Mr. Speaker, the member is right. During the election campaign, in 1997, the members were not authorized to sign job creation programs for students in their ridings.
The minister traveled a lot; he came to Charlevoix. Two investors from Montreal accompanied the minister to Saint-Hilarion, in the riding of Charlevoix. The “Poulette Grise”, in La Malbaie, was closed; 150 jobs were lost.
A few days before election day, to benefit from the situation, he came to announce that Aliments Charlevoix would export chicken and reopen the La Malbaie slaughterhouse, that everything was all right, thanks to the savior, the Minister of Human Resources Development of the day, the member for Papineau—Saint-Denis. I am sure the Prime Minister found shortcomings in that department. After the 1997 election, he saw what had happened in Canada, chiefly with the minister we are talking about, the former Minister of Human Resources Development, the member for Papineau—Saint-Denis.
I would like to ask the member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques if he would agree with me that the Prime Minister probably noticed the incompetence of the former Minister of Human Resources Development and stripped him of this department, which involves a lot of management, a lot of money and a lot of responsibilities and gave him a department involving no responsibilities.