Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has asked this question on a number of occasions. He knows very well that the government is concerned about the situation of Black Lake miners and that it was among the first to come to their aid.
The Minister of Human Resources Development indicated in the House on several occasions that he has set aside nearly $3 million to help the miners remain active members of the labour force. The member across the way has repeatedly asked the government to help the miners through the program for older workers adjustment. The fact is, and the hon. member knows this, POWA no longer exists. POWA ended last March because it was not fair or equitable to all the workers in Quebec or elsewhere.
This cost shared program was only offered in some provinces and contained so many restrictions that many older workers simply could not qualify. Furthermore, POWA offered only passive income support and did nothing to help workers adapt to a changing labour force.
Instead of continuing to offer such ineffective support, forward looking governments like ours are focusing their efforts to offer Canadians active measures which will help workers improve their skills so they remain in the labour force and can adapt to a changing work place and a changing economy.
The Minister of Human Resources Development is very sensitive to the needs of these individuals, so much so that he met with their representatives on October 29, 1997. The workers informed the minister that POWA did not meet their expectations and asked that special measures be taken along the lines of those adopted by the Government of Quebec in similar situations.
Our government is ready to work with the province and the employer to help these workers, but it cannot help them through a program which no longer exists. The government is offering the workers $3 million worth of active measures including target late subsidies, self-employment assistance and skills development.
These are the kinds of improvements and the kinds of issues that we would like to bring forward. We ask the member to bring that back to the people in his riding.