Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to address the budget implementation act today. We had an election less than one year ago. At the time, Quebeckers gave us the message that, when the federal government would make budget decisions, it would have to be clear and specific on certain issues. We have a duty to ensure that if these issues are not dealt with in the budget, we are going to be the voice of Quebeckers and vote against the budget.
The first major issue in this respect is the fiscal imbalance. There is a consensus in Quebec that includes people from all provincial political parties, and the Bloc Québécois. Everyone agrees that, considering its responsibilities, the federal government has way too much revenue. As for the provinces, and particularly Quebec, they have responsibilities in health and education, but they cannot go and get the revenue, because the federal government is taking up too much tax room in proportion to its responsibilities.
In Quebec City this morning, the leader of the Action démocratique party in Quebec, Mario Dumont—who is not a sovereignist—asked the premier, Mr. Charest, to invite federal Liberal members to vote against the budget. This is very significant. Indeed, as regards the fiscal imbalance, the budget does not include any of the measures that we expected. The government has had a year to put forward some initiatives to solve the fiscal imbalance, but it has not done it. The problem continues to exist.
We cannot support the budget that was amended to enlist the support of the NDP, precisely because of this Canadian, centralizing approach, whereby the federal government is increasingly involved in all sorts of areas that do not come under its responsibility. If the government had really wanted to respect Quebec and the provinces, it would have ensured that this money be transferred to Quebec, which could then have spent it in the way it felt was most appropriate.
However, it is not in the budget and this is one of the reasons why Quebeckers want us to vote against this budget. We will be their voices, their spokespersons when the time comes this evening to vote on these two bills.
The Bloc Québécois has maintained some cohesion and coherence from the beginning on these issues. We want to make sure when we go back to our constituents that we have not become turncoats and that we have clearly defended what they want. That is what we are promoting.
This is true for fiscal imbalance and for employment insurance. I was the critic for this portfolio for many years. We started off with the then Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chrétien, calling the unemployed beer drinkers.
Slowly, day after day, month after month, we refuted this falsehood and we showed how the federal government used more than $46 billion for purposes other than the EI system. Yet, people are informed on their paycheques that they are paying for an EI system, they are paying a contribution that is supposed to be used for this system. They are not supposed to be financing the government's entire operations.
This is unfair and instills a sense of injustice in the unemployed and low-income earners. These people fought the deficit more than anyone and never saw a return on their investment. Election after election, in 1997, 2000, and 2004, the Liberals promised an overhaul, but, every time, once the election was over, they went back to business as usual. They keep things the way they are and take in money just to spend it however they please. We find that unacceptable.
That is another reason why we cannot support the NDP amendments, which, at the end of the day, would mean passing the budget without overhauling the EI system. In terms of distribution of wealth, if there is one thing this Parliament should have done, it is to ensure that there is a true EI fund, a fund where those contributing to it, the employers and employees, have control over how it is spent. They are the ones who should determine the amount of benefits, the number of weeks of benefits they are entitled to and how many insurable hours they need to qualify for EI. Currently there is no indication of any of this in the budget. Just like before, the government continues to amass surpluses, but does not pay out adequate benefits. There are some terrible examples of this.
Canada does not have a program to help older workers. One did exist until 1995.
Globalization results nowadays in many companies being affected in different sectors. There are plant closings. We saw them in the textile sector. My hon. friend mentioned the furniture sector. The forestry sector is currently deeply affected. Often these workers are 52, 53, 55 years old. They lose their jobs and no longer have a chance of getting to the Quebec pension plan, the Canada pension plan or their old age pension.
In our society, which is rich and has the means, we should have instituted programs of this kind. The reason why there are not any is the federal government spent all the money from the surpluses on paying down the debt and other expenditures for all kinds of extravagances. So there is nothing left for essential needs, like this one.
How could we vote for a budget that has not changed the employment insurance system, while all last election campaign, the federal Liberals could be seen everywhere saying that, this time, they would change things and we would have a real system? Today, there is nothing of that in the budget. I do not think that we could face ourselves in the mirror if we supported this budget without having this commitment.
In the election campaign and during meetings with our fellow citizens, we will be able to say that we held our heads high and advanced the views that they wanted advanced.
There is another example, namely the question of the environment and the Kyoto protocol. Thanks to its hydroelectricity, Quebec has a major advantage when it comes to ensuring that there is less pollution. Great efforts were made over the last ten years. Now, all these efforts should be taken into consideration and Quebec should have a chance to reap the reward. But no—in the budget, they act as if all these efforts were just part of the Canadian picture and so big polluters are given a chance to continue polluting, with no recognition on the other side of the House for Quebec's contribution.
When I talk about this with young people, back in Quebec, who are very concerned about the environment, this fact is reason enough to have a sovereign Quebec. It is not true that Quebec must continue to pay. Quebec pays for the polluters, and then it is supposed to continue propping things up so that this can continue. That cannot be the reality. We cannot make progress with this kind of situation.
Here is another example. Currently, millions of dollars are scattered here and there. Cattle producers in Quebec have agreed to establish a producer-owned abattoir. That way, they could get reasonable profits and, above all, they could sell their beef at acceptable prices. They are waiting for an $11 million contribution from the federal government, and they are unable to get it. It is absolutely unacceptable today, given the size of the federal surplus, for this need not to be met when we all know the impact of the mad cow crisis. This is unacceptable here.
Softwood lumber is yet another example. For the past three years, we have been asking the federal government for a real action plan to help companies affected by the softwood lumber crisis. We are not talking about tens of thousands of dollars. These people have put billion of dollars into a reserve fund in response to quotas and duties imposed by the Americans. This has cut their productivity.
Now, these companies are dropping like flies. Why did the federal government not move forward with the action plan—including loan guarantees and other means—that we proposed? The POWA is another initiative for workers who have lost their jobs due to the softwood lumber crisis. The federal government could have shown some sensitivity. But no, it is out of the question. This is not in this budget.
I want to give another quick example. This year in my riding, the budget for the summer career placement program for students will be cut by $116,000. This makes no sense. Everyone says we need to stop our young people from leaving and, therefore, our communities from losing money. This is true across Canada. This makes no sense whatsoever, given the surplus. There was no reason that one red cent had to be cut from any community in Canada this year. This kind of decision is completely absurd. There are consequences, in the budget, for not having listened to people who asked for more money for students.
Seniors, who for years been denied retroactive payments of the guaranteed income supplement, still have not heard a thing about it.
There are, therefore, a great many reasons why this budget must be voted against. This afternoon, when the Bloc members stand up to be counted, I think they will be showing very clearly that here they represent Quebec and have represented it proudly. Their vote indicates that Quebec as a whole rejects this budget which is unacceptable to Quebeckers.