Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for providing us with some answers. When I rise in this House, I always find myself making demands on behalf of my constituents.
I have the feeling that these days the government is more concerned about looking good abroad, because they are bragging about paying down $52 billion of our debt. This is something they are proud of, as they mentioned in the budget, because it makes them look good before the G-7.
My constituents and I wonder what this budget provides for the residents of my region.
For instance, our region was hard hit by the softwood lumber crisis which cost us thousands of jobs. We also had to deal with the mad cow disease. My hon. colleague would remind us of the $800 million. But of these $800 million, only $50 million will go to dairy producers and to the cull cow program. We are faced with a crisis of major proportions.
What I have come to understand is that $46 billion was taken from the surplus accumulated in the employment insurance fund to pay down $52 billion of the debt instead of providing assistance to the various regions of Quebec and relaxing the requirements for employment insurance to help out the workers who really need help.
Can the hon. member demonstrate to the people watching us today that there is something concrete in this budget to help the regions of Quebec?