Mr. Speaker, today is a day of mourning in Goose Bay, Labrador. Everything is shut down to bring attention to the fact that 119 workers will lose their jobs at the Canadian forces base due to a government decision to contract out non-military operations to a British firm.
Kitchen workers making $13.50 an hour have been cut to $7.50. Senior clerical workers making over $20 an hour were offered jobs as cleaners at $8 an hour.
In a community where a pound of potatoes costs $1.50, the impact of these cuts is terrifying.
The people of Goose Bay now have to reconsider their future. Fifty houses have gone up for sale in a week. Some people are in hospital suffering from stress. Low paying jobs, zero security, foreign control, fear for the future, this is the legacy facing the young people of Goose Bay. There will be more communities facing the same fate.
Is this the Liberal government's new world order?
We want the Minister of National Defence to go to Goose Bay, tear up the deal with his British buddies and start making decisions that will help communities, not destroy them.