Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by saying to the member that I cannot speak on the minister's coming to his riding but one day I would love to visit his riding and I hope that one day he will come and visit my riding in downtown Toronto.
To the member I want to say that even though he looks after his people in a rural setting and I am in a downtown setting we both share and care in the same way. What the government is trying to do is take a number of steps that hopefully will put people back to work.
We are not just reforming the unemployment insurance system. We are also trying to urge the financial institutions and the banks of Canada to be more generous in their attitude toward small and medium size businesses, the businesses that the member described in his riding. With the support of his colleagues in committee we are beginning to have some success in that area. We are trying with our infrastructure program to get some activity stimulated in the member's community and throughout all of Quebec and Canada.
We are also trying to the best of our ability to reform the tax system in the finance committee. There are a number of things we are trying to do. We know that there is a great sense of urgency and we are doing our best to move these projects forward.
Make no mistake about it, the member's riding will get the same attention and the same care as any other riding of any other member in this House.
On behalf of the minister I want to say that we do care about the pain that the member's constituents are experiencing and we are going to do our best to make sure that some of that pain can be relieved in the not too distant future.