Human Resources Committee on April 14th, 2010

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Pardon me, minister, but there's often only one answer and she is at times very evasive.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

I'm sorry, Mr. Lessard—

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

We have to have the right answers.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

We'll let the minister respond and then we will go to the next committee member.

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Thank you. We are making decisions regarding summer jobs. We have received a number of applications. We are evaluating them and no decision has been made at this time.

With regard to the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers, there is indeed money. Approximately 7,000 individuals have already received funds under that program.

There are a number of ways to provide money for literacy efforts, an issue you have addressed. This is indeed very important, as you just said. To have well educated people, they must be literate. So there are programs like the gifts. There are also programs with the Department of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. There are a number of ways to offer programs to help people learn to read.

As regards the Guaranteed Income Supplement, there have been no cuts to that program. I will be very happy to explain that in a written response.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Thank you very much.

We'll go to Mr. Martin, please.

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Thank you very much. I appreciate your being here today, both of you. I have a few questions.

You're aware that we've been undergoing a fairly extensive study of poverty for the last two years in this committee. It's working very well. We've travelled across the country and have heard a lot of good input. It's as much about trying to find answers as it is to see if there is poverty or to define it or anything else.

A number of issues keep coming up and will probably be key in the report that will be tabled within the next few weeks to you and to the House. One of them is in the area of housing. It's a huge issue wherever poverty is concerned.

I know from the reports that I get, and in fact from a meeting I had just last week when I was back in my constituency, that the folks who are out there working on homelessness and tapping into the homelessness partnership fund are really working hard. They are providing some absolutely fundamental and necessary services to some of the people in our communities who are most at risk and vulnerable.

Ottawa released a report just a week or so ago from the Alliance to End Homelessness that outlines some of the work they're doing and indicates that the demand is actually increasing in Ottawa for the kind of shelter and support they're giving.

In my own community of Sault Ste. Marie, I met with the folks who operate that program as well, and they've indicated that it's staying fairly even, but that the effort they're making, for example, to move people from homelessness to housing... In 2008 they moved 68 people, and in 2009 the numbers dropped to 38, but they said there are still people out there whom they need to work with.

Their concern—and I think you probably know what question is coming—is that there's no commitment past 2011 for the homelessness partnership fund. And what I've raised before when you've been before the committee is the issue of core funding, so that they can spend more of their time creating more success in moving people to housing and into employment and training, which they're doing. The effort is nothing short of spectacular, but there's still a huge need there.

They're asking me to ask you what the plans are past 2011 and whether there is any hope at all of their getting, at some point in your tenure, some core funding.

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

The issue you raise is definitely an important one. Unfortunately, there are Canadians who are in need of our assistance for housing, and indeed, particularly during this global recession, we've seen those numbers increase.

That's one of the reasons that a big part of our economic action plan included an additional $2 billion to go toward social housing, $1 billion of it in renovations of our own existing stock, but there were also moneys for new facilities: $400 million for new sites for seniors, $75 million for homes for the disabled, and $200 million in the north. That's just part of it, but going forward... That's for now--

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

The homelessness partnership fund...?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

But I'm trying to address the global problem. Going forward, we are in the unusual situation of having five years' worth of funding in the fiscal framework, with only two years of policy authorization. So over the course of the last year, I've been working closely with my provincial and territorial counterparts because, as you know, many of them play a very active role in providing homelessness and affordable housing solutions.

We've been working together. We've had a federal-provincial-territorial meeting to discuss this very issue. What is the best way to go forward to take care of these needs, not just in the short term, but in the long term? They have submitted reports to me. I am reviewing the variety of reports I've received. We're trying to develop the best way to go forward with this so that we can help as many people as possible.

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Another issue that's raised with me by people working in the affordable housing sector is the very low number of units and the very low amount of money actually allocated to providing housing for the physically and mentally disabled. Apparently, 5% of the stock is for physically disabled and 2.5% is for the recently homeless and victims of family violence. A very small percentage of the allocation is going to those groups that are very at risk and very vulnerable.

Are there any plans to increase that? Or why is it that we're not recognizing the need for more of that kind of housing?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

I think it's important to recognize that those aren't caps--they are minimums as opposed to maximums--and that other facilities can be made available to these individuals. They're not precluded from using other facilities.

It's also, in part, a question of how the various provinces approach their particular challenges. This varies from province to province. As you know, the federal government is responsible for delivery of service in some areas, but not in others.

We are working with the provinces and territories, and what you're talking about is part of what we discuss. What are the needs of the whole? How can we build and make sure that we have the most flexible accommodations to help these people, not just sectored off group by group, but so that we can look after as many people as possible with as great a flexibility as possible?

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

The other thing that comes up fairly regularly in our hearings is the question of literacy. I note from the estimates that spending on literacy will go down $1.3 million from 2009-10 to 2010-11, and then it's going to go down again in 2011-12. Literacy is another of those core issues that we need to look at and do something with if we're going to lift people out of poverty, and yet the funding is going down.

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

If I may, I'll provide some clarification there. The numbers appear to be going down, except that last year's numbers include a carry-forward from the previous year, so they are artificially high.

It's also important to recognize the number of ways in which we fund literacy programming and projects. Funding through the grants and contributions is a key way; there is no question about that. But Citizenship and Immigration has significantly increased their efforts in the area of literacy and developing literacy among newcomers. We have other programs that include literacy as well. They're not all in just one line item.

In fact, if you look at the total numbers, if it's possible to pull it all together, we are investing more because we want a workforce that is the best educated, most flexible, and most skilled. Literacy, as you point out, is certainly essential to that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Thank you very much, Minister.

We'll go to Mr. Komarnicki, please.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'll have a question for Minister Raitt and a couple of questions for Minister Finley.

Minister Raitt, I was listening to you and reading the report with respect to the workplace. You've indicated that “very few things are as important to a Canadian's quality of life as a safe, encouraging workplace and a dependable source of income”. You say that in turn “a well-functioning workplace also allows workers and managers to focus on productivity and innovation”. Certainly, it's a good place for their energies to be expended.

I was particularly impressed with the fact that of about 650 collective agreements, more than 95% were settled without a strike or lockout. I would like to ask you, Minister, what you attribute that to and what your thoughts are going forward with respect to ensuring that those kinds of percentages are maintained.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Halton, ON]

Thank you very much.

What I attribute it to actually has a lot to do with getting the conciliation and mediation services within the labour program into the workplace on an early basis. Usually the employer, or the workers, if they're in a unionized environment, will ask for help to come in for mediation. That's really what it's about: having the framework and the capacity for an outside neutral third party with the skills and training that allow the parties, in a very safe environment, to put aside what possible differences there may be to get to the ultimate goal, which is to continue working and to achieve the collective agreement.

That's what I ascribe it to. It's a very good process. In my previous life, I actually used the conciliation services to avoid a strike situation. I've always been very pleased with the work there, so it's a great honour to be part of the team now.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

it certainly seems that if you provide the supports that are necessary and if you have a good work environment, many of these don't need to be confrontations that would end up costing the economy and the country a lot of dollars.

Is there anything we can do in a proactive way that would be helpful? I see you intend to carry on with mediation and conciliation in a proactive way.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Halton, ON]

Absolutely. In specific cases, when you see that there may be a difficulty in upcoming negotiations, you have the ability to be proactive in helping with mediation. That's what we've done in the case of British Columbia ports, knowing that in order to have the economic lifeblood continue to flow through the ports out there it's incredibly important that we help the parties.

I should also mention that when I talk with the Canadian Labour Congress and the employers' associations, they're very open to having help and mediation. They recognize the value of the federal government in that situation.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Those were impressive records. It's certainly good to maintain them.

Students have certainly been affected fairly significantly by the global recession. It was good to see the budget deal in a significant way with providing substantive and substantial financing for various projects.

You mentioned, Minister Finley, that an additional $10 million was added for the Canada summer jobs program and that various other areas were covered as well. The particular program I'm interested in is the Skills Link program.

When I was in the constituency last week, I had the opportunity to observe about 18 young people who are facing various barriers to employment. They were actually providing a dinner; they were involved in the tourist industry. I know that the Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council partnered with the community, the Government of Saskatchewan, and us to provide some basic skills and a working environment for them.

I can tell you that just by interacting with them I could sense the confidence they had, just from the little time they had spent on this, and eventually they are going to spend an additional five months at work. Can you explain and just talk about the government's commitment of $30 million to the Skills Link program?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

The commitment is actually in addition, on top of our base funding. These are additional funds to help us get through this tough time. We know that youths are having a particular challenge finding work just because of the nature of this recession.

The Skills Link program actually focuses its efforts on helping young people who face a variety of challenges to find work. These may be social or developmental challenges or the background from which they come. It helps these young people learn a variety of things. It might be something as simple as how to dress when you go to work. It might be the importance of being on time, how to look for a job, how to handle the interview, or how to conduct yourself within the work environment once you land a job. In some cases, it's to help them develop the skills they need to go back and continue or even complete their education.

These are young people at risk. The Skills Link program has been extremely successful in adapting itself to the varying needs of these young people and getting them into the workplace or back to school. It has been a real success story. That is why we are investing an extra $30 million in it--because we know these young people need help and we want to be there to provide it for them.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

You have one minute.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

This will be a quick one. I know that we allocated another $30 million that we allocated to the career focus program and $10 million to the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.

Then again, we had the apprenticeship completion grant. That related to the Red Seal training programs and specifically allowed those who wanted to enter into the journeyman area not only to undertake their apprenticeship program but to complete it. Can you tell us a little about the progress you've seen with that particular program and how it's working?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

The apprenticeship completion grant has been a great success. As I referred to in my opening comments, the apprenticeship incentive grant is where students are eligible for $1,000 in each of the first two years if they're in a Red Seal designated training program.

What we found was that too many were not completing their education. We needed to do that for their sake, because when you're looking at future mobility, their ability to work wherever they choose in the country, and to have their skill sets recognized, it's important to get their journeyperson's ticket. We brought in the completion grant. That was first launched last July, and already we have over 20,000 students who have received that apprenticeship completion grant.

So far, over 140,000 have benefited from the incentive grant. We hope that these incentives, along with the spotlight that we're putting on the need for people to go into skilled trades--such as hosting the world skills competition last year, which I had the great honour to do with the Prime Minister--really let young people, and indeed people of all ages, know what great career opportunities there are and what a good living can be made by going into the skilled trades.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Thank you very much, Minister.

We will begin our second round now. There will be five minutes for questions and answers.

We'll begin with Madam Minna, please.