Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at the risk of sounding somewhat exasperated on this issue, I have worked darn hard. I rolled up my sleeves along with my Cabinet colleagues in an effort to try to find, through careful management of the government, some of these dollars for pay equity and to give our employees a fair settlement in the collective agreement. Under difficult fiscal conditions, I want to say that again, I would like to hope we will not have to talk about difficult fiscal conditions again, but I obviously have to.

We have worked very hard to try and achieve that. I feel very strongly that they have an obligation to take it to the membership. This thing has been going on for ten-years. As a Minister responsible, I brought the thing forward. I asked the bargaining committee to try and reach a resolve to this issue. We, through careful management of our money, with the collaboration of the Premier and my Cabinet colleagues, have found the dollars necessary and we are banking that with the hope that we will get an agreement. It is not my responsibility for the agreement to go out to a vote. That responsibility lies squarely in the hands of the UNW executive. I tell you, I have pleaded with them today, that if they want resolve to this issue, during the last eight months of this government, take it to the people and let the people decide whether it is fair.