Eve Adams

[Veterans Affairs, March 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, no government has done more for veterans than this government in the last 60 years. If a veteran requires a home visit from a case manager, a veteran will continue to receive that home visit.

As the Prime Minister has demonstrated time and time again, we are providing Canada's veterans with the services and benefits they deserve in a quick and effective manner. In fact, through our Conservative government's cutting red tape for veterans initiative, we are providing veterans, Canadian armed forces personnel and their families with better and faster service in more modern ways.

We implemented the veterans transition action plan. This plan has led to more job opportunities than ever before for veterans.

We have increased accessibility of veteran services by providing 600 points of service, where previously there were only 60 points of service.

We have also launched the new benefits browser and the My VAC Book, which puts detailed information about veterans' benefits and services at the fingertips of veterans, so they know what benefits are available to them and their family members.

Our government recently announced that the veterans independence program will change its delivery model. Veterans will no longer have to submit numerous receipts many times a year. Instead, they will receive upfront payments for those services. Across Canada, this single change will eliminate more than 2.5 million transactions between veterans and the civil service.

Our government is also going to great lengths to help veterans with new career opportunities. Helmets to Hardhats Canada brings union, private and public sector employers together to match veterans with employment and training opportunities in the building and construction trades. Veterans Affairs Canada has enhanced employment opportunities within our department, and the Minister of Veterans Affairs has asked me to reach out to Canadian employers to invite them to offer priority hiring to our veterans. The hire a veteran initiative seeks to create many more job opportunities for Canadian armed forces personnel and veterans as they seek to move from the military to civilian careers.

Finally, I am very proud to say that our government has ended the practice of deducting veterans' disability pensions when calculating their earnings loss and Canadian armed forces income supports. We have worked quickly to make the changes to veterans benefits, to put more money in the pockets of veterans and their families.

We are doing the very things that veterans have been telling us they want, and we are very proud to be delivering. Whether through the new veterans charter or the veterans transition action plan, our Conservative government remains firmly committed to providing veterans and their families with the support they need when they need it.

[The Economy, March 1st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, day after day, week after week, our Conservative government continues to work hard for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. As a matter of fact, this weekend I and other members of our caucus will be heading home to our ridings to continue our work for Canadians.

While we are focused on the economy and keeping taxes in the pockets of hard-working Canadians as much as possible, the opposition has a different plan in store. It would like to bring in a brand-new carbon tax. As listed on page 4 of his party platform in black in white, the Leader of the Opposition and his party want to impose a sneaky $20 billion job-killing carbon tax. This would increase the price of everything, from gas to groceries to electricity. I do not know about other members, but I certainly think we pay too much for gasoline already.

We call on the Leader of the Opposition to come clean on the New Democrats' job-killing carbon tax with Canadians.

[Hiring of Veterans, February 27th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to highlight our government's actions to create jobs for Canadian veterans.

Each year, between 4,000 and 5,000 Canadian armed forces members leave the military at an average age of 37. These people are hard-working, well trained and the very definition of team players. By working with private and public sector organizations, our Conservative government is helping veterans transition into the civilian workforce.

Earlier this afternoon I was joined by Dr. Woolf, the principal and vice-chancellor of Queen's University, to announce that Queen's University will offer priority hiring to qualified Canadian veterans. I would like to thank Queen's for its support of veterans and the program for hiring veterans. Queen's is one of the oldest, most prestigious universities in our country.

Hiring a veteran just makes sense. I strongly encourage all Canadian businesses to join us.

[Government of Canada, February 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government has been working hard over the past seven years for Canadians. Since forming government, Canadians have placed their trust in us to deliver results. That is exactly what we have done. We have lowered the GST from 7% to 6% to 5%. That is something that saves all Canadians money, every day, every time they make a purchase. We implemented the children's fitness tax credit to help moms and dads with the costs of hockey, soccer and gymnastics, for instance. We have implemented the children's' arts tax credit to help with the costs of piano and guitar lessons.

Unfortunately, the leader of the NDP has a different plan for Canada. The Leader of the Opposition wants to implement a $20-billion job-killing carbon tax that would hurt Canadians. On this side of the House, we will continue to stand tall for Canada and we will fight the $20 billion job-killing carbon tax.

[Housing, February 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly understand the hon. member's concern for those who require assisted housing, but as I have already said, the current approach our government has is working.

Since 2006, we have created 46,000 new affordable housing units and we have renovated more than 100,000. Every year our government is providing support for more than 605,000 individuals and families with subsidized housing needs.

Since 2006, more than 8,900 new rental units have been committed under the on-reserve non-profit housing program. In addition, under Canada's economic action plan, more than 10,000 new units were created on and off reserve.

These projects not only improved living conditions for tens of thousands of Canadians, but they also put people to work quickly and stimulated local economies.

This year alone we will spend close to $2 billion through a range of programs to help Canadians with housing needs. We continue to build on the progress that has been achieved to date.

[Housing, February 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member again asked about a national housing strategy for Canada. The hon. member clearly believes that the federal government should be telling the provinces and the territories what they should be doing, and we on this side of the House simply do not agree.

Our government has invested unprecedented amounts in a multi-pronged approach that respects provincial jurisdiction in housing to ensure that Canadians have access to affordable, sound and suitable housing.

Our approach works, because governments at all levels recognize that housing needs differ across the country. Local challenges need local solutions and we all recognize that provinces and territories are best positioned to design and deliver programs to address housing needs in their jurisdictions.

By not recognizing that social housing is largely a provincial jurisdiction and moving away from the local delivery of social housing programming, this approach could lead to more bureaucracy and, as a result, most costly social housing.

Our approach is collaborative. We engage with the full spectrum of housing stakeholders and we respect provincial, territorial and on-reserve jurisdictions. That is why we do not support Bill C-400.

Rather than being a solution to housing challenges across Canada, we believe that a prescriptive, national approach would slow progress, cause unnecessary friction between governments and actually impede the development of effective local solutions.

That is why, instead of holding meetings and developing discussion papers, we have opted for action. We worked closely with the provinces and territories to deliver more than $2 billion in social housing investments under Canada's economic action plan, and Mississauga—Brampton South, my community, certainly benefited from that important investment.

As reported earlier this year, this funding was supported an estimated 16,500 social housing units and first nations housing units across the country. It was delivered quickly and effectively, thanks to collaboration between all stakeholders. Tens of thousands of Canadians have benefited as a result.

In fact, our government is already investing more in affordable and supportive housing than any other government in Canadian history. Last year we announced a new investment in the affordable housing framework with the provinces and territories to guide the delivery of federal housing investments through to 2014. This framework provides for combined federal-provincial-territorial spending of $1.4 billion over three years.

Provinces and territories are responsible for program design, delivery and administration and they have the flexibility to invest in a range of solutions to improve the living conditions of Canadians in need.

Since 2006, our government has invested an estimated $13.1 billion in housing and homelessness programs. During this period, we have witnessed a tremendous level of co-operation between governments and other housing stakeholders, in fact, a truly national collaboration.

This is not the time to interrupt progress by shifting our attention to holding meetings rather than implementing actual housing solutions.

[Persons with Disabilities, February 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to reiterate that the disability insurance plan has a surplus of about $100 million. Moreover, the government continues to fund this important plan.

We are proud of the work the public service does every day to serve Canadians. Canada's public service employs the best and the brightest people, whose work is intimately tied to the well-being of our nation.

Our government is committed to the well-being of the men and women of the public service. Within our first year, the Prime Minister established an advisory committee of eminent Canadians to advise him on the renewal and future development of the Public Service of Canada. Many of their recommendations have led directly to tangible actions and real results across the public service.

We look forward to building on this good work to enable the public service today and in the years ahead.

[Persons with Disabilities, February 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise in the House to speak to the issue of the disability insurance plan and disability management in the public service. I would like to begin by correcting some of the statements made by my hon. colleague on these issues.

First, the disability insurance plan is not in a deficit position. It currently has a surplus of about $100 million.

Second, the government has not stopped funding this important plan. The government continues to pay 85% of the cost of annual premiums. What has happened is that the level of the surplus has declined due to an increasing volume of claims.

We understand that other employers are experiencing similar trends at this time. We continue to work with both officials and the public service unions through a board of management established under the National Joint Council to ensure that the plan remains viable and adequately funded in a manner that balances the interests of public servants and taxpayers.

The real issue here is the need to find ways to reduce the incidents and duration of long-term disability in the federal public service and to improve workplace wellness. I am happy to report that progress in this area is already being made.

In consultation with bargaining agents under the disability management initiative, we have developed resources, tools and services for departments. These include training for disability management advisers and a web resource, which contains a manager's handbook, a manual on establishing a disability management program in departments and an employee wellness resource.

Tools have also been enhanced to provide deputy heads with more current data on the state of disability and sick leave management across the federal public service.

We have taken some positive steps forward and we are vigorously continuing our work toward finding better ways to support public service employees who are facing disability.

The Government of Canada is committed to workforce wellness and fundamentally reducing the incidents and duration of disability over the long term. The federal government offers a comprehensive package of benefits, such as health, dental and disability insurance plans, and provides for certain types of leave and other flexible work arrangements to promote workplace well-being. This increases the effectiveness and productivity of departments and agencies in achieving their program objectives.

Through the disability management initiative, we have made improvements to the current system that we believe would help reduce the incidents and duration of disability. We are continuing our efforts to find the best possible solutions to deal with these issues.

We look forward to working with stakeholders to make further progress in the future.

[Veterans, February 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, our government has provided more than most of our allies. It is a very proud Canadian record and we are always looking to see how we might go about improving the services and benefits for our veterans.

What is truly appalling though is the record of the member's party in funding veterans. The NDP has voted against just about every service or benefit we provide to veterans. I will give a couple of quick examples. The NDP actually voted against $35 million to increase the grants for disability awards to our veterans. It voted against funding for the education of the children of deceased veterans. Who truly votes against funding the education of the orphans of veterans? That is despicable. That is appalling. The NDP has also voted against funding cenotaphs. It voted against funding over $1 billion for our new veterans charter. The list goes on and on.

[Veterans, February 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his question because it allows me to highlight our government's ongoing commitments to Canadian veterans and their families.

The funeral and burial program provides financial assistance to the families of all veterans in financial need who die of a service related disability. That is the sole purpose of this important program, to ensure that veterans receive a dignified funeral and burial, and it is working. In the past year alone, our government has helped the families of more than 1,300 veterans through a profoundly difficult period of their lives. Since our government took office, close to 10,000 veterans' families have benefited from the funerals and burials program.

Of course, we are always looking for ways to improve this important program and to serve Canadian veterans. We are always looking for ways to strengthen the services we provide and the many benefits that are available to our veterans.

Looking internationally, Canada can be proud of our robust funeral and burial program. Unlike many of our allies, the funeral and burial program covers the entire cost of the burial itself. Benefits available in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom all provide equal or lesser benefits to their veterans. This fact, unfortunately, gets lost in the opposition parties' spin. That truly is unfortunate.

Our track record on veterans issues is unmatched by any political party in the House and, frankly, by any previous government. We have improved or maintained benefits across the board and have done it during very challenging fiscal times. We have also improved customer service to our veterans. We have eliminated millions of individual transactions between veterans and the federal government, including by moving to a grant model for the veterans independence program, saving veterans time and money.

Finally, I will not take any lessons from the opposition, in particular from the member's party. They talk about supporting veterans, but if they had their way, veterans would lose benefits and services at an unprecedented rate. Believe it or not, the member actually voted to reduce the Veterans Affairs budget by almost $2 million quite recently and with one swoop would have closed over 600 new sites where veterans can gain access to information on the benefits they need.

All of the initiatives that I have described represent real and meaningful action for veterans and their families. They also demonstrate how the government is always looking ahead and adapting our programs and services to meet the needs of all veterans. Canada's heroes deserve this and we are very proud to deliver.