Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada recently told us that the number of jobs in the Eastern Townships decreased during 2004. This drop is, in large part, due to the difficulties experienced in the manufacturing sector.
Manufacturing jobs are being lost in all regions of Quebec, and the current government's inaction is largely to blame. The closure of mills in Huntingdon is a sad example of this.
If the government does not want to support these jobs, I hope it will at least have the decency to help these workers, once their jobs are gone. The government must improve access to employment insurance. I am asking all my colleagues in the House to support the bills introduced by the Bloc Québécois to improve employment insurance.
I call on the Prime Minister to change his approach in today's budget and finally do something nice for the unemployed by creating an independent employment insurance fund and by paying back the money it raided from the EI fund.