House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2019, with 47% of the vote.
Human Resources and Social Development October 31st, 2006
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want a government, for a change, that will respect the taxpayers' dollars. We have identified $100 million within my department out of a total of over $80 billion. That is less than two-tenths of one per cent. What we are doing is cutting money from programs that are not delivering results for Canadians.
Skilled Trades October 30th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we recognized more and more that Canada's growth would be dependent upon people entering the skilled trades, from welders and carpenters to hairstylists and chefs, which is why, within the first 100 days of taking office, Canada's new government introduced three bold new initiatives that will benefit over 800,000 apprentices and tradespeople.
The apprenticeship incentive grant, the apprenticeship job creation tax credit and the tradespeople's tool tax deduction are just three examples of how Canada's new government is taking action.
Literacy October 27th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, when Canadians elected us, they wanted a change from the old Liberal government. They wanted a government that was going to be accountable for how well their tax dollars were spent.
That is why we have identified programs that just were not meeting the needs of the literacy groups, programs that were not helping to reduce illiteracy across this country. That is why we are refocusing our energies and refocusing our dollars in order to help improve the literacy situation while respecting taxpayers' money.
Homelessness October 27th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, as we have seen with so many programs that were put in place by the previous government, they need to be reviewed. We owe that to Canadian taxpayers.
There was a former Liberal minister of CMHC who said that improvements needed to be made. We are going to deliver programs for the homeless at least as good as SCPI, and I hope better.
Homelessness October 27th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the issue of the homeless is very important to the government. That is why one of our earliest actions was to renew the SCPI program, with $135 million, and in August we made available $37 million more.
After seven years of no changes in that program, we think we must review it and look for opportunities to improve it so that we can make it even better and more responsive.
That is $135 million for SCPI and that is not peanuts.
Criminal Code October 25th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I believe that if you seek it, you would find unanimous consent to see the clock as 7:37 p.m.
Homelessness October 25th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we have indicated many times our concern for the homeless, which is why we extended the national housing initiative as one of our first moves, why we made $37 million available to it that had not been spent by the previous government and why we will continue to support the homeless. However, we will not do it in the way of the government that bankrupted Ontario.
Homelessness October 25th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the one disadvantage that the hon. member has is that she does not understand government numbers because she will never be in government.
Let me explain. The numbers posted on the website reflect the allocations that have already been made. Because we are still looking at ways to improve the homelessness program, the decisions have not been made. We do not want to be premature in that. Once we have made the decisions and we have allocated the funds, they will be there.
Homelessness October 24th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, this government cares about the homeless. That is why one of our earliest actions was to extend the national homelessness initiative, because we wanted to ensure that the needs were being met.
We also promised Canadians that we would review all programs to make sure that they were delivering value for money.
We are taking advantage of delivering these programs to meet the needs while we evaluate them and look for opportunities to even better serve the needs of the homeless.
Older Workers October 23rd, 2006
Mr. Speaker, right now across this country we have too few people for too many jobs. Right across this country we need skilled workers and unskilled workers to fill the demand for Canadian products.
Unlike the Bloc Québécois members who want to write off older workers, this government wants to take advantage of their talent, their skills and their ability to contribute to Canadian society. That is why we are helping them develop their skills, develop their job hunting skills and be a productive part of this society.