Mr. Speaker, since 2002, we have noted a downward trend in jobs in the manufacturing sector. There have been some blips in the trend, but the situation has continued to deteriorate.
Just last month, 11,800 jobs were lost in Quebec, bringing the total to 31,900 in the past year.
In my riding of Beauharnois—Salaberry, over the last year and a half, in textiles alone, 700 jobs were lost with the shutdown of Huntingdon Mills and Clyne & Tinker. These closures are in addition to those of other factories, including Spexel de Beauharnois, which resulted in the loss of some 100 jobs.
To date, the most effective decision for boosting employment was the one made by the municipal authorities of Huntingdon to purchase the buildings no longer in use and convert them into industrial condos.
The Bloc Québécois demands that the federal government take immediate action to stop this loss of employment, which is slowly destroying our economy and lives.