Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased today to speak to the motion put forward by the hon. member for Laurentides. I will read the motion so that people listening understand where we are in the debate. The motion says:
That this House condemn the government for its inability to defend the workers at the General Motors plant in Boisbriand and thus allowing the vehicle assembly sector of the Quebec auto industry to disappear.
All the words in the motion were very well weighed. The reality that has existed for a very long time in Canada is that the auto industry has developed for a large part in Ontario through choices, through aid provided and through the Auto Pact. For many years, a few decades ago, Quebec has sought to get the auto industry to come to its territory.
We managed to attract General Motors. We tried to attract others. The General Motors plant has been very efficient, productive and economically viable. Thanks to the quality of its manpower, it has been doing a good job. As a matter of fact, the company did not decide to close the plant because of a lack of productivity. This is typical of choices multinationals are making these days. It takes not only a good rate of return in every plant, but the best rate of return. It is a company decision.
For our part, we, as the federal parliament, have the responsibility to ensure that the federal government has done everything it could to give a chance to the industry, keep the plant going, and find a use for the equipment. It would be a crying shame if, come the fall of 2002, we were to lose this business, this plant, the only one of its size in Quebec in the auto industry, causing us to go back to the situation we were in 20 years ago.
The reason we brought this debate to the floor of the House today is that the federal government has been dragging its feet in this issue.
I will read a few quotes from the Minister of Justice who was then secretary of state in charge of regional economic development for Quebec. The first quote is from September 7, 2001. Talking about the crisis to get the plant going again, the minister, who is now the minister responsible for Quebec, said, “I cannot see which federal programs could be used to this end”. This was in September 2001.
This same minister then said “There might be Technology Partnerships Canada, a program used by the government to support Bombardier for over a decade, but we would have to see”.
Finally, until today, the federal government has done nothing to try to prevent the closing of these plants. This is why we brought this debate to the floor of the House. The federal government has not done its job in this area.
My colleague from Laurentides said it earlier, and I will say it again because it is important. Mr. Poirier, the mayor of Boisbriand, who heads the coalition to get the plant going again, told us that since October, for close to six months now, they have been waiting for the appointment of two lobbyists and one administrative representative to ensure that the right steps are taken to get some kind of a commitment from the company. We have not yet heard from the federal government.
Meanwhile, the Government of Quebec has offered a guarantee for a $360 million loan. This was done by a government that is very conscious of the need to ensure that the Boisbriand plant remains open. As for the federal government, it seems to have other interests regarding this issue.
We heard members from several parties say that it is not only in Quebec that the auto industry is in difficulty. The problem is that this is the last plant that we have in Quebec, and it is crucial for us. If there is a need to help the whole auto industry, then do it. However, action must be taken now with regard to the current crisis, because the plant will not be closing in ten years, but in the fall of 2002.