Thank you. Be that as it may, I share your point of view, Mr. Whyte. The fact that the government has acted in this manner demonstrates a total lack of ethics. In addition, we note that this lack of ethics is cropping up again. In fact, earlier, the Liberals talked about what they call a notional amount, almost as though this was science fiction. We are not talking about 54.1 billion notional dollars, but real dollars paid by real employers and real employees.
I would now like to address Mr. Weir.
At present, the balanced economy that has been constructed since the end of the Second World War, which relied heavily on a strong manufacturing sector, has been destabilized. Since the Conservatives came to power, 116,000 people have lost their jobs in Quebec in the manufacturing sector alone. Last week, I met with the Golden Brand company, which will be announcing 500 layoffs in the days to come. The company is turning a profit, but obviously, this is not sufficient for it to maintain ownership. This company manufactured suits for Moores. They are now relocating to China.
But setting aside ideological references, when the government supports the tar sands sector, which can produce as much as it likes without any thought being given to the impact of this on the environment and future generations, the government is making an economic choice. This government likes to boast about being non-interventionist, but it is indeed intervening. Clearly, they're picking their winner and their winner is the tar sands.
Do you agree?