Mr. Speaker, on June 1, I spoke to Bill C-306, An Act respecting the use of government contracts to promote economic development at second reading . This bill will make it possible to create hundreds of jobs and, we hope, to attenuate some of the negative effects of the economic crisis we are going through.
What did the Conservative member and Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board have to say? “The year is 2009, not 1929. We live in a time when Canada no longer needs to prop up its industries with protectionist laws.”
As for the Liberals, they said they would not support Bill C-306 because “the bill seems aimed less at being passed than as a medium for certain partisan discussions.” Yes, let us send this bill to committee where it can be discussed. What a lukewarm reaction from the Liberals.
As for the workers of Quebec, they understand that one of the things a bill like C-306 is aimed at is economic recovery.