Mr. Speaker, the compassion we feel for retired Singer employees is very real. The issues they raised are extremely complex. These are legal issues which are complex and also very important.
As the minister, I have a duty to make sure the plan is administered in accordance with the law. It is for reasons of justice that we could not reach an out of court settlement, as Singer employees may have wished, given the very complex legal issues involved.
We could not do this, because depending on the agreement reached, as many as 70,000 other retired people could have been affected, based on the information I have. This is why we have to go to court.