Mr. Speaker, the minister has a selective approach to recent political history. I saw in this House, and I shared, the fervour, intensity and indignation with which he attacked Bill C-113, which took 5 per cent of their unemployment insurance benefits away from the unemployed. We all condemned this legislation and we voted against it. Today, I see the same minister working as part of a cabinet that has launched a wholesale attack against the unemployed.
I want to ask the Prime Minister or his deputy whether the government will admit that without genuine measures to boost employment, the government's decision to reduce the benefits of nearly 85 per cent of the unemployed will have the effect of putting several thousand of these people on welfare?