Mr. Speaker, the holidays are approaching, but for 800 families in the Quebec City region, the holidays bring anguish and uncertainty.
I am talking about the families of the Davie shipyard workers who are going to lose their jobs for lack of federal contracts, even though it is the best shipyard in North America. Davie successfully delivered on the one contract that Ottawa awarded it.
It is hard to understand why Davie is being forced to lay off its workers, because of a shortage of work, when Irving, with its $63 billion in federal contracts, has not yet delivered a single ship.
It is hard to understand why Davie, which just delivered a ship at one-quarter of the cost proposed by Irving, is being forced to lay off its workers, when the government is on the hook for Irving's cost overruns.
It is hard to understand, unless there is a concerted effort to wipe out Quebec's expertise in favour of other provinces. This is not just hard to understand; it is inexcusable.