated in the process of implementing the reductions. I want to say that there is nothing that I will expect the unions to take at the negotiating table that I, personally, as an MLA, would not be prepared to take in terms of reductions in the area of salaries and benefits.
The reductions in our budget have to come from many sources. The warning bells have been sounding for some time that this government was in difficulty financially. I would be surprised if the unions did not fully expect that there would be reductions coming. Now I believe it is time that the union and the government come to the table and negotiate collective agreements in good faith.
I would be acting irresponsibly as a representative of all my constituents if I asked this government to fairly and compassionately identify $150 million in reductions but exclude the public service. These are difficult fiscal times and difficult decisions are going to have to be made. We have no choice but to proceed with those difficult decisions. Thank you.