Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned with the current state of negotiations with the UNW on the new contract. I question the government's insistence on tying the pay equity issue to the collective bargaining process. Mr. Speaker, if, as the government insists, the signing of a collective agreement without dealing with the pay equity issue leaves the government in a precarious legal quandary, how were the last four or five collective agreements signed off by this and other governments?
I understand, Mr. Speaker, the fiscal reality that is driving the Minister of Finance to push for the acceptance of the combined settlement. It is, as he said, Mr. Speaker, an affordable northern-made solution to the pay equity dispute, but I can also appreciate, Mr. Speaker, the UNW's hesitation to sign off on a pay equity methodology that they have serious reservations about. It appears, Mr. Speaker, that both sides in the dispute are unwilling to compromise. However, Mr. Speaker, I believe that if the pay equity issue is separated, we could at least move on the collective bargaining, which is, as I understand, close to being completed.
The union must keep in mind that the days of unlimited government funding are over, and the pay equity dispute must be settled at a reasonable cost. The services this government provides to the public cannot be compromised any further than they already are. The union would garner little public support or sympathy should a settlement be imposed on the government by the proposed tribunal and government services have to be cut back as a result. There is no benefit to union members if the settlement of pay equity dispute results in cutbacks to the quality of education and health care that they and their families receive.
Mr. Speaker, the Finance Minister has a job to do, to resolve the pay equity issue with the best interests of the constituents that we represent kept in mind. The union executive also has a very understandable job to do, protecting the interests of their membership that they represent. There is no doubt in my mind that the strategic position of the Finance Minister to tie pay equity to the collective bargaining process was predetermined to get the pay equity deal done.
I believe that the $40 million, however, that is on the table is sufficient to resolve the dispute. The union might not believe that the money is correctly apportioned to deal with the pay equity dispute, but they should at least be willing, Mr. Speaker, to work with this government to resolve this issue. Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.