Bernard Patry

[Supply, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his questions. The first answer is yes, there are very concrete measures in the government bill. The first, most concrete measure is that premiums for businesses will be reduced, which will help to create jobs. It is estimated that 150,000 new jobs will be created under this new system.

On the member's second proposal concerning unemployment insurance surplus, I want to tell him that in 1990 the unemployment insurance fund had a surplus of $2 billion and with the recession that followed it became a deficit of $6 billion. We do not want to have to deal with the same problems that we faced in 1993 and 1994. So, what the government is doing now is taking preventive measures. We are trying to prevent problems in the future.

[Supply, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the opposition for giving us an opportunity to give more explanations regarding important issues, by presenting motions which always surprise us, as they surprise others, by their incisive and unexpected nature.

I thank the opposition for giving me the opportunity to speak about youth, the generation which is next in line and which literally represents the future of our country. The future is of concern to all of us but there is no question that it is of even greater concern to young people.

It was the case for us when we were young, but it probably is much more so for young people today. They feel more bound by the choices made by their elders and they have a greater interest in the decisions taken in the present legislative process. This is why there is great interest among young people for the debates we are holding and the positions we take.

I find it unfortunate that the opposition, with all due respect to my hon. colleagues, is taking advantage of young people's uncertainty about the future, which is quite understandable, to heighten that uncertainty, increase their nervousness and to arouse passions. They want to give to the most vulnerable groups in our society the impression that the major reforms proposed by the government are aimed at them.

If there is one group which will benefit from the major reforms launched by the Government, it is the young people. If one group should one day be grateful to us for having taken the necessary steps to control the deficit, it is the young generation. And if there is one group in our society for which employment insurance will be beneficial, it is, once again, the young people.

Young people will benefit like our own generation has from the major social security programs the generation before us established 30, 40 and 50 years ago. Many of those programs in their original form no longer meet today's needs and that is certainly the case when it comes to unemployment insurance.

More than 80 per cent of Canadians agree that the present system is flawed and must be redesigned.

One thing is sure, if we do nothing, we are guaranteed of leaving our children a house mortgaged to the hilt, as Jean Paré wrote last year in L'Actualité on the very subject of social program reform.

Employment insurance offers an affordable system that continue on into the future. We have already explained why, under the bill, the eligibility requirements are increased for those newly arrived on the labour market. It would appear that young people tend to leave school earlier if they have relatively easy access to UI benefits.

If young people do not have an adequate education they often embark on a cycle of dependence on unemployment insurance or even welfare. We want to encourage young people to work rather than to depend on UI. We want to encourage personal responsibility, training and development. With these goals in mind it is not in our interest to have a system that does not encourage young people to get a good education.

In many respects, the young will benefit from the new system. With eligibility calculated according to accumulated hours of work, the insurance plan will be extended to 500,000 workers who

are not currently covered: those working part time, those in two or more small jobs and those whose job profile changes frequently.

In the job market at the moment, many of our young people find themselves in one of these categories. Of the 1.3 million low income workers who will have their contributions returned, nearly half are young people under 25. For the young, the new rules mean, in the end, a program cut of 8 per cent compared with 11 per cent for workers as a whole.

Young people constitute a priority for the government, made clear in the speech from the throne and in the budget tabled by the Minister of Finance.

As the minister said, our young people are, along with technology and trade, one of the three areas in which the government is going to invest more, because these areas are of crucial importance for improving employment and increasing the number of jobs now and in the future.

These initiatives are designed to create a leverage effect in the private sector and in our communities. The government is thus going to increase from $60 million to $120 million its contribution towards summer job creation for students. Furthermore, in the speech from the throne, the government called upon business and upon political and community leaders to join the efforts of the federal government to find new ways of helping our young people to find jobs.

It is in the interests of all Canadians to see to it that young people have every possible opportunity to participate in and contribute to the national economy.

Our young people must regain their confidence in the future. To that end, we must create new opportunities, and create jobs for all the workers in Canada. It is not up to the government to create jobs, but it is among its immediate responsibilities to generate a favourable climate for job creation. The best way to do it is to, first, stop the government from getting deeper in debt and control the deficit, as I said before. The budget that the government just presented shows that there is reason to hope, on this front.

At present, interest rates are low, the inflation rate is barely at 2 per cent and the overall unemployment rate is under 10 per cent. These are certainly favourable conditions for economic recovery and job creation.

As the Prime Minister said, it is now up to the private sector to do its part. It is in this way that the country's economy will move ahead.

This is how we will regain control. This is how we will manage to put our house in order so that our young people can regain confidence in the future.

[Violence Against Women, March 7th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate International Women's Week, it is important to highlight women's accomplishments. We must also take stock of the progress made to date and look at what still needs to be done regarding violence against women. Canada has been a world leader in openly discussing this issue and demanding changes.

In certain countries, the subject of family violence is seen as a private matter and remains taboo. A national survey on wife abuse conducted by Statistics Canada shows that at least 50 per cent of all Canadian women have been subjected, in their adult life, to a form of violence as defined in the Criminal Code. These past few years, we have stepped up our efforts to resolve this serious problem. For one thing, strict gun control legislation is now in place.

The Criminal Code has been amended to strengthen anti stalking legislation. Our ultimate goal must be to ensure that violence against women will no longer be tolerated in our society. Now that the problem has been exposed, never again-

[Job Creation, March 6th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out the contribution of some 30 Canadian businesses, which are contemplating setting up an in-house training program for high school, college and university graduates.

According to program officials, this program will create 50,000 entry level jobs for young people and help restore hope to a generation that would be only too pleased to play an active role in our society.

Also noteworthy is the fact that all funding for this program will be provided by the companies, to the tune of $12,000 per trainee per year. Only administrative expenses will have to be covered by the Canadian government.

This is a good move worth mentioning, especially after our Prime Minister recently called for greater co-operation between the private sector and government to promote job creation.

[Quebec Chamber Of Commerce, February 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec Chamber of Commerce has reacted very favourably to the speech from the throne presented by our government a little earlier this week.

Its president, Mr. Michel Audet, feels that our withdrawal from areas of provincial jurisdiction bodes well for future co-operation, as well as for some of Quebec's traditional demands in the constitutional area.

The Quebec Chamber of Commerce invites the PQ government to shows good will by establishing "a dialogue with the other provinces and with the federal government to find concrete solutions in areas that will encourage job creation and investment".

Canadians across the country are encouraging us to work together in seeking solutions to our collective problems. We follow the example of the Quebec Chamber of Commerce in issuing an invitation to the Government of Quebec to collaborate with us.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, February 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34, I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian chapter of the International Assembly of French-Speaking Parliamentarians, as well as the financial report of the meeting of the IAFSP office held in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 4 and 5, 1996.

[Federal System, February 28th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, our federal system is constantly evolving. Day after day, our government works on increasing efficiency while reducing operating costs. In the speech from the throne we heard yesterday, there is a constant that runs through every aspect of the action plan our government intends to carry out by the end of its term. At every step, our government emphasizes co-operation and partnership.

Our government listens to the people and will continue to work on developing a genuine climate of co-operation with its partners in the federation. The recent successes of Team Canada have proved that by emphasizing co-operation and setting common objectives, our country can continue to be the envy of the nations of this world.

[Laser Weapon Systems, December 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

A new weapon will soon surface on the battlefield: the antipersonnel laser. These portable lasers have a scanning capability thanks to an invisible light beam with a range of several kilometres; they can irreversibly damage people's retinas and even cause blindness.

What is the Government of Canada's position on the use of laser weapon systems?

[Committees Of The House, December 6th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1) and 108(2), on behalf of the chair, the hon. member for Burin-St. George's, I have the honour to present the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Health entitled "A Study of National AIDS Strategy: Report of the Subcommittee on HIV-AIDS".

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, we are asking for a government response to our report.

That sub-committee was created by the Standing Committee on Health in 1994. Its precise terms of reference were to study the spread of HIV, the prevention and the treatment of AIDS and the support for HIV carriers and AIDS sufferers, and to focus particularly on the role of poverty and discrimination in that situation.

The sub-committee has now completed the first phase of its work, that is a thorough review of the National AIDS Strategy. It held hearings from December 1994 to May 1995.

The report touches briefly on the epidemiology of HIV in Canada and around the world. It deals with the various elements of the strategy, the orientation, the coordination, the partnerships, the budget, community action, education and prevention, care and treatment, and finally, research. It contains several recommendations suggesting that the federal government increases its efforts in the fight against the AIDS epidemic.

Copies of the relevant minutes of proceedings of the subcommittee and the standing committee are also tabled.

[Supply, December 5th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my hon. colleague from the Bloc Quebecois for his question.

I think it is relatively easy to reconcile the federal government's position and the interests of the people of Quebec, because our focus is on job creation. I believe that the Quebec government is looking into the matter and that future legislation passed in the National Assembly will also focus on job creation now that the referendum was defeated in Quebec.

As far as our reform proposal is concerned-and you referred to occupational training in particular-we feel that the bill now before the House of Commons makes it quite clear that the government intends to withdraw from occupational training completely.

I think that what must be understood with this bill is that the federal government would like all provincial and territorial governments of Canada to get together and look at how duplication can be eliminated. As I indicated in my remarks, as far as we are concerned, there is no question of us buying any occupational training courses whatsoever as we know them, because we must withdraw from occupational training with the consent of the province of Quebec.

I reach out to my hon. colleague and suggest that he ask his leader, who is very likely to become the next Quebec premier, to be not so kind but rather so wise as to come and sit down with the federal government to negotiate federal-provincial agreements on manpower training.