Debates of May 31st, 2012

Peter Kent Minister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, I remind my colleague opposite that legislative improvements to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act in 2010 did go some distance toward eliminating duplication in environmental assessments. However, we would build on that with Bill C-38 and we have introduced timelines. We would also contemporize processes under the National Energy Board and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. We would strengthen and improve what was already in place.

Anne-Marie Day Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC

Mr. Speaker, the government seems to have set a goal of dismantling as many institutions and social programs as possible. Environmental monitoring, old age security and, of course, employment insurance are being put through the ringer. The Conservatives are playing with the employment insurance fund as though it belongs to them. I have some news for them: this fund belongs to the workers and employees who have paid into it over the years to weather the storms that may come.

Does the minister understand that the employment insurance fund does not belong to her?

Diane Finley Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance system is there for people who lose their job through no fault of their own. It is there to support them while they search for another job and to provide financial support during the transition.

What we want to do is to help these people—the unemployed workers—find a new job much more quickly. We will offer them assistance and any other support they need to find a new job.

Chris Charlton Hamilton Mountain, ON

Mr. Speaker, this is not about connecting people to jobs. It is about a government that is demonizing Canadians who, through no fault of their own, have been laid off more than once. This out-of-touch government is forcing people to accept jobs, even if the jobs do not correspond to their qualifications, at much lower wages. The Conservatives may say they support free markets, but clearly not when it comes to the labour market.

When will the minister admit that her changes mean people will now be paying the same premiums for less coverage?

Diane Finley Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, what is really outrageous is the lack of truth in that question.

What we are doing is helping Canadians who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own get more information about jobs within their qualification ranges that are also within their geographic ranges. We are helping connect them with those jobs because, frankly, there is a shortage of skills and labour right across the country. Employers are having to go to the expense and trouble of bringing in foreign workers when in many cases there are qualified Canadians in their area who are available for that work. We want to help those workers get those jobs.

Isabelle Morin Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC

Mr. Speaker, according to a recent Quebec study, people with foreign-sounding names are 64% less likely to be called for a job interview. Job market discrimination is not just a problem in Quebec. That is why the federal government brought in employment equity measures. Unfortunately, all those measures are going to go under the knife in the Conservative budget. That is another absurdity.

It is already hard enough for young people and immigrants to find a job. Why are the Conservatives making it even more difficult for them?

Diane Finley Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, our priority as a government is fairness and equality in the hiring of employees. That is something we are very proud of, and we are working with officials to ensure this policy is followed.

Diane Finley Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, another fact free question. What we are trying to do is increase employees' earnings by making sure that when they work while they are on claim, they get to keep half of what they earned on top of their EI instead of having it clawed back, as it is now. We want to make sure that work always pays and when people exercise themselves in the market and become more attached to the labour market, they do earn more than they would on EI. That is helping them out.

Pat Martin Winnipeg Centre, MB

Mr. Speaker, the Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act took wages out of competition so that contractors on federal projects would win jobs based on their skill and their ability, not their ability to find cheaper and cheaper wages. Incredibly, the Conservatives have repealed the Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act. I have not noticed a lot of construction workers demanding the right to work for less. In whose interest is it to drive down the wages of Canadian workers, especially on projects built with their own tax dollars?

My question is, by what convoluted logic is it in anybody's best interest to drive down the wages of Canadian workers by repealing the Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act?

Kellie Leitch Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to promoting fair and inclusive workplaces free of discriminatory barriers. The amendment is to improve the design and delivery of the federal contractors program by raising contract thresholds and streamlining program requirements. More importantly, modernizing the federal contractors program would reduce the administrative burdens on small and medium-sized contractors, a key recommendation of the Red Tape Reduction Commission.

Marc Garneau Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, watching the government on the F-35 has been like watching somebody digging a very deep hole. For the past 22 months the Liberal Party has been saying start with a solid statement of requirements based on solid foreign policy and defence objectives, and then hold an open and transparent competition. That way we will get the very best plane for the best price and with the best industrial benefits, but the Conservatives keep digging that hole deeper and deeper.

My advice to them is to stop digging the hole, start over, and save the Canadian taxpayer billions of dollars.

Julian Fantino Associate Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, it was the Liberal record—