Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst on his speech. He described what life is really for the people in theirs regions. I congratulate him particularly because the Liberal majority wanted to blame this on us, to make it an issue concerning sovereignists, separatists who do not believe in Canada.
That is not the case. This is a matter of social justice and that is what it is all about.
In support of what he said, I will read from a letter dated February 17, 1993. I will read you one paragraph and let you guess who signed this letter:
In my opinion, it is unacceptable for the people of Canada to continue in this disastrous direction and further penalize the victims of this recession. Things will change after the people have had a chance to vote in the 1993 election. I am sure that a new team with new approaches and directions will help Canadians regain the confidence and hope they have lost because of the present government.
This statement was made with respect to the Conservative employment insurance bill.
Who signed this letter? Who said it was unacceptable and things would change after the election? The current Prime Minister of Canada. This letter exists. It is available. It confirms what the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst said.
Is it not a fact that the federal government unilaterally decided to break the agreement between source and manufacturing regions in Quebec and Canada? Some sort of an agreement had been in place for more than 25 or 30 years. Source regions supplied primary resources and the philosophy was to provide an employment insurance plan ensuring a good income the rest of the year because it helped create jobs, manufacturing jobs, year round in larger centres. All workers understood the need for this kind of solidarity.
With its successive EI reforms limiting duration of payments and eligibility, did the Liberal government not call into question this agreement between all regions of Quebec and Canada?