The CSD has millions of people working in the clothing and textile industries. So we're very familiar with those two situations. Earlier Lina explained to you the differences between the two industries, and I agree with her.
The federal government must increase funding granted out of the employment insurance account, under the Canada-Quebec agreement, for manpower training. In Quebec, the labour market partners commission currently manages $600 million a year. Quebec has made giant steps on this issue in the past decade.
The other item we want to examine — Jorge spoke about it earlier — is the sectoral committees. They produce very concrete results through highly pragmatic and controlled approaches by people in the community.
Lina told you about immigrant workers in Montreal. This is a reality, but there are also workers from the regions. For example, in central Quebec, in the Beauce, these people are highly vulnerable when they lose their jobs following a plant closing. As president of a federation of nearly 400 affiliated unions, I sometimes witness moments of union truth at general meetings and see the suffering of these women.
Social policies are part of the problem. As president of a labour federation, how can I respond to a 60-year-old woman who gets up and explains that, as the eldest in her family, she had to go to work when her father died and hand her pay cheque over to her mother every week and that, today, some 40 years later, she has to apply for welfare? She can no longer live with dignity. Why? Because the federal government has shirked its responsibility for establishing an income support program for older workers since May 1997. That's one example, but I could cite others.
Training is important, and the income support program for older workers is equally so.