Mr. Speaker, allow me first to congratulate you on your new job. I am convinced you will use your wisdom for the benefit of the House of Commons and all Canadians.
Allow me also to say how much respect I have for my colleague from Lévis who works very hard for his riding and his whole region. As a matter of fact, I had the opportunity to see him work on the issue of shipyards.
With regard to the issue we are dealing with today, namely Bill C-2 on unemployment insurance, I would like to say that I too was targeted. During the election campaign there was a lot of reference to what was called the theft of $40 billion over a period of several years. However, what they did not say is that the fund is actually managed as part of government operations as a whole. One should always look at it in the light of the planned tax reduction of $100 billion over five years.
However, people forget to say that lower premiums will result in savings of several hundreds of millions of dollars. The Bloc often asks, as a key element of parental leave reform, that funds be repatriated to Quebec. This reminds me of Quebec's traditional demands and positions regarding, among others, manpower training.
Four years ago there was a deal with the federal government. Some $700 million a year is transferred to Quebec via Emploi-Québec. One day I would like to have the opportunity to analyze the efficiency and productivity of Emploi-Québec in terms of the transferred funds. I may be wrong, but I keep on hearing negative comments in this regard.
I would like to turn my colleague's speech into something more positive. Could he list some key elements that would help slow down or stop the exodus of young people? I know a brief was tabled at the United Nations by a group of world economists. Some important parameters are needed to ensure the economic development of a given area. I would like my colleague to talk about these instead of talking only about unemployment.