"Thanks For Coming"

You know something is essentially broken in politics when a clear case of human need in society is passed off by a government that attempts to hide behind legislation in order to absolve itself of just plain humanity. Such is the case with the some 400 Nortel pensioners on long-term disability who, through no fault of their own, find themselves just a few days away from destitution. Two weeks ago, when a Senate committee opted to kill a bill proposed to provide relief for those trapped in a Nortel-like dilemma, the death knell sounded.Bill S-216 was simple in theory but likely to be complex in execution. Designed to amend Canada's Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the bill would have permitted Nortel workers on the LTD plan to move to a higher priority place on the creditor status. The Conservatives acted quickly to kill the bill in committee with their one-vote majority, voting "against," while all the Liberals voted "for".On Friday, I requested a meeting with Nortel retirees in my constituency office and heard once again the deep sense of frustration at what they believed to be insensitivity on the part of the federal government. Admittedly, it's difficult for them to watch their former co-workers hang on the precipice of financial ruin on the same day that a feature story emerged that approximately $3 trillion of taxpayer funds were used by the American Federal Reserve to bail out Wall Street while precious little was offered to those who had lost their jobs south of the border. And while Canada is supposedly in a more favoured position, it didn't help to hear that the five big Canadian banks actually accessed U.S. public funds to bail out their American operations. The Canadian firms stated they sought the bailout loans out of "strategic" reasons and not out of "necessity."Sadly, the Nortel folks don't have the option of planning strategically when in a few days some will have gone from working salaries of between $50-$70,000 annually prior to their disability to a meagre average of $15,000. Their world won't fall apart on that day because it's been eroding for months. With the hardness they believed to have been shown by the federal government and their cronies in the Senate, they are now in the process of selling their homes and other possessions that once formed the backbone of their economic lives. "Tossed out into the cold" would be an understatement for what these folks are about to go through. Regardless of all the legal complexities involved in their plight, straight "human law" in any modern society would lead us to believe that anyone who worked for their career and believed they would be protected by their company and the state would certainly receive equitable treatment. Well, not in Canada, and not today.On the day of the Senate committee's decision, some of these Nortel families appeared in gallery during Question Period. When MP Judy Sgro asked minister Tony Clement to intervene in helping the bill to pass, he responded, fairly enough, by offering that the plight of the Nortel families was indeed tragic. But when he went on to assert that the bill would lead to all sorts of legal problems (likely true), one of the female Nortel LTD workers yelled something out from above Clement's head. As is the policy, security quickly moved in to escort the woman from the Chamber. She was quickly joined by the others in solidarity, many with tears streaming down their faces.Some government members didn't realize Nortel workers were seated above them and they strained to see what was transpiring. As the pensioners filed out, one of those poignant moments occurred that captures the attention of the House. Seated directly behind me, Justin Trudeau called out in a moment of strained silence, "Thanks for coming." It was an appropriate thing to utter and all the opposition parties rose as one to applaud them as they filed out. They paused for a moment, looked back at us in deep emotional strain, and waved back in thanks for our efforts to reverse the bill."Thanks for coming" - it still rings in my memory.  This isn't the kind of Canada most of us believe in. Come they did, to the seat of power and they left feeling powerless. With all the money flowing out of Ottawa these days, it is entirely possible for the government to at least call together a task force of federal and provincial stakeholders to design a rescue package that would keep the Nortel folks from living in their cars. But it is not to be. Coming soon to a Parliament near you - the offer of a lump of coal instead of hope. Just in time for Christmas - humbug.