Madam Speaker, I am pleased to support Bill C-290, tabled by the hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.
We worked hard on this issue together, and we met the former workers of Atlas Steel and the Jeffrey mine on several occasions. I also want to mention that we had an exceptional partner from the Bloc Québécois, namely the hon. member for Chambly—Borduas, who helped us a lot with his experience in this area, and who supported us, as did the researchers working for the Bloc Québécois. We also consulted senior officials from the Department of Finance and from the House, as well as our law clerks, who provided advice to us.
The Conservative member who spoke earlier said that today's bill was a botched piece of legislation. He asked whether we had consulted people. Does he think that one can table a bill here, in the House of Commons, without checking the facts? Before a bill can be introduced, it must comply with the financial regulations, and also with the other regulations. It is a requirement. It is an obligation. We did what we had to do and we were advised by senior officials from his government, from Parliament, and by law clerks who told us that this legislation is very consistent with Canadian laws. Therefore, our bill is financially and legally acceptable.
I also want to congratulate the hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska, who, earlier, conveyed so well the trauma of these former workers, because of the awful situation that they are experiencing. They have been receiving a pension for 10 to 12 years and then, all of a sudden, that pension is reduced by one third. We are not talking about a commitment that had been made, but could no longer be met: that pension fund was started many years ago.
I should also point out to the Conservative member who spoke earlier that it is not 1,000 or 10,000 plants that are affected in Canada, but only two, namely Atlas Steel and the Jeffrey mine. So, this is very much an isolated problem. If these people find themselves in this situation, it is because of government measures that allowed contributions to be stopped for a while in these plants, in an attempt to save the companies. However, we did not manage to save them and they went bankrupt, with the result that the fund found itself in a deficit and that these people's pensions had to be cut by one third.
So, this measure would not cost $10 billion. In one case, we are talking about some 300 workers, and 800 or 900 in the other case. The tax credit that the government would provide has been estimated at about $1.7 million. This amount would gradually diminish because, like everyone else, these people are going to die some day. They have already reached a certain age, since they are retired. So, at some point, this measure would no longer cost anything.
We want to correct a mistake that was not made by workers who might have gambled their money away, or made bad investments. No, the mistake was made by a government. So, we must correct it with the help of a government. We got the support of the Quebec government. If this bill is adopted here, it will also be passed by the Quebec National Assembly, with the result that these 22% would become 44%. This would help workers recover a significant part of their annual loss, as the member for Richmond—Arthabaska explained in the example that he provided earlier.
I want to thank the Liberal member who spoke a little while ago. He raised questions—and we will be able to answer those questions when the bill is referred to committee—but he has nevertheless agreed, in good faith, to referring this legislation to committee. In order to do so, the bill must get the support of a majority in the House at second reading.
He agreed to that on the Liberals' behalf. We will check and discuss it in committee. It will take about a week and we will have a chance to hear from witnesses.
I would also like to thank my NDP colleague who expressed himself so honourably earlier when he said that the bill was timely and would give us cause to consider pension funds as a whole. That might not happen when we discuss this particular bill, but it might be a starting point for us to do some more looking into the complex world of pension funds.
I would also like to express how disappointed I am in the Conservative members from Quebec. I have not heard a single Conservative member discuss this issue or stand up in support of it. This is an issue that affects Quebec workers, some of whom have cousins, brothers and sisters in my riding. It also affects the people in their ridings. The Quebec members have not said a word. That is remarkable. Every time we talk about social measures, compassionate measures, measures to help people in need, they are nowhere to be found. But when we talk about protecting oil companies by giving them $2.5 billion, they give the minister a standing ovation. They are in league with those profiteers.
I have a question that I want to ask them one by one. I want to ask the member for Lévis—Bellechasse, who is always ready to take a stand when it comes to helping the well-off, the member for Beauport—Limoilou, the member for Pontiac, the members for Beauce, Jonquière—Alma, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, Mégantic—L'Érable, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles and Louis-Saint-Laurent, what are you waiting for? You made a choice. I made the choice to come here and stand with the other members of the Bloc Québécois to defend the interests of Quebeckers, including the Atlas Steel and Jeffrey mine workers and other workers. I am here to stand up for National Assembly consensus issues, such as demanding $2.6 billion in equalization—which is what Ontario and Nova Scotia got—and whatever else might be in Quebec's interest. You made a different choice. That was your right, and when you made that choice, you were saying: “I will get elected as a member of the party in power and I will be able to influence decisions made by the party in power when I am part of that caucus”.
Well now, it is time to act. So far, the 10 Conservative members from Quebec have not said a word. As the second hour of debate on this issue will not take place until October, you will have until then to think about whether you are representing Quebec's interests here in Ottawa.