Hon. Andrew Cardozo: My question to the government leader is regarding Canada Post, further to the conversation you had with Senator Osler. I mention two of the larger economic aspects in Canada over the last week, two important figures: We had a slight increase in the unemployment rate to 6.8%, which is troubling, but a decrease in the interest rate by the Bank of Canada, which is very encouraging and suggests that the fundamentals are, indeed, sound at the moment.

The issues facing small business are serious, and I think yesterday the debate on the GST bill talked extensively about the difficulties faced by small businesses.

Can the government not engage in binding arbitration to end the Canada Post strike to help small businesses at this critical time?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The challenges that the postal strike is causing extend certainly to small businesses and to others as we have been discussing here.

The federal government is in regular contact with the minister in particular, and has daily discussions with the mediator who is shuttling back and forth between the two parties to see whether there is a reasonable prospect that mediation, if it resumes, would succeed. I haven’t been advised what advice the mediator has given to the minister at this juncture.

But with regard to your question, the issues that separate the two parties, as I understand them, are very significant and go beyond the kinds of issues that arbitration typically can address. More to the point, there are reasonably limited legal tools for the government to use and especially if —

The Hon. the Speaker: Thank you, Senator Gold. Senator Cardozo.

Senator Cardozo: What we have is about five sitting days of Parliament left before the Christmas break. Is the government’s approach going to be, “Sorry, can’t do anything, too bad” or is anything being contemplated?

Senator Gold: The government, and the Minister of Labour in particular, is actively involved in this file on a daily, if not hourly, basis. All alternatives are being considered, and all options remain on the table.

I am only sharing with you my understanding of the rather difficult issues that divide the parties and how the government continues to believe that the best solution for Canada Post and its workers is actual negotiations between the parties.