Evidence of meeting #107 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was riding.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Thank you, Minister.

I'm going to share my time with MP Ruimy.

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC

Thank you, Minister, for being with us today and talking about the national housing strategy.

I remember I was actually one of the first ones to hold a consultation in my riding about a year and a half ago. When we looked at what was happening, we saw that in the previous decade, housing and homelessness had skyrocketed. More specifically, in my riding we used to have a youth shelter, which was no longer funded because there wasn't any money there and funds had been shifted into another project.

Going through the national housing strategy and all the consultations that have gone on, what can you tell me, for the folks in my riding who are struggling to find a youth shelter, about how this program helps with developing a youth shelter?

1:05 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC

Thank you, Dan.

You know, and I think we all know, that to see young Canadians or women living in circumstances of family violence, or indigenous Canadians with handicaps and disabilities, or Canadians with mental health issues and addiction issues living in unaffordable and unsafe housing, or finding themselves on the streets, means that Canadians.... One homeless Canadian is too many in our society. This type of investment is.... In fact, we have increased for the first time in 20 years the budget of the homelessness partnering strategy.

We're going to invest $2.2 billion over the next 10 years to support housing investments that will make a difference in the lives of many Canadians and reduce chronic homelessness by at least 50%.

1:10 p.m.

Liberal

Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC

You were in one of our cities, Victoria, which has major homelessness issues, making an announcement recently.

Could you tell us about that announcement?

1:10 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC

That's a wonderful example of a partnership. I call this the triple-P agenda—people, places, and partnership. It's people because we need to be mindful of middle-class Canadians and lower-income Canadians who struggle in life and have difficulty finding safe and affordable housing; places because we want to make sure that our investments in housing complement other investments we're making in public transit, in green infrastructure, in training, in skills, and innovation; and partnership, because we know, as you have noted in Victoria, that when we work together, we make immense changes.

The Victoria mayor and all her community have declared that, with those housing investments and homelessness investments, that they will make homelessness history in Victoria quite soon because of partnership.

1:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bryan May

Thank you very much.

Madam Sansoucy.

June 6th, 2018 / 1:10 p.m.

NDP

Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, minister. It's always a pleasure to speak with you. Not surprisingly, I am going to talk to you about seniors and workers.

In preparing my questions for today, I realized I would have preferred to talk to you about the employment insurance reform you previously tabled. I would have preferred to talk about the poverty eradication strategy that has already been presented. I would have preferred to talk about the guaranteed income supplement that would already have been automatic for everyone. However, that is not the case.

In response to a question from my colleague about employment insurance, you said you intended to repair the damage from the 10 years when the Conservatives were in power. I would like you to go back much further than that because the Liberal government began to change the nature of the employment insurance program in 1996. That program is no longer the social security net it should be and has abandoned the primary mission it had when it was created in the 1950s.

We should not overlook the fact that the federal government has not contributed a cent to the employment insurance fund since the 1990s. That's why the employment insurance reform must achieve much more than merely undo what the Conservatives have done. Ultimately, they merely consolidated the Liberal reform of 1996.

As you know, I have addressed you many times in question period about the guaranteed income supplement and sickness benefits. And, by the way, I'm going to go back to the black hole. I have also questioned your parliamentary secretary several times during adjournment debates. Every time, your fine words have caused considerable frustration among workers, from New Brunswick and elsewhere, who still find themselves in a black hole. Things have come to the point where I have to ask you questions and say a prayer because we no longer know what to do with these families that have nothing to eat.

Every time, there are reactions related to sick persons, and matters have come to such a point that doctors in my riding call me because they have patients who want to go back to work after exhausting their 15 weeks of benefits, despite the fact they have to continue treatment. I was told during an adjournment debate that a minority of people were in that situation. And yet, according to the information we have obtained, 30% of sick persons exhaust their 15 weeks of benefits. It was not for no reason that I gave that press conference with Marie-Hélène Dubé, who wanted to meet you, and that I introduced that motion, which we have not even debated here.

I am thinking about all those people who call me about your answers. Sixty per cent of people who have contributed to employment insurance all their lives are not even eligible to receive it. They tell me they're not even entitled to a single week of benefits.

The committee is conducting a study on learning. Young people have unstable employment and never manage to accumulate enough hours. Yes, we are experiencing full employment, but some people are still experiencing unstable employment, and I no longer know what to tell them or how to respond to them.

Consequently, my questions will concern matters that I would have liked to see resolved. Soon you will be entering the fourth year of your mandate, and what I am talking to you about is set out in your mandate letter. I find it unfortunate that I'm asking you these questions at the start of that fourth year.

As my colleague mentioned, on September 6, 2016, you were invited to appear on Le Téléjournal. In response to a question, you said this would happen following year. You even expanded on that later in the interview, saying that the answer was very clear and that you had not lost sight of the issue. That's what you said, minister.

My question is very simple. When will you keep your promise to review sickness benefits, bearing in mind these people who currently have no income and who must devote their energy to getting better rather than to paying their bills?

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC

Thank you, Ms. Sansoucy.

You know how much I appreciate your work, your vision, and your support for many measures that we have put in place. However, I regret the fact that your long preamble contained a number of inaccuracies and incorrect statements.

You asked a question at the end and hoped I would answer it by merely avoiding—

1:15 p.m.

NDP

Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

I can ask you questions about the black hole and the guaranteed income supplement if you wish. You can answer them all together.

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC

One of the things you said about the guaranteed income supplement is inaccurate. We improved that program starting in the first year. Moreover, I look at my colleagues—

1:15 p.m.

NDP

Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

Is everyone now receiving it automatically?

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC

We did that, and we also know it's important to pay good benefits to seniors and that they must be properly and respectfully received by seniors.

In January 2018, for the first time in the history of the Canadian government, we implemented an automatic registration system for the guaranteed income supplement. FADOC had been calling for that for a long time.

1:15 p.m.

NDP

Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

However, that only concerns persons who have turned 65 since January 1st.

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC

That's a major step forward, although I agree it's not enough.

1:15 p.m.

NDP

Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

Not everyone has turned 65 since January 1st.

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC

That's correct.

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bryan May

Madam Sansoucy, I apologize. I have to step in. We are over time. We have to stick to the time today.

1:15 p.m.

NDP

Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

I'll have some speaking time later. I'll come back to this.

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bryan May

Thank you.

Now we have MP Fortier, please.

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

Mona Fortier Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I will be sharing my speaking time with Mr. Morrissey.

Good afternoon, minister. Thank you for being with us today.

I see that the expenses of the old age security program and the guaranteed income supplement, the GIS, have risen. I suppose that's because of the increase in the GIS and the rising population of seniors over 65 years of age.

Bearing that in mind, can you give us your take on the last report we prepared on seniors and tell us what you will be doing to advance the seniors file, which is very important?

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC

Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Fortier. You are one of the last people to join us, and we very much appreciate all the work you have done to date.

The seniors file has been very important over the past two years. As you know, we began by acknowledging that seniors, particularly the most vulnerable and those who live alone, are finding it hard to make ends meet. They often have to make choices whether to buy medication, pay their rent, buy good food, or take part in the life of their community. The cost of living is constantly rising for seniors, and we have acknowledged that fact from the outset.

We have invested funding and assisted 900,000 vulnerable seniors in Canada. I'm going to take advantage of the fact that my colleague Stephen Blaney is here to tell him that 4,000 seniors in his riding have received an increase in the guaranteed income supplement. I will also point out to my colleague Mark Warawa that 1,300 seniors in his riding have received an increase of up to $950. That's a significant difference. For people who are better off, $950 a year may not seem like much, but it makes a significant difference for seniors who, every day, find it hard to make ends meet.

In addition, we have expanded the Canada pension plan and invested in the national housing strategy, which will increase seniors' ability to house themselves properly and safely.

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

Mona Fortier Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON

Thank you.

I'm going to turn the floor over to Mr. Morrissey, with whom I'm sharing my speaking time.

1:15 p.m.

Liberal

Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE

Thank you.

I would like to reference rhetoric, but in terms of the former government, unfortunately this was not rhetoric. It was actually the draconian action of the Conservative government in its cuts to Service Canada that significantly impacted the delivery of those key services to the unemployed and people applying for the Canada pension and the suite of very important programs that Service Canada delivers. Those drastic cuts were felt disproportionately in the Far North, for indigenous people, in the rural parts of the country, especially to those who are vulnerable, the unemployed.

Could you briefly explain to the committee how our government has moved to reverse those draconian cuts?

1:20 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC

Thank you very much. It's also still a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Morrissey.

I'll just give one example of how significant the work of the government and the work of MPs, some of them around this table, has been when it comes to supporting Service Canada's quality standards.

In 2016, we launched a service quality review for how the federal government could be respectful in dealing with Canadians, and particularly Canadians who have lost their jobs, unemployed Canadians, facing very significant stress, income challenges, being able to feed their family. The problem is that under the former Service Canada standards of the former Harper Conservatives, only 30% of unemployed workers could talk to an agent. That meant that 70% of unemployed Canadians, finding themselves in very stressful conditions, could not talk to a Service Canada agent.

We've changed that with the help and assistance of people, some of whom are in this room, with the service quality review. We're now almost at 70%, and we're going to improve that further because we believe that Canadians require, deserve, and expect the support that Service Canada agents and the Canadian government owes them.

1:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bryan May

Thank you very much.

Now over to Ramesh, please.