Mr. Speaker, then how do we explain the position of the Canadian manufacturers and exporters, the Quebec federation of chambers of commerce and all the unions and workers? Last Friday, 150 laid-off workers went to the Minister of Labour's constituency office with signs saying, “You are a member from Quebec. Not Alberta.” People want a chance to work in their own communities. People are saying that they do not want to go to Alberta. A 55-year-old who has spent his life raising a family in his region does not want to move to that province.
Today, the government is refusing to implement an income security program for older workers. These people have done everything they can to find jobs, but have not been successful. How are these people supposed to understand that the government is putting $10 billion in surplus towards the debt, when it cannot find $50 million, for the current year for all of Canada, to help ensure these workers have sufficient funds to get them through to retirement?
Should the government not go back to the drawing board, as the Standing Committee on Finance recommended today?