Mr. Speaker, that is quite right. I have the figures here. For Montreal, we are talking about 97,000 direct jobs and 150,000 direct and indirect jobs. For Quebec as a whole, we are talking about 155,000 direct jobs and 300,000 direct and indirect jobs.
We have already seen job losses in this sector resulting mostly from the transfer of stock exchange activities from Montreal to Toronto. In Quebec, between 1991 and 2008, 8,000 jobs were lost, whereas 52,000 jobs were created in Ontario, as well as in Alberta, considering that the oil boom also had an impact. The same thing happened in British Columbia. However, Quebec is especially threatened by the future establishment of a national securities regulator since jobs are already moving from Montreal to Toronto.
I did not finish the list of those who want the federal government to withdraw the draft legislation on the securities commission. The cities of Montreal and Quebec are part of the coalition and for good reason. They are very aware of the effect of the Minister of Finance's major move.
I will close by stating that they already plan on spending $150 million to establish this commission even though we already have a very efficient system in place. That is throwing money out the window. It is like the fake lake, the cardboard decorations and the money being spent to prepare for the G8 and G20 meetings.
I am convinced that the battle is just beginning and that we can only be victorious.