Sadly, the situation in Dolbeau is not unique. It's repeated in community after community after community right across Canada and Quebec.
Our complaint is that there is no strategic plan for the industry. We have, almost on bended knees, asked the federal government to facilitate a strategic meeting at which all of the players can get together to find a way out, because, Madam, this is not over. There is much more going to happen to forest workers in Canada, and we have to stop the bleeding. It is not just about cheap rhetoric. This industry is in chaos and continues to spin in chaos.
The first thing that must happen is the government must hold strategic meetings with all of the players to make a plan for the short term and the long term. The situation in Dolbeau is no different from that anywhere else. Single-industry towns and the communities around them are dying. There is no question that money is needed, but it takes a strategic economic plan for the industry to survive. That's the first thing that has to be done.