Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Jonquière, I wish to inform this House that a committee of aluminum workers laid off by Alcan was set up, with a membership of 500. This committee has contacted the Prime Minister to let him know how disappointed it was because the federal government seems to pay little attention to those affected by unemployment in the aluminum industry.
These unemployed workers are asking for investments from Alcan in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region in return for the privilege of using the hydro-electric power of our rivers. They also ask for job creation to be promoted by limiting overtime.
These workers denounce Canada's financial support for the construction and modernization of aluminum plants in South Africa and Russia while Canadian aluminum workers are being laid off. The committee therefore asks the government to develop consistent economic and employment policies.