Hello and thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would first like to thank the Standing Committee on Finance for inviting us here.
I would note that the CSN, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, represents more than 330,000 members in all possible economic sectors, primarily in Quebec but also throughout Canada.
First, we hope that the government will continue with its implementation of a progressive fiscal and budgetary policy. By that, we mean that we are not allergic to running low deficits, as a share of GDP, in order to meet the needs of Canadians and Quebeckers.
Second, everyone is feeling the effects of the housing crisis. One aspect that bothers us relates to monetary policy. The Bank of Canada is said to be independent of the federal government. That said, we believe that rates should keep going down because inflation in general has been checked. The housing sub-index is still rising, however, and it affects primarily low-income people. We therefore hope that the Canadian government will invest in housing, especially in non-market housing, co‑operatives and not-for-profit organizations, which would provide low rents in the long term.
With regard to employment insurance, the reform long promised by the Liberal government has not been brought in. Some of our members, and many people in the general public, are experiencing the problem of the “black hole”, a period during which they find themselves without an income. We believe this issue must be resolved. In addition, it was determined that to qualify for regular employment insurance benefits, a person needed 720 hours of insurable employment in some places, most of the time. To make this fairer, we believe the combination of hours and weeks needs to be rethought.
On the question of pharmacare, we welcome what has been done by the government to date, but it is not enough. All prescription drugs have to be covered, and that is not the case right now. This is a social policy that is important for the public as a whole.
There is much talk about immigration these days. We understand that it is important for the labour market, but not on just any terms, because those terms are often precarious for these people. There must be an end to closed work permits, because, ultimately, we are in the spotlight at the UN, which says that Canada is behaving badly toward immigrants.
The media are of fundamental importance in Quebec. We welcome funding for newsrooms, but it is important that this funding be extended to radio and television studios. Funding for CBC/Radio-Canada must be predictable, sustainable and sufficient, because advertising revenue is in constant decline and because CBC/Radio-Canada is a fundamental component of the culture of Quebec and Canada.
On the subject of the environment, there is talk of public transit to address or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, most of our transit companies have non-recurring budgets. If we truly want to reduce greenhouse gas in the long term, those companies have to be adequately funded, both by the federal government and by the provincial government. We are telling the provincial government the same thing, have no fear, but we believe that the federal government's contribution is important.
I will close by saying that several tens of millions of dollars, maybe even a hundred million, have been cut from labour market development agreement funding, particularly affecting vocational training. We hope this funding will be restored so that our working women and men receive appropriate training in the labour market.