Mr. Speaker, if I may, I would like to talk about a reality that is quite different from the minister’s remarks, which were very good.
I am referring to a local priority. After all, we must recognize that we are going through difficult times in our ridings. In one part of my riding, there once were 17 plants working in the forestry industry, Since the crisis began, 14 of those plants have closed and only three are still open. Those three plants have merged to form a single plant in order to restructure and reorganize. The administrators of this new sawmill have applied to various federal offices to obtain the funding that was announced in the latest budget. They knocked on doors at the Business Development Bank of Canada, and also at CED. Those offices told them that they had nothing for forestry.
Last week, our caucus had a presentation from CED on the different programs and—what I am saying is important—for the region, that is the Laurentians, Laval and Lanaudière, there is a niche called “Forests and Wood Products.” However, on the CED Web site there is nothing listed under that heading. They told us, to show how ridiculous it can be, that it is a shame the people in my riding did not vote for the right party.
Is that the new way the Conservatives now decide who is entitled to subsidies? Is this the Conservatives' new vision of economic prosperity?