Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, I listened very carefully to the minister's speech. I am glad to say that at least in some of the preamble in the early part of the speech there were things I was very pleased to hear.

First, there is a recognition that Canada Post is actually doing a very good job in delivering unbelievable quantities of mail across the country. Productivity has increased. Mail delivery access to individual homes has increased 30% and profits are up to $112 million. Given there was an increase in productivity and an increase in profits, Canada Post Corporation saw fit to offer a reasonable wage increase during the negotiations.

My question to the minister would be how can the government justify in the legislation we are dealing with today the fact that the wage offer that will be bound in this legislation is actually lower than the wage offer Canada Post had offered its employees during the rounds of bargaining? Can we get a comment from the minister to that effect, please.

Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, this government owns 50,000 buildings, many of which are outdated, expensive to operate and waste energy. Yet today, unbelievably, the government postponed an energy retrofit program that would create thousands of jobs, save a fortune in operating costs and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

On the eve of Kyoto can the Minister of the Environment please explain why in the world she would postpone an idea as good as job creation through energy conservation.

Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals were in opposition they wrote a report that said Canada Post should not pay income tax and should only generate enough profits to pay for its operating costs and to improve services to Canadians.

Today the Liberal government is demanding that Canada Post pay dividends of $294 million over five years and $131 million in income tax. This strike could be settled today if the government withdrew its unreasonable demand for profits.

Will the minister of government services direct Canada Post to return to the table without the demand for dividends that is the root cause of this strike?

Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post is not supposed to be a cash cow to be milked by the federal government. The government's demand for profits and dividends from Canada Post has all the earmarks of getting the corporation ready for the auction block. It is like fattening up a calf before bringing it to market.

Will the minister of public works withdraw the demand for dividends from Canada Post and assure the House today that the government will never sell off and privatize this valuable asset?

Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Mr. Speaker, the biggest single obstacle in this round of bargaining stems from the Liberal government demanding that Canada Post pay dividends of over $200 million over the next five years. Canada Post wants to meet those demands by eliminating jobs.

Since when is Canada Post supposed to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in profits when its mandate is to put revenues into better service for Canadians?

Will the minister and his government withdraw this unreasonable demand for profits, take away the need to eliminate jobs and thereby move us toward a speedy settlement in this round of bargaining?