Mr. Speaker, despite the rhetoric and the promises of a bright future, 1997 has had a bad start for Quebecers and Canadians. The market is still in a slump. While Canada has 1.5 million unemployed, only 500 new jobs were created in January. And there are fewer jobs for young people.
Self-employed people were responsible for many new jobs created in 1996. Yet, the government is doing nothing to help them. The new unemployment insurance reform is supposed to give wider coverage to workers, but this is only deception. In fact, these new jobs that are emerging for self-employed people are protected neither by unemployment insurance nor by the vast majority of social security programs.
The Liberals were elected under the slogan "jobs, jobs, jobs". The fact is there are "no jobs, no jobs, no jobs". When Canadians and Quebecers realize that the situation is disastrous, they will pass harsh judgment, and the government will pay the price.