Mr. Speaker, I do not think that as a member of the government I am any less sensitive to the people in my riding who have lost their jobs than the member opposite. I accept the fact that every member in the House hurts when a person in their riding loses a job.
The fact is that we need to put in place specific strategies on the one hand to make sure we are protecting the aged, the sick, and those people who have no chance, no means or no need to re-enter the workforce. They must have their income levels protected. At the same time we have to ensure that those people of my age who see the old jobs disappearing have the tools they need to get back into the productive workforce.
It is a delicate balancing act. It is going to cause some pain, but we will have to do it because without the pain of the change in the workforce we will end up in the 21st century with no new jobs for those people in my age group who need to get back into the productive workforce.