Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Joliette for his most interesting presentation.
As we know, Canada has been dragging its feet regarding this issue. The government had 10 years to deal with the situation. We knew that, on January 1, 2005, custom duties and tariffs on all textile and clothing imports would be lifted.
When the government learned, through the headlines in the media, that our textile companies were closing, instead of coming up with an assistance plan to support them, it showed up in a panic with a series of measures which, in our opinion, are inadequate. The government will not correct this injustice by merely throwing money at the problem, in an attempt to bolster its image. Some specific measures must be taken.
Today, the media are reporting that, according to the Canadian Textiles Institute, this injustice could have been corrected by reaching an agreement on a free trade area of the Americas, to allow the free flow of goods.
I wonder if my colleague could explain to us how such an agreement could be implemented to correct the injustice done to our textile companies, in addition to the injustice suffered by the workers who are losing their jobs. These people have often worked their whole life in that industry and now they are finding themselves out of work.