Diane St-Jacques

[Persons with Disabilities, February 24th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his question.

I am proud to inform this House today that the Minister of Human Resources Development has announced a $130,000 investment in the Miriam Foundation learning centre for persons with autism and developmental disorders.

The contribution announced today is consistent with the measures in budget 2003. In this budget, we are investing $50 million to establish a new benefit for disabled children, which will help low and middle income families caring for a severely disabled child.

Measures like this one show once again that the full inclusion of persons with disabilities—

[Taxation, February 24th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member simply did not understand my reply. There are already, for families, means to have access to the child credit. I am referring to deductions at the source for children. Moreover, we are helping poor families with day care services.

[Taxation, February 24th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform the hon. member that there is already a range of possibilities and measures to which people have access, including deductions at the source. I do not think that the hon. member will object to day care services.

The government will invest $935 million in day care services. Also, we already have the national child benefit. I do not think the hon. member can be opposed to the poorest in our society.

[Human Resources Development, February 21st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his question. The government is aware that costs relating to education have increased student debt for many students.

This is why, in the 2003 budget, we committed in excess of $60 million, over a two year period, to improve the Canada Student Loans Program and make more money available to help post-secondary students manage their debt.

[Social Insurance Numbers, February 14th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the department is making improvements to the registry and we have tightened up the requirements for proving identity.

As a result, since August 1, 2002, we accept baptismal certificates as identification for issuing a social insurance number and we only accept original documents as proof of identity for social insurance number applications.

[Endangered Species Sanctuaries Act, February 13th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I would respond to the member for Rimouski—Neigette-et-la Mitis by telling her that her statements are false. I repeat once again that the Government of Canada is concerned about the fate of these workers.

She is fully aware that we have invested $246 million to assist workers affected by this dispute. There is also $450 million in employment insurance benefits that are paid out to forestry workers. Another $600 million is paid to Quebec under a labour market development agreement that establishes active measures to help people find and keep a job.

The federal government has provided more than $2 million in contributions to the province of Quebec for innovation projects in the Lower Saint Lawrence, North Shore, Charlevoix and Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean regions.

Furthermore, in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, for example, we invested more than $1 million to extend the tourist season. This allowed more than 120 workers to extend their employment.

I would like to assure the House that the federal government will continue to work with all stakeholders to come up with solutions to these employment problems.

[Endangered Species Sanctuaries Act, February 13th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Rimouski—Neigette-et-la Mitis for her question, which provides me with the opportunity to reiterate that the government is concerned with what happens to workers.

This is why it has promised in excess of $246 million in support in order to help communities, companies and workers affected by the softwood lumber dispute. This will, of course, be over and above the employment insurance benefits of $450 million paid yearly to unemployed forest industry workers.

The announced measures guarantee that the workers will have the skills they require to find and retain employment, whether it be in a revamped softwood lumber industry or some other sector of the economy.

These initiatives take into consideration the fact that workers in regions with high levels of unemployment run into unique obstacles when trying to get back into the work force.

Regions where the unemployment is at least 10% will be eligible for these programs. By directing the assistance measures available under the EI program to regions of high unemployment, the government is ensuring that help gets to the workers and communities that need it most.

These initiatives are over and above the measures already in effect under the employment insurance program, which makes available to laid off workers employment benefits and access to active employment measures. The EI program is in place to help people when they need help, including those who are at risk of losing their jobs, or have already been laid off, because of the softwood lumber dispute.

What is more, we are also investing $2 billion, $600 million of that in Quebec, to help Canadians find and retain jobs. This amount will enable the provincial government to provide targeted wage subsidies and to support self-employment and skills upgrading.

Employment insurance is not, however, the only solution for seasonal workers.

The creation of new jobs is the true solution to unemployment, and we continue to work in conjunction with key stakeholders in looking at ways of opening up more opportunities.

As for the pilot project for older workers, we are making available more than $11 million in order to test innovative approaches to helping older workers in Quebec find and keep employment.

We are here for Canadians and we will continue to be here for them.

[Human Resources Deelopment, February 7th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that the Government of Canada is doing everything in its power to help with training. It is acutely aware of the problem. The money has already been transferred to Quebec City and approximately $600 million per year could indeed help this problem.

[Human Resources Development, February 7th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, after an exceptional year in 2002, with an increase of 560,000 jobs, the Statistics Canada figures released today indicate that the rate of unemployment continues its downward trend, and was 7.4% in January.

This news is all the more positive, when we consider that, since October 1993, there have been 2.8 million jobs created, there are 365,000 fewer Canadians unemployed and the unemployment rate has dropped 3.8%.

This is reason for optimism as far as future employment prospects are concerned. This government will continue to encourage strong participation in the Canadian labour market.

[Employment Insurance, February 7th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the response I wish to give the hon. member is that, on the whole, the EI system is working well and helps out those for whom it is intended.

According to the 2001 Monitoring and Assessment Report, 88% of salaried workers would be eligible for EI benefits if they lost their jobs.

The program is, therefore, designed to adjust automatically to local labour market fluctuations. The eligibility criteria become more flexible as unemployment rates rise.