On February 21, 1951, in reply to a question in the House of Commons which rather pointedly raised the issue of the Government's attitude and intentions with regard to more direct “bargaining” with the staff associations, the Prime Minister stated: “From the very nature of employment in the public service, there can be no bargaining agent for the nation comparable with the employer in industry who has at his disposal funds derived from payments for goods or services. The funds from which salaries are paid in the public service have to be voted by parliament and parliament alone can discharge that responsibility.” Having presented this formal position with its hint of the “sovereign employer” theory, Mr. St. Laurent went on to say that the Government was not contemplating any steps to provide its employees with the same facilities for negotiation as are provided for private employees “… because it is considered that the appropriate machinery for these purposes was set up by P.C. 3676 of May 16, 1944, which established the National Joint Council of the Public Service of Canada, and the subsequent Treasury Board Minute of March 8, 1945, approving the constitution of the Council.” The latter part of the Prime Minister's statement provides the text for this paper. What is the National Joint Council? How has it worked out in practice? To what extent does it provide an acceptable alternative to collective bargaining?