Bernard Patry

[Supply, December 5th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my Liberal colleague for his question. This new employment insurance reform as proposed by the Minister of Human Resources Development will help us increase productivity in Quebec and across Canada.

There are several very interesting points in this reform; there are the responsibilities we will give to all job seekers. There will be wage subsidies and earnings supplements. I already mentioned self-employment assistance. There will also be partnerships with the provinces, municipalities, and the companies themselves to put people back to work.

I think that this is the most important. There will also be social incentives. Basing the reform on the number of hours of work and on earnings will greatly benefit the Canadian economy. There are inequities in the existing Unemployment Insurance Act in that some people can qualify for UI after working 15 hours a week for 12 weeks, while others who work 14 hours a week in part time jobs, perhaps for several years, have no chance of receiving UI benefits.

This bill will eliminate some inequities. In the case of lower income people, namely those working part time, some 500,000 of them will now be eligible for UI benefits should they need them-although I hope they will keep their jobs for as long as possible.

[Supply, December 5th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I think that Bill C-111, introduced in the House last Friday by the Minister of Human Resources Development, is one of the most modern pieces of legislation introduced by this government.

As Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said, the proposed reform aims to help jobless Canadians to rejoin the workforce as quickly as possible, and to regain the dignity associated with working.

Employment insurance is designed to promote the development of the Canadian workforce, as well as economic growth.

To that end, the new employment insurance program proposes new measures geared to the needs of individuals and communities.

It also seeks to promote partnership and co-operation with the provinces, with the sole purpose of improving the well-being of Canadian workers.

In co-operation with the provinces, and in the context of a new vision and a new approach, we want to provide Canadian workers with the tools and the opportunities that will help them find their niche in the workforce. Along with the provinces, the private sector and community organizations, we want these workers to have jobs that will make our country competitive on the international markets.

Governments must get together to meet the challenges of the new economy and provide workers with the necessary skills and knowledge.

Employment insurance proposes a system that is better suited to the needs of those who want to find work in the modern labour market. For example, I can think of the workers who want to get training, so that they can meet the new labour market requirements, including in the professional and industrial sectors, to ensure their well-being and also contribute to the country's economic growth. Once fully implemented, the proposed reform will create between 100,000 and 150,000 jobs every year, including 40,000 in Quebec.

Employment insurance is a much more efficient program, because it recognizes the work effort, while also helping the unemployed. The proposed changes are fair to all Canadian workers, including those who hold part-time jobs.

This program is indeed more efficient. Once fully implemented, it will result in savings of two billion dollars, without depriving any Canadian of his or her rights. Out of that amount, $800 million will be reinvested in the employment benefit program. Adding to that amount the current budget of $1.9 billion for employment benefits, we get a total of $2.7 billion to be allocated to employment assistance each year. This is a unique and golden opportunity for those provinces interested in reaching agreements with the federal government to look after their workforce in a proactive fashion.

It was also our intention to ensure that Canadians living in high unemployment areas could take advantage of employment incentive measures in order to work more hours in a year. We have therefore established a $300 million transition job fund over three years, to fund independent growth-related employment in areas of higher unemployment.

In conjunction with our partners, we wish to encourage employers to create new jobs and to help the unemployed to return to the work force as quickly as possible.

Employment benefits are practical and efficient tools which assist those attempting to return to the work force with practical, and in some cases personalized, measures.

Since training is a provincial responsibility, and it is the federal government's intention to withdraw from that sector under the new

legislation, skill development loans and grants will be given only after formal consent by the province concerned.

Employment benefits were designed to encourage personal initiative, to encourage people to make appropriate job search choices. There are management systems to help recipients plan their return to the work force in a methodical way. They will need to commit to following that plan, and there will be follow-up mechanisms.

We have sought to make wage benefits and all employment and re-employment measures as flexible as possible. All levels of government acknowledge the necessity of bringing their labour market-related roles in line with each other; duplication of effort, services and expenditures must be avoided, and initiatives must be co-ordinated. A province wishing to administer a service itself, or to substitute another program which would yield the same results, will be able to do so. The federal government is determined to act in as open a manner as possible, within the confines of its mandate under the national Constitution.

What will Quebec get out of this new legislative package? Respect of our jurisdictions, greater flexibility in human resource management, new opportunities for agreements, and the continuation of some of the many agreements already in place between us relating to employment insurance and human resources development.

To prevent overlapping initiatives and programs, we want to sit down with Quebec and see how we can focus our efforts in the area of manpower training. Parochial squabbles do Canadians a disservice and are counterproductive. We are here to serve all Canadians and that should be the only rationale for what we do.

If the province of Quebec already has a program, we are quite willing to let Quebec manage and determine the basic orientation of this program. We want to avoid duplication at all costs. It is too expensive, creates bureaucratic problems and prevents us from understanding the needs of workers and employers.

We will try to set up formal and specific agreements with the provinces. In each case, we will ask what instruments, programs and employment services should be designed and managed locally. This will be done keeping efficiency in mind. We must give each individual the tools he needs to get back on the labour market.

This means that on the basis of such agreements, Quebec will be able to assume responsibility for delivering an even larger number of projects, programs and services to its workers.

As Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced a few days ago, the federal government will withdraw from manpower training activities. We will no longer purchase training courses from provincial institutions. We will withdraw from apprenticeship training, co-operative education programs and on-the-job training.

These measures must be implemented as soon as possible. We have provided for a transition period of up to three years to give the provinces and institutions time to adjust.

Since 1966, we have concluded agreements with Quebec as we have with other provinces in this country, and this proves that we are able to work in harmony to promote the well being of our human resources, with due consideration for the priorities of the province.

The employment insurance bill is a starting point for discussions with the provinces. These discussions may lead to various agreements depending on the particular needs of the provinces, their economic situation and the needs and circumstances of local labour markets. It is up to us to sit down together at the negotiating table and proceed with our discussions while considering our workers, the jobs they need and the economic development of all regions in our country.

In some cases, for example, a provincial government could manage federal employment measures or could use its own programs, rather than implement the proposed federal measures. Similarly, we could combine federal and provincial programs along with other programs from the private sector and the community.

These programs could be administered by the private sector, a local or provincial organization or a consortium. The employment benefits and services proposed in Bill C-111 are based on proven job creation practices.

Experience tells us that helping claimants set up a business is an effective way to return people to work. Since April 1994, 34,000 Canadians have set up businesses using this method. Seventy per cent of them were still active 18 months later. They create an average of 1.1 jobs.

A quick example, before I conclude. In February 1995, Dominique Grenier of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts started a specialized business in software for people with a disability.

After four years of temporary jobs, he saw self-employment assistance as a way of getting a job. After only ten months, his business is expanding. Interest in his products, which help people cope with their environment, continues to grow. Next year, he intends to hire at least one person, and perhaps two. Here is what he says: "I would not have been able to carry this project out had it not been for the help I received from the Department of Human Resources Development. This sort of program is vital for anyone wanting to start a business".

In the interest of our fellow citizens, this bill deserves our support. It is centred on a single and vital objective: jobs that give Canadians, communities and regions real hope for the future.

[International Hiv-Aids Day, November 30th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, December 1, is International HIV-AIDS Day. On the same day last year our Prime Minister was one of the cosignatories of the Paris declaration.

I would like to draw the attention of the House to the fact that Canada followed up on this summit by creating a task force on Canada's international response on HIV-AIDS.

On this day, the theme of which is "Share rights, Share responsibilities", I would like to acknowledge the important role played by nongovernmental organizations such as the International AIDS and Development Coalition, the International Council of ONGs against AIDS, the Canadian AIDS Society, the Canadian Public Health Association, the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, the réseau international francophone d'intervention SIDA and the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS.

[Renewal Of Canadian Federalism, November 28th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, by announcing the details of his three main initiatives for change yesterday, the Prime Minister of Canada kept his referendum promises.

Yesterday, the Government of Canada tabled a motion to ensure that the Quebec's distinct society be recognized in the Canadian federation. Legislation establishing a regional right of veto will be introduced to give Canadians from all four major regions of the country the assurance that no constitutional change will be made without their consent. The Government of Canada will withdraw from manpower training; the provinces will then be quite free to develop their own policies and programs in that area.

These first three initiatives clearly show that we are committed to helping build a Canada that better meets to the needs and aspirations of its people and is more sensitive to them.

[Yitzhak Rabin, November 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was cut down by an assassin's bullets minutes after making a speech at a huge peace rally. Mr. Rabin's assassination is first and foremost an attempt to derail the peace process in the Middle East. His murderer thought that, by killing the messenger, he would quash all the efforts made in the past several years to find a peaceful solution to the problems in this troubled area.

However, the demise of this great man will not succeed in crushing the hope for peace that inspires the people of Israel. There is no doubt that peace will come to the Middle East, and no crime, however repugnant, will prevent this. At this time of great sorrow, Israelis can count on the support and sympathy of Canadians. We, too, are resolutely committed to peace.

[Department Of Health Act, November 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, what struck me in the speech made by the member from the Reform Party, before my colleague made his comments, is that he told the House that the Canadian health care system is one of the best if not the best in the world and that he did not want in any way a health care system based on the American model.

I think that having private clinics, as suggested by my colleague, would be the beginning of the end of our health care system as we know it in Canada and the birth of a two tier system, one for the rich and one for the poor.

I am well aware of cases like the one mentioned by the member for Macleod, the case of Stephanie. Such cases exist in every riding in this country, but I think that, at the present time, the provision of essential services is good. Of course there is room for improvement in the area of essential services, and these improvements must be made through prevention. I think that, without prevention, we will have problems in the future. But prevention is an essential part of our government's vision of health care, and that is the direction we are going to take as we move toward the next millenium.

[Department Of Health Act, November 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Health. I submit that today's motion is very important because it is a positive move for health. Prevention will get a renewed importance and the department of Health will assume responsibility for certain regulations, like the one on hazardous products and other similar products, and also for fitness.

I personally think that the future of health in Canada is prevention. We talked a lot about health care, but before things get there, there is prevention. That is the objective of the bill and I am proud of it.

[Department Of Health Act, November 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to congratulate the minister sponsoring that bill. She has strongly and successfully defended the principles championed for half a century by the Liberal Party, while developing Canada's health care system. Over the years, medicare was threatened many times, sometimes from one quarter, sometimes from another.

True to the tradition upheld by her illustrious predecessors, the minister has just repelled the most recent attacks on medicare, and all Canadians are grateful for that.

This Liberal government is proud, and deservedly so, of all the pioneers who saw to the proper development of medicare. Successive Liberal governments improved the system, so as to preserve its soundness and effectiveness. This is why Canada now enjoys a health care program that is second to none, both from a technical and a social standpoint. The quality of our health care remains unsurpassed. Equal access for all is also guaranteed to the fullest extent possible.

Social development is contingent upon health. A healthy nation is a productive nation. It can enjoy those things that make life worth living, it stands a better chance of being happy, and its people can build a strong nation.

One of the ever present challenges faced by the health department is to find which policies and programs can best contribute to the health and well-being of Canadians.

Without taking anything away from Canadian health professionals, I want to congratulate the Minister of Health and Health Canada for giving priority to essential programs such as disease prevention and health promotion.

In the past, preventive medicine meant things like vaccination, which practically eliminated afflictions like smallpox, diphtheria and poliomyelitis for previous generations. Today, sophisticated tests and equipment warn us about dangers and allow Canadians of all regions to add many years of good health to their lives.

Twenty years ago, a Liberal minister of Health, the hon. Marc Lalonde, published a working paper entitled A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians which was to have an impact on health systems across the world. It was a visionary document for the time. It is comforting to see that so many aspects of Mr. Lalonde's vision have been realized thanks to the department whose name we are discussing today.

Many fundamental elements of the health system we know today came out of the Lalonde paper. The preamble to the Canada Health Act which mentions the social, environmental and industrial causes of diseases was also inspired by that document. The causal factor model which the National Forum on Health is now studying also comes from the Lalonde working paper.

According to A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians , and I quote: ``When the full impact of environment and lifestyle has been assessed, -there can be no doubt that the traditional view of equating the level of health in Canada with the availability of physicians and hospitals is inadequate''. The document predicts appropriately that, to improve the health of Canadians in the future, we will have to clean up the environment, reduce risks we expose ourselves to, and improve our knowledge of human biology.

This is the source of the reasoning in favour of social well-being, which is at the heart of this new bill, as members will note. This is the source of the arguments against tobacco and excessive alcohol consumption, which underlie Health Canada's tobacco demand reduction strategy, and the activities of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

This is the source of the arguments in favour of health research, which are guiding Health Canada in its laboratory work, and the Medical Research Council in its operation; the latter does not report to the department but to Parliament through the health minister. This is the source of the argument that everyone is responsible for his or her own health and must keep sufficiently fit to ensure his or her own well-being. As the members are aware, responsibility for the promotion of physical fitness was given back to Health Canada.

From now on, it is incumbent upon the health department to encourage Canadians to stay physically active throughout their lives because physical activity is essential to good health. Health Canada helps many organizations make physical activity more accessible and readily available to all Canadians in general and to the disabled in particular, because the latter are probably the ones who need it most and have to overcome the most obstacles in that regard.

With the reorganization of the health department-the main reason for introducing Bill C-95-another determining factor relating to the health of Canadians is being added to departmental operations. Product safety in now being transferred from the former Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs to the Department of Health. Product safety does indeed come under the broader field of health protection. Accidents in the home and on the job are major causes of death and injury for people between 5 and 35 years of age. Because of such accidents, we have people who can no longer live a full life, economic losses and an increase in medical and hospital bills.

A lot of these accidents involve consumer and household products. Health Canada is responsible for the enforcement of the Hazardous Products Act. This act deals with the sale, the advertisement and the importation of certain hazardous products and ensures that consumers are well informed about the risks associated with the misuse of other products.

Before I conclude, I want to raise a point we seem to forget when we talk about what contributes to improve the health and welfare of Canadians. The provinces are of course responsible for providing health services to the public, but some health problems know no provincial boundaries. Their causes are deep-rooted in the social fabric of our nation.

For Canadians to enjoy good health, their basic needs must be met. They must have a job and a reasonable income and be able to care for their families. This is where the federal government plays an important part. It must help to maintain a viable economic structure so that these goals can be reached.

The Jobs and Growth government agenda will greatly contribute to improve the health of Canadians. We can expect positive economic results from the deficit reduction, which will help to improve the health of Canadians. We all stand behind Health Canada in this cause. These are the reasons why I wholeheartedly support Bill C-95.

[Prime Minister Of Canada, November 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, last night in Toronto, the Prime Minister of Canada delivered an important speech in front of a large audience of business people.

Not only did he highlight our government's main achievements and reiterate our commitment to our red book promises, but he also raised the issue of national unity. In his first major speech outside Quebec since the referendum, he urged all Canadians to join forces in bringing about the changes that are so anxiously awaited from coast to coast.

The message delivered by our Prime Minister is one of stability, reconciliation and optimism. I am pleased to associate myself with what my leader said and I can assure the people of Canada that we are fully committed to making this country a symbol of unity and of prosperity.

[Quebec Premier, November 1st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, as the member for Pierrefonds-Dollard, a Quebec riding that is representative of the Canadian mosaic-its composition being 30 per cent allophone from a total of 52 different ethnic groups, 40 per cent anglophone, and 30 per cent francophone-, not only was I shocked by the deliberately chosen and well thought out words of

the Premier of Quebec concerning who was responsible for the defeat of the referendum, but I was also offended by his refusal to retract his words.

This attitude must be vigorously denounced, for Quebec, like Canada, offers a warm welcome to all of the world's citizens. The Premier of Quebec's words are a serious matter, having been spoken after careful consideration by a first minister, but I wish to reassure my colleagues in this House and the people of Canada that they are far from representing reality. Quebecers of all origins are proud people, and newcomers from anywhere in the world will always find an open door in Quebec.