Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing the time allotted to me with my colleague, the hon. member for Châteauguay.
Quebec is going through the most serious socio-economic disaster of the century. The media provided steady coverage during the worst part of the crisis to show the solidarity displayed for Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick, the three provinces that were the hardest hit by the storm.
At this time, I would like to thank the major leaders who distinguished themselves during this crisis. First and foremost, Premier Bouchard of Quebec, who has shown outstanding leadership in co-ordinating all emergency and solidarity operations.
I also thank also Hydro-Québec chairman André Caillé, who, with his team, provided Quebeckers with hourly updates on the situation, while looking after those affected by the storm and immediately taking the necessary steps to have the Quebec hydroelectric power system repaired and rebuilt.
I thank the mayors, who, while unprepared, brilliantly rose to the challenge, those in charge of the Quebec emergency preparedness organization and the many public health workers.
I also want to mention the massive involvement of police forces—the Sûreté du Québec, the RCMP, municipal police and Canadian Armed Forces—in providing assistance and, more importantly, a sense of security to the victims.
I would like to mention the immediate response of employees of American hydroelectric companies, who did not hesitate to come and help out Hydro-Québec linemen. They were impressed by the warm welcome they received from storm victims, and especially by their great understanding in the face of the crisis.
As well, I was deeply touched by the gestures of solidarity from Quebec, whether they took the form of collecting wood or food supplies or responding to the numerous requests from the Red Cross and emergency measures organizations.
I pay tribute here to the initiative taken by the people of Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean. The images transmitted on national television showed us the great generosity that characterizes this lovely region of Quebec.
I would now like to give you a few examples of solidarity from the riding of Lotbinière. More than 1,000 cords of wood were collected in one week. And here is an interesting anecdote. On Sunday, January 18, under the direction of mayor Jean-Guy Bergeron and police officer Gérald Laganière, dozens of volunteers turned out to collect 1,200 pounds of meat in 90 minutes at Laurier-Station. Now that is something.
Another example of generosity was the 86-year-old woman who handed over the contents of her pantry to a volunteer. She said: “Tomorrow I will be going shopping again, I have the means and, above all, I have electricity in my house”. These generous actions forged new ties of solidarity. A ceremony will be held next Friday evening to thank all these volunteers from the riding of Lotbinière for their exceptional contribution.
However, although the media have focused during the last few days on the number of subscribers to whom power has been restored, we must not forget the impacts and consequences of this ice storm that have not yet all been tallied up, although we know that they could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
If we take a more rational look at such a crisis, we can divide it into three phases. The first one is the reaction phase, which is the one we have been witnessing since the crisis began, and which hon. members have been describing since the beginning of this special debate.
We have now reached phase two, which is a more in-depth assessment of the situation. The comments we hear and the news reported by the media are just the tip of the iceberg.
In this sad assessment, we must not forget the businesses which have been paralysed since the beginning of the crisis and which are on the verge of bankruptcy, as well as the thousands of workers who are not working.
The Montérégie and central Quebec regions are currently going through harrowing times. Hundreds of people wonder whether they will still have jobs tomorrow.
Moreover, we must not forget other businesses located outside the triangle of darkness. I am referring to those businesses and their employees who, following Hydro-Quebec's requests, closed their operations for one, two and even three weeks, thus incurring major losses.
The full evaluation of this catastrophe is not yet completed, but we can already start thinking about the third phase, which has to do with the measures necessary to provide greater assistance to storm victims.
Even if negotiations are already under way, storm victims are anxious. They are eager to find out about turnaround times and, more importantly, about the new moneys to be allocated to deal with the crisis.
The ice storm is not a regional or provincial problem, but a national one. It is, therefore, time to make major decisions of solidarity which must involve both the federal government and the governments of the three provinces affected by this national crisis.
Now we come to some solutions and suggestions for the federal government. First of all, we repeat our request to the Minister of Human Resources Development that he clarify, for once and for all, his position with respect to the waiting periods for employment insurance and the payments in advance which his department has promised to make. Even after his statements this week, even here in the House, the ice storm victims still have trouble understanding the minister's logic in the situation they are experiencing.
The maple syrup producer assistance program, which will hire the unemployed for pruning and replacement of the collecting tubes in the maple trees, is not sufficient. The minister would need to make this program more flexible so that more skilled and more efficient labourers could be hired so that better work would be done in storm-ravaged areas.
In the aftermath of this third natural disaster, the federal government now needs to give more serious attention to the greenhouse effect, which constitutes one of the determining factors behind this country's climate changes.
It is time for it to respond to the insistent calls for action from the environmental groups. Experts had warned us of the dangers of these climatic changes. We have borne the brunt of them, we have experienced them.
On behalf of the population, I am therefore demanding that the government be more stringent when this entire matter of greenhouse effects is debated. The federal government must take stronger action.
In closing, I again congratulate all those who took part, at home in Quebec, and throughout the country, in the finest undertaking of solidarity of the 20th century.