Mr. Speaker, the hon. member who just spoke mentioned the need for a strategy that goes beyond unemployment insurance to include other measures to promote small and medium-sized businesses and bigger companies as well. We must create jobs. This is very important, not only for Canadians who are out of work but also for other Canadians who are always in danger of becoming unemployed.
It is also very important for the economy in general to have a lower unemployment rate and to get the unemployment rate down as soon as possible.
I do not know at what level unemployment is acceptable, but it certainly is not at the level we have now, which is about 11 per cent. I hope that, in the years to come, we will manage to bring unemployment down to less than 5 per cent. I hope we can, but even that may not be enough. However, it is possible to reduce the unemployment rate.
All I want to say right now in response to the hon. member's question, and I thank him for his question, is that there is a strategy with several components. Unemployment insurance certainly cannot create jobs.
This bill contains some major changes in general strategy in order to get money from the government to support education, training and other ways to help people find jobs.
In this debate we do not have all the other measures that are or will be before the House, but I can assure you that job creation is the cornerstone of the Liberal platform and the government's policy. Every day, in speech after speech, the Prime Minister keeps repeating that the government's objective continues to be to create jobs in order to give Canadians the dignity of work so that they can put bread and butter on the table for their families.
I can assure the hon. member that the sentiments reflected in his speech will also be reflected in a number of other measures, and meanwhile, the government is pursuing a major goal.