Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The motion specifies working conditions. I am not surprised that a motion like this has been introduced. But it is very centralist, given Quebec's jurisdiction, so I am really disappointed. I am not opposed to our studying the issue of the labour shortage, which has a major impact on the Canadian economy and which is well documented. Actually, all the motions that have been introduced deal with that issue. The Conservative motion was much more general and the Liberal motion dealt with the labour shortage in the agri-food sector. Ours, however, had the advantage of being broader in scope, allowing us to view the situation in its entirety.
The motion that we are debating focuses on the labour shortage in health care, but the roles can vary from one province to another. In British Columbia, the role of a personal support worker in a health care team and in the way services are organized is certainly not the same role as in Quebec. In Quebec, we have professional bodies. A number of issues affect health care, such as training. The fact remains that health care is in provincial jurisdiction.
I am not opposed to our studying the labour shortage as an issue. But I am not sure whether committee members realize that we are focusing on a sector that is completely provincial. Working conditions in daycare services, for example, come under a program that has existed in Quebec for 25 years. We have ratios for preschoolers, and the Department of Families is responsible for them. We have specific training and we have measures to address the labour shortage. It's all documented and managed by provincial public finances.
We do not need to do a major study if we want to help the care economy. We just all need to be convinced that, to help the provinces, the feds should pay their fair share of health care costs.
Economic immigration to Quebec is also in provincial jurisdiction. The temporary foreign worker program affects the care economy much less than the economy in general.
I feel that we have broad consensus on the labour shortage, because it has an impact on the Canadian economy. However, I don't understand why we want to focus on the care economy, which is the exclusive responsibility of the provinces.