Mr. Speaker, on September 19, in this House, I questioned the Minister of Industry about whether or not he would implement our assistance plan for the forest industry, still the only plan proposed by a political party in this House to deal with the forest industry crisis.
Fortunately, the Prime Minister has admitted since then, and I quote from La Presse of Tuesday, October 17:
That is not enough,...and that is why funds for older workers as well as for the forest industry are included in our budget. We intend to announce our plans for these areas very soon.
The problem is that there has not yet been an announcement. The Minister of Industry continues to state that the refund of amounts due to producers under the agreement with the Americans is enough. For his part, the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec says that environmentalists and environmental issues have caused the forest industry crisis.
Today, October 17, one month later, I am again asking the government whether it is prepared to go ahead and implement the program proposed by the Bloc Québécois. It is a program that would help communities diversify their economy, help the industry with concrete measures to regain the productivity it needs to compete, and help workers, especially older workers.
Today, we were treated to an alarming display by the Conservative government. We are asking the government to put in place a program for older workers who can no longer find jobs, and again today, the government is responding with a retraining program.
I do not know what it will take for the government to understand that when workers reach 56, 57, 58, they do everything they can to find another job. Unfortunately, though, because they do not have the necessary training—often because employers will not hire them, mainly because of their age—if they do not receive help, they slowly sink into misery and poverty and are forced to sell their assets and homes.
I think that people who have worked 25 or 30 years for a company, who have supported a family, deserve to have their government—which accumulated a $13 billion surplus last year—implement a program that would cost no more than $75 million a year to help workers, not only those in the forestry sector but in all industrial sectors as well.
That was the motion Parliament adopted yesterday. The three opposition parties, which form the majority in Parliament, told the minority government that Canada needs such a program.
Today, will the government tell us whether or not it intends to follow through with this program, with the Bloc Québécois' plan to help forestry workers in particular, but also industry and communities? There is a crisis in the forest industry and something must be done about it. The federal government has an important responsibility here, given how it negotiated the softwood lumber agreement with the American government.
More is needed. The Prime Minister acknowledged that it is not enough. Will the government take concrete action in the short term?