Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. When I met him, he was a journalist and I was touring Quebec regions. I had written a report on the social safety net. I had noted that the social safety net created by a number of federal programs was not enough.
When there is a little bit of money, we create programs and we help a particular group with a specific mission. Then, the federal government decides that it no longer wants to support certain groups for all sorts of reasons. What is happening at present is rather worrisome. They have cut employment insurance. What is the government doing about that? It has not shown the political will to reform employment insurance in any way to help workers who have lost their jobs. My colleague from Chambly knows about that as he is the Bloc critic for these matters.
I could say a lot more about poverty. The government must take concrete action and not let its citizens down. Increasing the Canada social transfer is one of the first things the federal government should do because it would allow the provinces to better meet community needs. It has not done this. Thus, we are in about the same place as when the Liberal government was in power.