Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Lachapelle, a little while ago, we were talking about the federal government's $10 billion investment in the auto industry. You were questioned about this. That fact is that it was a very good thing for the auto industry.
I hope we are wrong, but we think that since the Conservatives would really like to get their hands on some NDP ridings in Southern Ontario, they targeted their assistance to that industry. A political decision was made. On the other hand, only crumbs were offered to the forest industry, along with untenable conditions, since it has to do its share, even though it is not in a position to do that now, as you explained earlier. I hope that this can be corrected. When you make the same error twice, that's serious; but if there is a recognition that a mistake has been made and if Quebec is not abandoned by the current government, we can take another look at the situation. The forest industry and paper mills, which are located not only in Quebec, but in Ontario, New Brunswick, British Columbia and several other places as well, are suffering enormously because of this government.
I would like to address another aspect of the situation and talk about the industry as a whole. We spent a lot of time this morning—and rightly so—talking about two plants in particular—the ones in Dolbeau-Mistassini and Gatineau. However, there are others. We could have opened the umbrella a little wider and taken a close look at all the plants. The workers feel cheated and they have every reason to feel that they have been had by AbitibiBowater. And we have also seen how this company deals with people who want the industry to work, even though they may not be directly involved in that industry, but still want to ensure that their residents have jobs in the paper mills and the forest industry. And then there are the small- and medium-sized businesses—the subcontractors—which work with the paper mills, either in terms of transportation or in other areas. They don't work in the plant, but they haul the products, first for processing purposes, and subsequently for sale or reprocessing.
So, a lot of people feel they have been had. How does the industry intend to compensate the people who have been penalized by plant closures?