Good afternoon, Minister. I am very pleased to be meeting with you here for the first time. I would like to talk about the Quebec economy, which you are very familiar with.
We know, speaking in very general terms, that it is characterized by a large number of high-tech industries, on the one hand, and some low-tech industries, on the other. As regards the high-tech industries, competition from other industrialized countries is causing some major problems. Indeed, Canada is providing too little support, in my opinion, for research, development and innovation, unlike its competitors in other countries.
As regards the low-tech industries which, in many cases, are part of the manufacturing sector, the current situation is really quite discouraging. Some 130,000 jobs have been lost in the manufacturing sector. Two days ago, the Canadian Labour Congress organized a demonstration. People are realizing that the situation is absolutely catastrophic. These lost jobs affect the lives of many people and their families. As far as we are concerned, solutions have to be found.
It is unfortunate that since you came to office, 65,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in Quebec. Since the beginning of the year, the situation has not improved. We are now talking about a loss of 10,000 jobs a month in Quebec in that particular sector. It's a disaster. You are fully aware of the situation; you know what is going on.
Does that mean your policy has been a complete failure and that you should simply acknowledge that fact? More generally, I would ask you this: when do you plan to implement a truly proactive industrial policy?