Mr. Speaker, when our government was in power we had chosen a very different approach because it is very important to make sure that the benefits are distributed throughout the country.
This government chose a laisser-faire approach. I find it strange that a government that is supposedly defending Canada and our sovereignty could act this way.
It is a complete departure from past governments. I would think that past Progressive Conservative and Liberal governments did work with regional agencies. We worked with regional industrial agencies in ACOA, the agency in Quebec and the agency in western Canada as we worked with Industry Canada to ensure regional benefits. That was part of the approach of successive governments, both Progressive Conservative and Liberal governments. They worked with a similar approach, using regional development agencies, to ensure regional benefits were distributed fairly.
The present government has thrown that away because it does not believe that government has a role in ensuring strong regional industrial benefits. I believe that departure will cost Canadians dearly in the future.