Mr. Speaker, I wish to make the House aware of the importance the Bloc Quebecois
attaches to defence conversion. This is the main reason why we selected it for our opposition day. It is important in Quebec and it is important in my region. I should point out that I have SNC Technologies in my riding, a munitions plant, and its employees are extremely worried about federal government inaction on defence conversion.
Before addressing the matter we are looking at today directly, I would like to take this opportunity to denounce the Canadian Armed Forces' lack of respect for francophones in its ranks. Last February 22, the Office of the Commissioner for Official Languages followed up on numerous complaints about the lack of compliance with the Official Languages Act in the Canadian Armed Forces. Its letter stated that there would be an investigation to compare the situation of francophones in Moosejaw and that of anglophones at Bagotville. The report was to be submitted within a few weeks of the February letter. Nearly a year later, the report is still secret, despite the Access to Information Act, probably because the conclusions do not put the government in a very good light.
All we are asking is for the investigation to be made public, first of all, and then for them to comply with their own legislation. Now, back to the key point of this debate, defence conversion; this must be looked at on the world scale, but also in Quebec, primarily the Montreal area, and in Canada. The situation is not a very comfortable one. With the end of the cold war, defence industries everywhere in the world are in a crisis situation. The market, estimated to be in excess of $450 billion, dropped 10 per cent between 1987 and 1994. This slump is far from over; according to the international experts, there might be another drop of some 25 per cent within the next few years, which is why it is important to have an eye to the future in this sector.
The result of this crisis in the industry has been major job losses world wide. For example, 700,000 jobs have been lost in the USA, and 600,000 in Europe. In Quebec and in Canada we are far from being protected from the inroads being made upon the defence industry world wide. In Quebec alone, sales figures in the defence sector dropped 48 per cent between 1987 and 1992. During that same period, lower defence sales resulted in the disappearance of 11,000 of the 57,000 jobs directly linked to defence.
As I have already stated, there is a company in my riding whose 500 employees are worried at the lack of action. Considering the situation in the defence industry, there are two other points that must be taken into consideration.
First, we must remember that jobs lost in the defence industry are jobs in a sector with a very high concentration of advanced technology. The jobs that disappear are high calibre, lucrative positions. In fact, salaries paid in the aerospace industry, which plays a major role in the defence industry, tend to be 24 per cent higher than the average salary in Canadian industry. Twenty-four per cent is a lot.
Second, we must consider the fact that these changes in the defence sector are particularly hard on Quebec, where a major part of Canada's defence industry is located. This is not partisan politics. This is the truth. Because of the way the industry is distributed within the province, these changes come down hard on the Montreal region which is the driving force of Quebec's economy.
In other words, a lack of federal programs to help the defence industry whether this crisis will be particularly damaging for Quebec and weaken the ability of Quebecers to make advanced technology one of the strengths of their economy.
I am referring here to sectors like telecommunications and the aerospace industry, where we have to do everything we can to promote development and provide a solid basis for competitive growth in the long term. If we want to build this solid basis for the future, it is important to help the defence industry negotiate the rough spots it is experiencing today. This can be done partly by helping the industry adjust to changing conditions, something the government has failed to do.
For instance, we could provide incentives for defence producers to develop civilian applications of their products.
Since the defence industry uses advanced technology which benefits the economy as a whole, it would make sense for the government to have programs that provide incentives for defence conversion, which is already the case in other countries.
In the United States, the Clinton plan provides between 4 and 6 billion dollars worth of funding for defence conversion. In Europe, largely thanks to the KONVER program, hundreds of millions of dollars are invested for this purpose.
And then Canada. Does this country have a program similar to the European and American programs that focus on defence conversion? Unfortunately, it does not.
The only program that comes close is DIPP, which has been around for several years, and it certainly does not focus exclusively on defence conversion.
Its purpose is also to support companies that work in the defence industry, especially in aerospace and avionics, and to facilitate and consolidate R&D activities in these companies. It also focuses on setting up networks of suppliers of derivatives and components for these sectors and promoting investment and exports in manufacturing sectors with a high added value.
The purpose of the program is to help defence industries remain competitive on world and Canadian markets. It provides companies in the defence sector with incentives to continue their activities. It is only in recent years that part-and it must be remembered that it is only a small part-of the budget for this program has been allocated to promoting defence conversion.
Here, we could perhaps point out that expenditures under the DIPP program have a major economic impact. Every dollar spent under the program is estimated to produce more than $40 worth of economic benefits. We must not forget that, through its strong participation and dynamic role in the defence industry, Quebec enjoys a significant amount of these benefits.
This therefore is the only federal program with a goal of defence conversion, even though it may be both limited and inadequate. While the program does not entirely serve the needs of conversion, it could at least serve as a basis for the work needed in this area. It is simply a basis requiring constant work, but at least it is something. Even the Liberals promised to face the challenge of defence conversion in their famous red book. They have forgotten in the meantime, as everyone will agree.
They acknowledged, and I quote: "The defence industries today employ directly and indirectly over 100,000 Canadians. The end of the Cold War puts at risk tens of thousands of high-tech jobs". They promised in the red book, and I quote once again: "A Liberal government will introduce a defence conversion program to help industries in transition from high-tech military production to high-tech civilian production".
This then was a promise to build on the existing program to help the sector through its difficult times. Where is it at today? Forgotten, gone, like most of the other promises the other party made.
Looking at the record to date, we see that the benefits derived from the defence industry are substantial for Quebecers and Canadians, but that the industry is facing a serious crisis. Some adjustments must be made. Conversion of a significant portion of the defence industry to civilian production would help us keep and develop high calibre jobs. Other countries have taken on this challenge, as I mentioned earlier.
In Canada however the federal government has not, truth be known, managed to respond coherently to the problem, despite empty promises-something that does not surprise us. The only reaction to the crisis in the defence industry up to now has been a few adjustments to an existing program and cuts to it, on top of everything else. And yet, the Liberals had promised much more to help the industry survive this crisis.
Despite the logic of providing more active support for defence conversion, the Liberal government has not kept its promises. The DIPP budget is in free fall. It reached its peak in 1989-90 at over $300 million. In 1994-95, the figure was less than $144 million. New cuts are expected for 1995-96. The DIPP will then amount to only $102 million, a 66 per cent reduction over six years, at a time when business is facing a serious crisis.
These cuts will only continue, and the 1997-98 budget should drop to only $24 million. In fact, the program no longer accepts any new projects, and the government is honouring only the commitments it has already undertaken. This is a funny way for the government to keep its promise to facilitate defence conversion, do you not agree?
At a time when the industry needs it more than ever, the government is drastically reducing its participation. Its budget cuts are placing an enormous burden on Quebec. While Quebec businesses received $168 million in 1989-90, this amount dropped to $80 million in 1992-93. This is quite disturbing for the people who work in this sector in Quebec and in the Montreal region.
In conclusion, I think that so far the federal Liberal government has behaved inappropriately and irresponsibly by promising assistance while at the same time cutting back on the defence conversion program. This is a Machiavellian way of looking at things and avoiding the problems by shoving them aside to make them disappear. The time has come to initiate an honest program to face the real, global crisis everyone recognizes. The government must act now.