Mr. Speaker, I listened to the remarks by my colleague opposite. She spoke of fine principles, job sharing and such things.
I am prompted to make a few remarks. Some two months ago, the government organized a national conference on young people in the new economy. With the job crisis faced by young people, the government panicked and wondered what could be done. So it invited young people from across Canada-from Vancouver to Newfoundland-in order to siphon off their ideas.
What was the outcome? Each speaker at the conference had a key role in the community. What was the outcome? A sort of consensus. I know, because I led a workshop. What appeared to come out was that employment problems, both social and economic, are regional. I know that in English Canada, when they talk of regions, they mean the Rockies and the Prairies. In Quebec, when we talk of regions, we mean the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean or Abitibi regions, where economic and social realities differ.
My question therefore for my colleague opposite is as follows. Does she not think that decentralization of powers and funds would lead to more activity? My perception of this great Canadian Parliament is that we are trying to study a national problem and find a national solution. Most of the time, however, we know that problems vary from one region to the next, because the realities are different.
So, would it not be better to involve the regions more and decentralize power in order to have solutions to the real regional problems?