Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to say that I can well understand the emotion and the figures provided by the new member for Acadie—Bathurst.
I would like to tell the hon. member that, despite everything he said about my former colleague, Mr. Young, governing is not about saying one thing in one context and something else in another. It takes leadership and courage to say and do some rather difficult things.
I know that it was not easy for the member before me or the member before him to make these decisions, but they saw that it was absolutely necessary that the system change. After ten or so years, the unemployment insurance system was in such bad shape that, in the end, everyone was being penalized.
Now I know very well, as does the hon. member, that the collapse of the cod fishery was due to environmental causes and was not the fault of the federal government or individuals. I know that the member is very familiar with the situation that exists in his area, Acadia, in large urban centres like Toronto, and elsewhere in Canada. I must therefore ask the hon. member a question. What changes would he like to see to ensure that people at the other end of the country are not penalized by the system?
I must point out that there are people in my riding working for $6 or $7 an hour, who do their job, who at least try to make a living when the day is done, but who must pay insurance. Is the member proposing a system in which there would be no employment insurance, or does he favour a sound system that would work for everyone?