First, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you for your kind words about my concern regarding income support for seniors. I know you are a sensitive person, and I am sure you are going to work hard to convince your party to adopt my view.
I am going to ask Ms. White a question, but first, I have a second question for Ms. Payne.
Further to a suggestion made by Ms. Savoie earlier, since things are not working well at the national level, would it not be preferable to have those responsibilities taken over by the provinces and Quebec? There are actually two areas of provincial jurisdiction involved—labour relations and training.
You said that would limit mobility. Is that not really a false problem, given that mobility is always theoretical, and that in fact you acknowledged earlier that the system is not working? Those are my questions to you.
My other question is to Ms. Payne, and has to do with my analysis of the situation. I think we find ourselves in a very paradoxical situation. In the past, older workers kept their jobs longer, because of their collective agreements and seniority rules. When there were layoffs, it was the younger workers who left, because in the case of massive layoffs, the company did not necessarily close down.
Today, when there are job losses, they are due mainly to companies closing down completely. This means that some 20% or 25% of the employees—definitely 20% in most of the areas surveyed—are over 55.
Since we do not have any adjustment measures in place for that age group, are we not instantly putting these people into a situation similar to that of disabled persons? The way things are today, being 55 years old becomes a rigid barrier, a handicap such as those facing disabled individuals. My intent is not to compare the two groups. I simply wonder whether we are not making the problem worse. That is my second question.
Are we not saying that the problem lies not with policy, but rather with the culture? That is my third question. We have developed a culture of exclusion, when what we want is a policy of inclusion.