Mr. Speaker, it is with a certain sadness that I am rising today to take part in the debate on the report of the Standing Committee on Finance because there is not much good news in this report tabled just before Christmas. It does not contain many measures to alleviate human suffering and to bring some hope that next year will be better.
Once again, this report shows the contempt of the Liberal government for the views expressed by the people and by the witnesses who appeared before the finance committee or took part in the prebudget consultations held by my colleagues, the members of the Bloc Quebecois.
Instead of reporting accurately the views expressed by the people who said they wanted surpluses to be reinvested in social programs, the Liberal majority on the committee preferred to be servile and to tell the minister only what he wanted to hear, namely that he can keep his surpluses and use them as he sees fit for measures that are not essential.
The Standing Committee on Finance and the finance minister deliberately ignore the reality that exists in many regions. They prefer to hide their heads in the sand. The reality is that the gap between the rich and the poor is growing wider every day.
I will say a few words about my region. Today, in my region, we have to serve meals to children under 12 who, otherwise, would not be able to take their classes or would get sick.
Some parents are no longer able to serve three meals a day to their children, even if they themselves do not eat their fill. That is the reality the Liberals are ignoring because they prefer to talk about growth, about the economy and so on. During that time, in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, six soup kitchens are helping people to survive all year long.
Today, La soupière de l'amitié of Arvida, in my riding, is holding its eight fundraising campaign with the help of more than 200 volunteers, who collect money to help the underprivileged.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank those volunteers working on the campaign, under the auspices of honorary president Monseigneur Jean-Guy Couture, and thank also the people of Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean for their generous support of the less fortunate.
This government has abandoned the population. There is a growing number of relief agencies and food banks. This situation should not be tolerated. We should never get used to hardship. However, it seems to be a sad reality: this government has created more hardship.
During the prebudget hearings, I consulted with the people from my constituency and from Chicoutimi. Incidentally, I would like to thank the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot for his document containing realistic suggestions that take into account the real concerns of ordinary people. The people told me that their priorities, with respect to how the budget surpluses the finance minister thinks are his own should be used, are different from the federal government's priorities. They do not want the Minister of Finance to loose sight of the fact that these surpluses are the result of the considerable sacrifices he has imposed through drastic cuts to social programs as well as of not indexing the tax tables and taking money out of the pockets of the middle class.
Incidentally, I thank the hon. member for Lotbinière for his help in the consultations I have held in my riding. I appreciated his co-operation. Many of my constituents have suggested priorities, some of which I would like to mention here.
Many of my constituents do not necessarily want tax reductions; they would rather have the money used to ensure that quality services continue to be provided to seniors, the sick and the young. Many senior citizens who participated in my consultations complained that the money they get from the government and the level of taxation do not take into account the expenses people who live alone are faced with, be it for maintenance or home help, which increase substantially every year.
Many told me that the surplus in the EI fund should be used to help communities through assistance and support programs for the elderly, to help existing small businesses or new ones getting started and to set up an EI fund for young people.
A number of people told me that the surplus the minister is bragging about, which came straight out of the pockets of ordinary citizens, should be used in part to set up assistance, integration and adjustment programs for people between 50 and 60 who are out of work.
I know of several 50 or 60 year old workers in my riding of Jonquière who, unfortunately, have lost their jobs following plant closures and who are left with nothing. They cannot get training, because, as you know, after spending 30 years in a plant, these older workers can hardly go back to school.
I think the government should be sensitive to the needs of these people who are hurting badly. It should restore the POWA program, or a new and improved program that better suited to their situation.
Unfortunately, the government is once again turning a deaf ear. It contends that there is nothing wrong, that nobody has to deal with this problem on a daily basis. There are things we have to do for the future. But right now, people are really stuck with this problem, and families are facing considerable hardship.
Most of the people want the government to maintain its social transfers. As you know, the federal government has been cutting transfers to the provinces for social programs since 1993. Many people were furious and spoke against EI, which brings nothing but misery. Ten years ago, EI covered 80% of the workers who lost their jobs. Nowadays, a mere 40% of the workers are eligible, although all of them pay premiums.
I would like to point out that, since 1993, the Liberal government's record with regard to the environment has been dismal. Apart from engaging in jurisdictional wars with the provinces and trying to impose national standards, the federal government has not proposed any concrete measures to reduce pollution.
Regarding the reduction of greenhouse gases, which affect the climate, pollution and health, and involve considerable economic costs, the federal government still has no clear plan and no clear timetable to meet the objectives that it set for itself under the Kyoto agreement.
Several environmental groups have adopted a more practical approach and have proposed concrete measures to the Minister of Finance to reduce pollution, such as investing in public transit systems or encouraging the transportation of goods by train, particularly by special railway cars that can carry trucks.
Finally, it is urgent that this government keep its promise to invest in new depollution technologies. There is an approach that we fully support, because it is a concrete measure that would allow industries, farmers and municipalities to reduce their levels of pollution when renewing their equipment or infrastructure.
I will close by saying that in the Jonquière area, as shown in a recent federal study, air pollution reaches very high levels. We are all waiting anxiously for the federal government to co-operate with industries, municipalities and the provincial government to make the air cleaner, which would better reflect the nature of our region.