"in terms of productivity, we don't think Quebec workers are less productive in terms of quality of work," he said.

Sylvie Champagne of the Conseil national des chomeurs, a group that advocates for the province's unemployed, said the former Parti Quebecois premier has no idea what's happening among the province's working class.

"In the United States, they don't even have employment insurance," Champagne said. "People are on the streets begging for food."