Mr. Speaker, I do not know that I agree with the member opposite that the government is taking a balanced approach. I do believe the government is taking a very, very slow approach.
It was the Liberal government in 1966 that made the assumption and set forth the so-called plan to phase out mining entirely in 15 years. Here we are, more than twice that length of time since then, and the Liberal members have reached no conclusion except to suddenly look at their watches and say that today is the day to cut everything off.
There has been no preparation as far as diversifying the economy is concerned. The people in the Cape Breton area are very capable of doing other types of work. It is just a matter of providing some incentives and markets for the people that live there. As far as giving specific solutions regarding what the exact route to take is, I could not do that in the little bit of time that is allowed to me.
Suffice it to say that the approach that has been taken to this point has been devastating to the people who have worked there. Since 1966 people have based their careers on the possibility of working in a mine or a mine related field. In 1999, some 33 years later, the government simply cuts it off.