Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to talk about the comments I heard this morning made by the president of the UNW. Firstly, however, I would like say, for the record, that I do believe in pay equity along with fairness and equality of all government employees. Listening to the president's talk this morning made me wonder as to how we will ever reach an agreement on this issue. In her interview, in my opinion, she is refusing to look at anything this government is attempting to offer. It is no wonder we continue to fight to achieve our goals of a balanced budget. During these times of restraints and deficit reductions, we must work together and both sides must compromise to a degree. One cannot expect this government to give them the world, when we only have a small territory. This, in my opinion, is what she is after.
I do realize that the UNW is not the only group at fault, and this government should do its part to ensure this important issue is resolved. I do think it is her responsibility to her members to ensure a fair deal is done, and it is also her responsibility to her members to finalize this issue. To start negotiating is the way to finally bring this to rest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause