Mr. Speaker, my colleague has hit the nail on the head with regard to job losses and factory closings. Behind this phenomenon there are human beings. He has been talking about human beings, but I would like him to elaborate some more.
I know people in this situation. In Trois-Rivières, after a large factory was closed, I knew a couple who had worked in the factory and had not quite enough income to use RRSPs to save for the future. At 57 and 58 years old, these two found themselves with the same responsibilities but almost no income, and a bit too late to start their education over again and find new jobs.
I find it painful to see such situations, when the government could be doing something to fix them. We need only think, for example, about the $800 million invested in the sponsorship program, of which at least $110 million is being investigated by Justice Gomery's commission. Moreover, in the last five years the number of public servants has risen by 49,000, which costs $7.2 billion in salaries.
Would it not have been possible to have more foresight and to help people who dedicated their lives to a company and then lost their jobs despite their good work?