Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his kind words about my riding. Yes, I am proud of my riding and it is true that there are problems for people when factories close, especially when they are concentrated in the textile industry. On the other hand, the riding of Drummond is enjoying economic growth and has developed other manufacturing niches. In fact, if we had remained solely a textile producer, we would be a riding of ghost towns today.
We may remember that in the early 1950s, it was the textile industry that fed Drummond. Aside from the rural towns, the entire industrial sector of the city of Drummondville was concentrated in the textile and garment industry. We know that. Fortunately, there was a political will and people who took charge to develop something other than textile industries. If they had not done that, we would not be, at present, the economic engine of Quebec.
There is something sad about the closing of these industries in the context of globalization. The government could have taken specific action to protect products made here. The distinction has to be made between the textile industry and the garment industry.
With respect to free trade in clothing, for example, we certainly agree with that. However, we can also talk about manufacturing products domestically. I can mention Denim Swift. It is a company that was purchased by Americans and was operating very well. We invested in research and development so that they could create a yarn to make stretch denim, which was very competitive on the market. All the experts from the Canadian industry department and those from Investissement Québec recognized that the product we were producing was in a very competitive market.
What happened was that, since the American plant was no longer competitive, they came to get our expertise and take it away. The government did not see that one coming.
Of course, once again, there were over 600 jobs lost. Among these workers there were some who had worked there for 35 or 40 years. The factory was part of the region's heritage. Some people had worked there from generation to generation. There even were some couples. Today, even in a competitive market, they are having trouble finding work. They do not have the education or technical expertise they need.
When we reach a certain age, it is very difficult to go back to school. Therefore, these individuals are currently forced to live off welfare, even though they have worked and contributed to the employment insurance fund all their lives. That is hard to accept.