Oh, oh.
The people trying to interrupt me ought to ask themselves this: How much is it going to cost the taxpayer? We know that year one will cost about $100 million, and the others $35 million. It will come close to $1 billion, all told.
I understand that this is not firearms, or sponsorships, but money is important. We know that, if the government sits down with the Mining Association of Canada in the nest few years, it can come to the House of Commons with an order in council to improve it. This is a start, a half-measure compared to the Bloc Quebecois proposal, of 10% only the first year, not 20%.
This sets the facts straight, and it is important to do so, because no amendment has yet been proposed. I support the bill because we must not lose it. We must at least gain what the government is proposing. It is new, and important.
A careful examination of the record will show that we have always supported the Mining Association of Canada, the Quebec Mining Association, and the prospectors of Quebec. Bill C-48 will impact small mining operations and major mining companies differently.
The small mining companies are resource extraction industries that do not do any mining exploration. This is a grey area, as it were, because some small companies operating a mine could still be considered small mining companies. Five percent is a good start, even if we would have liked to get 20%. We are going to work in that direction with this Minister of Finance and with the next one.
As to the present situation in the mining sector, the fiscal aspect is not the only important thing to consider. I just received a report dated September 2003 concerning the mining industry in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue area. I hope that the Bloc members have a copy of it handy because it is the last document that we have received. It is a document written by Luc Blanchette, a well-known economist from the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, explaining what is happening in that sector.
The fiscal angle is not everything. We know how important the mining industry is for the economy of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, of the whole northern region and of Nunavik. We also know the economic and environmental context in which it is operating.
Moreover, the low prices of metals have caused the temporary closure of some mines or the postponement of some mining projects. We all know what is happening now. Some mines are closing and others are opening. New projects are being developed. But what can we, together with the opposition members, do in the long term?
The revival and mineral exploration in northern Quebec, in Nunavik and in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region will come about through better defined mining zones, mapping and the search for economical sites. The investments made in 2003 will no doubt depend on the price of the metals in demand and will certainly be influenced by the price of gold and, as we know, the diamond situation.
What matters most are the consequences of that politico-economical context, which have been apparent since 1988. They did not suddenly crop up today because of Bill C-48. The very first year, instead of accepting 10% or 14%, the Bloc Quebecois should have asked that we follow up on what the Mining Association of Canada had requested and that we go for 20%. They too accepted a halfway compromise. When this government came to power, the amount was already down to 5%.
Among the consequences that we have seen since 1988, there is a 46% decline in labour and a 44% decrease in the number of hours paid by the mining industry in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. We know that, in Quebec, although the impact on employment was still significant, it was not as great, with a 33% reduction in the number of hours paid and the number of employees.
Given that approximately 20% of all mining operations in Quebec take place in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the decrease observed at the provincial level is probably due to the poor performance of the regional mining industry.
What do we do now? I will be supporting Bill C-48. I come from a mining area and I used to be a miner myself. It is good to have gained something. It is also something new. Reducing the tax rate applicable to corporations was not an issue before. But it is important, just as it is for the corporations to set up their headquarters in our region instead of Montreal or Toronto, where they are currently located.
We have to work with the current government and the governments to come to find solutions and improve the situation. We will see how things go in year one of the implementation of this bill, which provides for rates of 5%, 7% and 10% for the next five years. These rates could increase in every budget. In the next budget, the government might raise it to 10%, as the Bloc Quebecois asked for in committee. It could happen. We just have to wait and see.
What is important right now is to help our mining companies. Some companies are closing down in our region and more could do so in Abitibi-Témiscamingue in the months to come.
We need to go forward, work hard and work together. We cannot have our cake and eat it too, and the picture drawn by the renowned economist, Mr. Blanchette, reflects the real situation in the mining industry.
Members of Parliament do not create jobs. It is important also to think about the miners who work underground. The PQ government never agreed to set up a retirement plan for miners. If we can introduce tax credits for mineral exploration activities, then we should be able to help the miners who work underground. The PQ made that promise during the 1973 election campaign, but never kept it. The government should address this issue and think about setting up a pension plan for miners who need it when mines close down.