Mr. Speaker, upon opening the Green Paper, entitled Improving Social Security in Canada , I read the following, and I quote: ``Canada's social security programs are envied throughout the world. They have helped make life better for generations of Canadians. But they have not kept pace with a changing world, and now many Canadians are falling through the cracks. Too many people find themselves having to use Unemployment Insurance time and time again. And they stay unemployed too long. Too many people are stuck on social assistance. Too many of our children live in poverty''.
The Green Paper goes on to say that last year, 13 per cent of all unemployed Canadians had been out of work for a year or more. Furthermore, and I quote: "Our employment programs do not do enough to help the unemployed adjust to change and find new jobs. One in five Canadian children is growing up poor". The Green Paper is full of such statements that point to the failure of federal social security programs.
When the federal government tabled its reform package, which was supposed to be a Liberal masterpiece, one would have expected, first of all, that it would take a responsible approach by identifying real problems that create poverty, so as to provide the appropriate solutions. Second, that the federal government would protect the most vulnerable members of our society and concentrate on job creation. Third, that the federal Liberals would take advantage of this opportunity to demonstrate that federalism works, by reacting favourably and positively to the broad consensus in Quebec on manpower training.
Unfortunately, they did not. As usual, the Liberal federal government introduced a centralist Green Paper that blithely encroaches on areas of provincial jurisdiction and, on top of that, aims to reduce the deficit at the expense of the most vulnerable in our society. Since my time is limited, I will touch briefly on three aspects of particular concern to me: unemployment insurance, post-secondary education and child tax benefits.
The Green Paper on social security reform admits that job programs have failed to deliver. These programs are often poorly adapted and easily abused, according to the Green Paper.
The federal government is therefore proposing various options for unemployment insurance reform. A proposal to reduce the amount of unemployment insurance benefits for low-income individuals would, according to the Quebec Minister responsible for Income Security, put an additional 40,000 Quebec households on welfare.
The federal government's proposal to raise the number of weeks required to establish eligibility for the Unemployment Insurance Program from 12 to 14 would cost the Quebec Treasury close to $28 million and cause an additional 3,275 households to join the ranks of those already dependent on Quebec's income security program.
A second proposal concerning unemployment insurance would create two classes of unemployed: frequent claimants and occasional claimants. Frequent claimants are people who claim unemployment insurance benefits three times within five years. The minister's Green Paper even considers them on a par with people who abuse the system.
This is what the document says, and I quote: "The program is easily abused. Some workers and employers plan their work schedules around the UI program-alternating employment with UI benefits as a way of life. As a result, workers and employers in some industries subsidize those in other industries who use UI regularly".
Some new terms have been added, such as adjustment insurance, which is intended for frequent UI claimants. It states that while these benefits might be lower than basic coverage, more support would be provided to recipients to find work.
What a novel idea, Mr. Speaker! The Quebec minister responsible for income security described this measure as despicable. To reduce benefits paid to workers, using as an excuse the fact that, in return, they will be trained for jobs that do not exist anyway, that is beyond all understanding. We all know that, in regions where the economy depends on seasonal activity, we do not need training programs that lead to non-employment, but a radical restructuring of the economy.
What makes these proposals even less acceptable is the very fact that the very job development program, or JDP, put in place by the federal government has undergone major cuts over the past two years. In Rimouski for example, the JDP budget was reduced by 30 per cent in two years, from $1,275,000 to $790,000, in spite of the fact that the rate of unemployment remained high and relatively the same in the Lower St. Lawrence region.
In sum, the federal government is penalizing seasonal workers and has once again failed to seize a golden opportunity to demonstrate that federalism could be profitable.
For the sake of the 800,000 Quebecers who are out of work, with respect to unemployment and manpower, the government could have acted on the motion that was carried unanimously at the Quebec National Assembly on April 14, requesting that Mr. Jean Chrétien and the federal Liberal government respect the unanimous consensus on the need for Quebec to have exclusive jurisdiction over manpower training.
It would be too easy to make Canada work. In its Machiavellian plan, the government decided instead to lead the people to believe that the big bad separatists are to blame for all our problems. It does not show, but the government is actually increasing overlap and duplication, which is unacceptable in times of fiscal restraint, especially as the major part of the proposed reform represents federal encroachment on a provincial jurisdiction. Unemployment benefits are being cut while the public service grows and the number of disputes between the two levels of government increases.
There are approximately 150 manpower training programs run by about 10 Quebec and federal government departments. Some of these programs often have several components. So how can we expect unemployed people from Montreal, Rimouski or Hull to sort out this mess?
The government is not doing much better for our post-secondary institutions, since it proposes replacing cash transfer payments with a new student loan program.
This decision by the federal government would leave the Quebec government with a $300-million shortfall, which would have to be made up elsewhere.
The main consequence of this proposal would be a major hike in tuition fees. The rector of McGill University did not hesitate to say that his institution's tuition fees could reach up to $8,000 a year. It goes without saying that this measure would restrict access to higher education, especially among the poor.
As far as child benefits are concerned, the government admitted its failure by reminding us that one child in five, in Canada, lives in poverty. To address this problem, the green paper suggests among other things redirecting middle-class family benefits to less fortunate families. This measure-it must be reiterated-encroaches on an area of provincial jurisdiction. It also thrusts into poverty middle-class families forced to shoulder an excessive part of the deficit burden.
All that the government has put on the table so far to reduce the deficit spares the rich and is designed to impoverish the Canadian middle class and to bring misery to those of us already living in poverty. This, in due time, will be remembered by everyone.
What the Minister of Human Resources Development proposes is not a matter of reform but of shovelling part of the federal deficit into the provinces' back yards.
So I leave the last word to Pierre Graveline, who in Le Devoir on October 20 summarized the goals pursued by the Minister of Human Resources Development in his reform of social programs thus: ``The Axworthy reform pursues two contradictory objectives at the same time: maintain and strengthen Ottawa's presence everywhere without giving an inch to Quebec, while significantly reducing social spending in order to slow the alarming growth in the federal debt''.
Therefore, you will understand that, like my colleagues, I oppose the minister's motion, which reads:
-take note of the progress made to date on the government's forthcoming reform of social security programs and of the views expressed by Canadians with regard to this reform.