I thank the hon. member for Beauséjour. Indeed, entrepreneurship in Quebec is alive and well. In my riding, attempts were under way for many years to set up an economic development corporation. Federal and provincial members of Parliament and municipal councillors persisted in telling us that this was impossible. But, we took matters into our own hands and established such a corporation, because we had the will to succeed.
There are many examples of similar successes at the provincial level. However, we also encounter obstacles and when I spoke about unemployment insurance in particular, I mentioned that we needed some oxygen. Until such time as all of these problems are resolved, and the Minister of Human Resources Development sits down with his provincial counterpart and settles the question of manpower training as best he can, until such time, we need some oxygen in Montreal to help the disadvantaged who are gasping for breath.
This afternoon, the minister quoted from a newspaper clipping. Undoubtedly, he overlooked an article on unemployment insurance which appeared on page C-1 of today's edition of La Presse . It quotes Mr. Claude Forget, a former provincial Liberal minister who once put forward a major proposal for unemployment insurance reform.
Mr. Forget is reported as saying that the introduction of a different benefit level for persons with dependants will complicate matters and increase the costs of administering the legislation which is already highly complex.
With two different benefit levels, namely 55 per cent and 60 per cent, the system will be absolutely impossible to administer. This will create major problems and complicate the system. In addition, as reported on page C-3, the budget proposes vague fiscal measures. Even the experts are confused. Moreover, it is reported on the front page that Mr. Paul Martin was visibly disappointed with the frosty reception given to the government's financial plan and was prepared to accept part of the blame.
Perhaps the most interesting of all the articles appearing in La Presse -