Mr. Speaker, I was referring to the government of the present Prime Minister and his Minister of Human Resources Development. Now, I must add that, regarding social programs, the Liberals are doing exactly the opposite of what they preached when they were in opposition. I am for social security reform, but true reform designed to improve social security, not to destroy it.
It took decades to build our social security system in Canada. Now, this federal government is trying to dismantle it in a matter of months. The real hidden agenda of the instigators of this reform is to bring the deficit down. Since coming to power, the Liberal government has done its utmost to balance its budget on the back of the disadvantaged. This paper proposes very drastic changes in unemployment insurance as well as in how funding of social assistance and post-secondary education are funded, changes designed to save $15 billion over the next five years.
In so doing, the government is hoping to reduce the national debt to 3 per cent of the gross domestic product within three years. There is nothing in this paper about the real challenge facing Canada today: job creation. No effort is made to eliminate the very expensive jurisdictional overlaps between the federal government and the provinces.
Instead of looking at a fairer taxation system for tax havens, family trusts, etc., he attacks programs protecting the most vulnerable in our society. The government blames the crisis on the poor, the unemployed, the people on welfare, and that is outrageous.
The union movement which fought for and instigated the introduction and improvement of the social security system for generations is now unanimous in opposing and condemning the reform proposed by the Minister of Human Resources Development.
In Quebec, the presidents of the three central labour bodies-Clément Godbout of the FTQ, Gérald Larose of the CNTU, and Lorraine Pagé of the CEQ-vigorously denounced the federal government's intentions and are preparing a major attack and a joint brief to be tabled soon as part of the consultations held by the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development. Together, these three unions represent over 700,000 Quebec workers.
For its part, the 2.2-million-strong Canadian Labour Congress has launched a vigorous fight against the proposed reform. Its president, Robert White, criticized the discussion paper because it does not set out any job-creation measures. He added, "The government seems to think that by training workers and cutting their UI benefits, these people will find non-existent jobs as if by magic. The concept of compulsory work or enforced volunteerism outlined in this paper is an insult to the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who have lost their jobs".
The thousands of unemployed workers and welfare recipients, as well as all the people I consulted in my riding of Bourassa, strongly oppose cutting and dismantling our social programs. Montréal-Nord is a city whose population is getting more diversified, older and poorer. In the last two years, the amount of social benefits has increased by 21 per cent, while 34 per cent of all welfare applications are associated with job losses. The unemployment rate in Montréal-Nord has reached 30 per cent including welfare recipients able to work.
My riding and the City of Montreal are now among the largest concentrations of poor people in Canada. Those hardest hit by this situation are members of visible minorities, young people, women and seniors, who are very numerous in my riding.
I take this opportunity to denounce VIA Rail's recent decision to immediately eliminate 478 jobs including 273 in Montreal. In December 1993, the company had already announced that it would lay off 250 workers. Most of these workers are members of the Canadian Auto Workers, which is my union. These people want to work.
These people have decided to work and to be gainfully employed. They are particularly worried about the proposed modification to the unemployment insurance system. The people of my riding are concerned about the intention of the federal government to take into account their spouse's income to calculate the level of allowance.
If enacted these reforms would prove to be very harmful for women and will endanger the progress toward equality which an entire generation has achieved.
Unemployment insurance is one of the pillars of our social security system. It is entirely financed by the contributions of workers and employers. Employees pay premiums to insure themselves against loss of income in the event of the loss of a job. Thus the government has neither the authority nor the justification to take from these workers the compensation that is rightfully theirs.
We must say that, on the whole, Canada's social programs are already below the average for industrialized countries. In fact, Canada spends $18 billion less every year on social expenditures than the average of OECD countries. This shortfall shows up especially in child care services, the public pension plan and disability insurance. In several areas, Canada's social programs are below international standards.
For all these reasons, like my party, the Bloc Quebecois, the labour movement and the people of my riding, Montréal-Nord, I oppose and strongly denounce the social security reform advocated by the federal government.