Mr. Speaker, first I would like to congratulate my colleague, the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, for his speech as well as for the work he has done in the last months and in the last year.
It is not easy for my colleague. Indeed, he had to deal with factory closures in his own riding. It is not easy either for his colleagues, the members from the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. They have experienced major disputes in the last years, particularly the softwood lumber dispute and the mad cow crisis. Today, these disputes are threatening all the industries in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region because of the whole context of globalization, which means producing more with less employees.
As you know, this government manages the employment insurance program. This program has generated surpluses of about $50 billion in the last 10 years. This is absurd, because we are not using these $50 billion to help those who really need it.
I would like to ask my colleague about this, because he met Port-Alfred workers who are affected by this situation. Entire families have found themselves without an income. Yet, in small communities such as La Baie, God knows how it is important to have a family income to ensure that these people can earn a living from their work. These people are not seeking handouts. They just want some assistance, for which Canadians pay every day by going to work and for which employers pay as well. The role of this government is simply to manage this money, and it does not do so appropriately.
I would like my colleague to tell us what really happened in Port-Alfred and how the motion tabled by the Bloc Québécois today will make a difference in helping those who really need it.