Premiere Jean Charest:

As the Quebec and federal governments - have written off mass production within the textile and apparel trade, despite the fact that many companies remain profitable, the government has either directly or indirectly supported the exporting of jobs as a way to further increase private profits. As the textile industry in Montreal represented 17.5\% of the manufacturing workforce, there is a grave responsibility to defend those workers who now face an even bleaker future due to the economic crisis and without any real government intervention.

We Undersigned ask that the national assembly ensures that laid off textile workers are compensated в that the compensation include retraining and reflect the years of service to their companies.

All workers who are 55 years and older being laid off by the industry are offered early retirement packages.
Laws have to be put into place that protect workers and make it hard for profitable companies to move jobs abroad.

That programs that are already in place such as вthe assistance program for collective dismissals in the textile industryв must only take into account the income of the worker and not the family. As this leaves many families without enough income to survive.