Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member from the NDP for his question. When I was talking about a comprehensive plan, the Bloc Québécois did indeed ask for certain measures to help the less fortunate. I was talking about people who receive employment insurance and also retirees, older people who could use a little extra in their guaranteed income supplement. We know that with CPP and the guaranteed income supplement combined, those people are still currently living below the low income cutoff. Increasing the guaranteed income supplement to $110 a month would at least allow them to reach the low income cutoff. That is one measure.
The measure the hon. member is talking about is quite interesting. My own bill, Bill C-290, has just reached second reading stage and will be referred to committee. This bill will help retirees who may unfortunately have lost part of their pension because of the bankruptcy or closure of their employer. For instance, a person who was supposed to get $30,000 and is getting only $22,000 and therefore lost $8,000, could get a 22% refundable tax credit. That more or less puts them on the margins of the middle class. It would allow that retired person to receive $1,760 a year. It is a type of compensation, and not full compensation, but it is better than nothing. Other measures like that and like the one mentioned by the hon. member as well, could be implemented by the government to help stimulate the economy. It is the best approach. We can start with the people who need it the most.