Mr. Speaker, I will dedicate this reply to the men and women who work in those industries. In my riding, for instance, we have people working at Consoltex, Cavalier, Industries Troies in Saint-Pamphile, and Cuirs Leco in Saint-Pascal. There are many examples of this living reality.
The points made by the member for Beauce speak to the relevance of the motion. Past efforts have been insufficient. It is critical that an additional approach be put in place showing that the government wants to help these industries which are not necessarily moribund. That is what is important to remember.
The textile industry will have a future, provided that it is given access to markets. We have put forward an amendment to allow textiles produced domestically and intended for use in garment manufacturing abroad to enter Canada duty free. This is a concrete example of what can be done to ensure access to market. This was a suggestion from the industry itself.
Some people in the garment industry are very specialized. For example, Vêtements Peerless Clothing in Montreal specializes in products that are quickly penetrating the American market. This company is able to overcome challenges. But, at the same time, many, many people are losing their jobs. These are workers who are not able to easily return to the labour market. They were excellent workers in their fields. They created quality items that I could never make in a million years.
When people aged 45, 48, 50, or 52 have spent 20 years in the same job and are asked to find another occupation or they decide to travel 50 or 60 kilometres to take another job paying $8 or $9 per hour, and they do the math, taking into consideration the price of fuel and everything else, they find it hard. As a result, we believe that measures are needed to help the industry survive this crisis. However, we must also help those affected to ultimately improve their situation so they can survive.
So what we want is a policy to assist the textile and clothing industries. The federal government has put a few things into place so far. It must be admitted that the two sectors have a great deal of difficulty making joint proposals.The two industries have different objectives. Overall, however, it is the government's responsibility to make choices and to lay the most suitable proposals out on the table.
I hope that the motion, as amended, will receive the support of all parties in the House. This is a sector of industry that has a future if it is assured of markets. This is a sector that has made extraordinary efforts in the past in the area of R&D. The best machines are not enough by themselves; the right to sell what one produces is also necessary. The quality of our workers is not an issue; there has to be a right to service the markets.
There is another very concrete example. In the first years of NAFTA, Canadian textile products invaded the American market. Since then, the United States have signed agreements with Caribbean countries allowing them to take American textiles, do the sewing in the Caribbean and return the garments to the American market without paying custom duties. This killed the Canadian textile market. This is the type of measure that we would like the government to push. Labour is available. These people are capable, they have made a living in that industry and they deserve adequate support.
In conclusion, I invite all parties to read again the motion as amended. I know that the government felt there were too many suggestions in the initial amendment. The President declared it out of order. I respect his decision. However, at this point, all members of this House have to vote on the new wording of the amendment. Generally speaking, this amendment calls for a policy to support both the textile and apparel industries, and specifies two areas of support. As I mentioned earlier, these have to do with textiles used in garments manufactured abroad and income support programs for older workers.
A number of additional measures can be included in a policy. All that is already included in the motion. I hope that, for members who have this type of industry in their riding, it will be very clear when they vote on the motion. As for the others, they ought to know that we are in a changing world. What happens in a specific industry can happen in two, three or five years in another industry. We have to be proactive. These two industries deserve our support.