Mr. Speaker, it is with sadness that I learned yesterday that Gildan Activewear will close its two Canadian yarn spinning operations.
One of the plants, scheduled to close in March, is located in Long Sault, Ontario, and employs 170 people. This area, which used to have one of the most concentrated clusters of textile companies in Canada, lost close to 2,000 jobs over the last 20 years.
I urge the Government of Canada to put measures in place for those workers in order to receive employment insurance benefits in a timely manner. I also call upon the government to improve the program for the textile industry to ensure that no more jobs are lost in this important industry.