Status of Women Committee on May 3rd, 2007

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

One issue that comes up quite a bit in my riding--for young women with families or those with disabilities--has to do with EI eligibility for someone with their own business. In other words, when it comes to some of the benefits of EI--as an example, in the case of parental leave--do you think that would go a long way for young entrepreneurs?

[Carmela Hutchison]

Absolutely. I think any measure like that, with the provincial income support program that allows people to have the flexibility to earn their way up, is good. I think also the expansion of EI to entrepreneurs for people with disabilities is a very forward and positive step.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

You only have about 30 seconds.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

That's fine.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you so much.

Ms. Demers.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much for being here today. It's very important to be able to learn how to better respond to your needs.

Ms. Moreau, you talked about projects that you have tried out. I think they're very important for the entire community because you enable people to re-enter the labour market, and thus to develop a sense of self-worth, to have greater self-esteem, and to earn money in order to take part in the economy and buy services.

I believe that an assistant is essential to successful integration. You are subsidized by Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Do you receive an amount of money annually? Is it for three years, five years, 10 years? Do you always have to reapply? Is it hard to obtain grants? How much money do you need in order to continue?

A success rate like yours is impressive. If 43% of persons do not succeed, that means that 57% succeed. That's impressive.

Can you give me more details?

[Nancy Moreau]

Our funding comes from the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities, a program of Human Resources and Social Development Canada.

On average, our annual budget is about $3.5 million or $4 million, for Quebec. We maximize that envelope in order to serve as many people as possible. In fact, some 600 individuals take advantage of it.

We do have to renegotiate our funding every year. Nothing is ever taken for granted. Every year, we have to file a new application with the department, and renegotiate conditions and targets. That's entirely normal in the case of our accountability. What is difficult, however, is that we are never assured in advance that we will have recurring funding. It's extremely disturbing for our clientele and the partners who work very hard to set up projects that work well. There is always a certain moment in the year when we have to give them a reality check, which means that it is possible that we won't be able to guarantee them our support, since we aren't sure of getting funding.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Have you requested recurring funding? If so, did you get an answer?

[Nancy Moreau]

We have taken steps to get recurring funding. The program as such is permanent. However, our agreements with the department are annual. A short time ago, we submitted applications for longer term funding, but we haven't received any response.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Thank you.

Madam Chair, I'm giving Ms. Deschamps my remaining time.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Ms. Deschamps.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I'll continue in the same vein. It seems to me that, at the end of your remarks, you said that the program was currently under review, re-evaluation.

[Nancy Moreau]

Yes.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Were you informed of that fact? Are there reasons why that evaluation is being conducted?

[Nancy Moreau]

In fact, the evaluation was to be completed in 2005, from what we were told. It still isn't completed, for all kinds of reasons, as a result of which the program has been extended as it is until March 2009, pending completion. That's in the normal wake of the program's evaluation. We are supposed to be able to take part in that evaluation. Obviously, we expressed our interest in sharing our expertise and experience concerning the model we're putting in place in Quebec. Currently, no one has contacted us to invite us to take part in the evaluation. We are still open, and we hope to be able to give decision-makers the benefit of our expertise.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

That would be good.

You said that 600 people currently receive support and services from your organization. Is there a list? Are there any people waiting? Could more people take advantage of your program and of everything you've put in place?

[Nancy Moreau]

In fact, to avoid raising expectations that we can't meet, we try to promote our services based on the budget we receive. So, with more money, we could indeed do more promotion, seek more partners in order to set up more extensive projects. We can't turn on the machine if we don't have the means to meet expectations; that would mean disappointing persons with disabilities who are waiting.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

As regards the three projects you told us about, do they involve more seasonal or ad hoc jobs?

[Lyne Vincent]

In the case of horticultural training, that's a job that can be considered seasonal. But if you calculate the number of hours worked during the year, that corresponds more or less to 35 hours a week over 52 weeks, because there can be quite a lot of hours of work during the production period, which entirely suits the clientele interested in this kind of training because that enables them to have a break between two periods of work. People are also selected on the basis of those criteria. The other two types of training lead to work that is available year-round.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I know that you may have a brief history—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

You have 50 seconds left.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

—but is it possible for you to determine whether the people who drop out live in the regions or in an urban area? Is it because they have less support? Have you been able to conduct that analysis, without necessarily touching on specific targets, such as, for example, transportation, child care services, and so on?

[Nancy Moreau]

In rural areas, there are indeed transportation problems, but it's a holistic problem. In any case, people are far away from the labour market. So they often have a lot of needs. It's therefore difficult to target their reasons for dropping out. We have to do more exhaustive research.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

If you had more funding.

[Nancy Moreau]

Of course!