Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals were in government, we had discussed that the pine beetle was a fact and that there was nothing we could do to roll back that problem with the forest gone. We had talked about setting up new economies for the people in that part of British Columbia. We had talked about developing the economies and working with the communities. Many of them had ideas to look at new economic technology, to move into service industries, and to do other things so that people who could not rely on the forestry industry any more for the next 75 years would be able to move forward.
No one is asking for a bailout for the forestry industry. We are asking to give people the human capital, to get the retraining the people need, put some money into creating new technology and new economies for the people in that area. They are very innovative people. They want to work and they have plans to do this. I have seen the plans. The plans have been there for two years.
The government has said in both of its budgets in 2006 and 2007 that it was going to put money into this. That money has not arrived. The money is not there. We could have prevented that. That was three years ago. Things could have been done then so that people would be ready when a crash hits and they would have some work. They would be able to start building anew. We do not just suddenly react when a crisis comes. We have to deal with it beforehand if we see it coming. At least that is what I think, as a physician, one should do, and that is what one tends to do.