Madam Speaker, I will try to finish on time.
In Laurentides, the riding I proudly represent, the unemployment rate is 18 per cent, a far cry from the national rate that was leaked last week. As I said a far cry from the rate that hon. members opposite are celebrating. A person would have to be terribly naive to believe that your policies were able to bring down the unemployment rate. All your decisions and initiatives since October 25 have been a mere drop in the bucket.
These self-congratulatory statements are just an attempt to mislead the public. You say your policies are working and producing results, but you are just distributing a few crumbs here and there. Your response is band-aid solutions and very short-term planning.
Where is the real vision? Where are the long-term plans that would help us look forward to a stabler economy that would generate more jobs? Instead of taking a serious approach to the problems and the solutions they require, the ministers opposite go on trips and come back with so-called good news. A trip to Korea, and Hyundai will open its doors again. Good news? News without much substance, which has raised a lot of concerns among the public. This strategy, which I say is pathetic, is not a winner, and no wonder.
The people on the government benches are handling problems on a day-to-day basis. They do not know what is going to happen tomorrow. The unemployed in Laurentides know perfectly well nothing has changed. Since you took over the government benches, there have been no more jobs for them.
They do know that after unemployment insurance comes welfare, and that is what really made the unemployment rate go down. It is true! Look at what is really happening in our ridings. The federal government is passing the buck to the provinces. This transfer of the tax burden, which is a disgrace, is a clear sign of the Liberals' inertia and indifference.
Welfare, cuts in unemployment insurance, jobs without a future, tax increases for the middle class and pretty speeches are the only results produced by the government's red book.
People in Laurentides want work. They are willing to train, be retrained and upgrade their skills to acquire the tools they need to meet labour market requirements. The 18 per cent who are unemployed in my riding-I repeat 30 per cent-want to see some light at the end of the tunnel. They want the government to implement programs that will help them go back to work. They want long-term employment, jobs that will give them some security, not the kind of jobs that last only a few weeks, created under programs that are only intended get people the number of weeks they need to go back on unemployment insurance. Workers are caught up in a vicious circle that the government merely encourages through these programs. We must change our way of doing things, change our approach to get results that are more useful and more attractive in the long run, both for workers and employers.
The economy of Laurentides is based mainly on spin-offs generated by the tourism industry and the goods and services sector. Except for greater Saint-Jérôme where you find well-established small and medium-sized businesses that provide good jobs, our economy depends on tourism. Now, the nearly total dependence of jobs on the presence of tourists in our area means that all workers are considerably exposed to uncontrollable elements. As a matter of fact, poor seasons due to low temperatures or a lack of money on the part of vacationers directly affect employment opportunities in the riding of Laurentides.
There is no doubt that the economy in my region needs to be diversified. A few dozen of strong small and medium-sized businesses would be welcome. They would help reduce our dependence on tourism and protect us against elements over which we have no control.
A business that manufactures high technology products, for instance, could certainly, while diversifying our economy, keep it at an acceptable level, guarantee a certain number of jobs and, indirectly, an adequate overall purchasing power.
Unfortunately, we do not have those small and medium-sized businesses in the Laurentians. Moreover, I invite those of the other side, the ministers, to come to my region and meet the
business people in order to develop the whole small and medium-sized business sector.
We must face the facts. The Laurentians depend on tourism for a living, as I have already said. Ski resorts, beaches, campgrounds, summer theatres, hotels, motels, restaurants and shops are the main source of employment for our workers. The level of activity of those employers depends on tourism, which fluctuates a lot, and on the purchasing power of residents, which is linked to the economy of the region.
The results for workers who are concentrated in great numbers in that sector are seasonal and precarious jobs, unsteady and low paid jobs. Our workers are very much affected by the fluctuations of tourism. That is why they must get unemployment insurance benefits between jobs while they are waiting for good seasons. Some wait for summer jobs while others work in the winter.
At the end of every working season, people come in greater numbers to ask for unemployment insurance because there are no other jobs available to them in the near future.
The recent changes to the unemployment insurance system make benefits even more difficult to obtain. In my riding, these changes will affect a great number of workers who cannot accumulate the required 12 weeks for the reasons I have already stated. For them, it means a direct line to welfare. A nice move on the part of the federal government. The decision-makers on the other side have never realized that, given the economic situation in the regions, some workers have a hard time finding work for 12 weeks.
And the Liberals keep at it. You have to work more, but they give you less. Less benefits and for a shorter period. Less money to spend, less purchasing power; the economy cuts jobs and does not create new ones, and so goes the spiral.
The Liberals reduce UI benefits without offering workers alternatives. Their thinking is topsy-turvy on the other side. The liberal processes follow a logic which is contrary to common sense. It is disquieting and discouraging for my constituents. It shows clearly that the Liberals have more consideration for figures than for persons.
Another provision of this reform also seems to be stress-generating. The benefit rate of 60 per cent for low-income persons with dependent children leads us to believe that there will be investigations made in order to confirm their status. In Quebec, we already know the welfare "boubou-macoutes"; we are aware of all the trouble and tension they caused in our province. I hope the federal government will not copy that kind of action which is most aggravating and infringes on people's privacy.
Finally, the impact of these amendments will be disastrous for the people of Laurentides. They prove that the Liberals are disconnected from the grassroots and from the realities of regional economic situations. Together they can shout "Alleluia for welfare" which is an easy and shameful way for them to shirk their duties and responsibilities.