Mr. Speaker, the hon. member said earlier that her children never had to rely on UI benefits. This is great, but it is not the case for us. Our mothers and fathers have a lot of heart. Still, many children claim UI benefits not because they want to, but because they have to.
The government will create two classes of unemployed. One for those who occasionally claim UI benefits, like once every five years, and the other for those who do so almost annually.
Where I come from, around November, workers have to claim UI benefits again, because they are out of work. They are jobless.
I worked for the agency and for other organizations to generate work. Back home, a great number of people do their utmost to create jobs, not only through programs but in the field. People in my region are extremely disappointed by the minister's reform. They know that they have no choice but to rely on UI benefits every year. Yet, the new reform provides for cuts in those benefits as well as for more work weeks, something which is impossible in the Gaspe Peninsula.
We asked, among other things, that the Eastern Quebec Development Plan for forestry workers be extended. We made representations. This morning I made a statement pursuant to Standing Order 31. This is cumbersome. The government does not understand. It does not understand that, in the Gaspe Peninsula, the Lower St. Lawrence region and the riding of Matapédia-Matane, the issues are not necessarily the same as in Toronto or Calgary.
The hon. member told us that her children never had to rely on UI benefits. I congratulate her and her children, but I also tell her that the situation is not the same for everyone. I hope she will realize that.
I want to make another point. If tuition fees go up, a very large number of students from the Gaspe, Matapédia-Matane and Lower St. Lawrence regions will not be able to attend university. In my region, the university is located in Rimouski and not every subject is taught there. Consequently, some students have to go to Laval university, in Quebec City, or to Montreal, thus incurring extra costs. If they go home once a month, they have to pay for their transportation costs and also spend extra money on food and lodging. If, on top of that, tuition fees are increased, as many as half the student population in my region may not be able to go on. Even today, the total number of those who can afford to attend university is lower than elsewhere. Therefore, my region is adversely affected by this measure.
If the hon. member cares about those who live in rural and remote areas and who will not be able to go to university because of that reform, what would she tell the unemployed in my region who want to work but cannot find jobs? I would appreciate an answer on these two issues.