Mr. Speaker, the following resolution was unanimously passed at a symposium held on Saturday by Liberal supporters from eastern Quebec:
Whereas Noranda closed its smelting plant in Murdochville;
Whereas this closure will result in the loss of a $17 million payroll for the Gaspe;
Whereas the 300 workers who were laid off are now without any income;
Whereas the economic situation in the Gaspe is not only worrisome, but also extremely precarious and even dramatic;
it is resolved that a request be made to the Minister of Human Resources Development to have an exclusion order passed by the Government of Canada, so that the Murdochville workers who were laid off on April 27, 2002 can immediately qualify for employment insurance benefits, notwithstanding the sections of Employment Insurance Regulations that would defer the payment of such benefits.
It should be noted that this request would not result in any cost for the federal government. Denial of this request would only delay the payment of employment insurance benefits to the workers who were laid off in Murdochville.