Mr. Speaker, exactly eight days ago, I asked the Minister of Human Resources Development when he would table the five missing technical papers that were to clarify, if possible, the direction that his plan to reform social programs would take.
At that time, the minister answered that he thought the remaining documents would be made public in ten days. I want to tell the minister that he has only two days left to keep his promise, but that is not the main purpose of my statement today.
On this point, I first want to speak out against how the minister is proceeding. In a few days, the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development will complete a Canada-wide tour of consultations in which thousands of citizens will have participated. What a mockery has been made of the consultation process!
An incredible amount of energy has been mobilized but the people whom they said they wanted to consult were not provided with the proper information. They were consulted on an indefinite subject, but I suspect that the chosen direction has already been decided and they are being very careful to keep it from the public. All this remains to be confirmed, of course, but the confirmation should come soon.
In the House, on December 5, I also asked the minister to confirm that he had in fact gone blindly into a reform guided only by the cuts imposed by the finance minister. Instead of answering my question, the minister replied that I was completely ignorant, and said: "A large-scale national survey showed that 96 per cent of Canadians believe major changes have to be made in social policy. It may be that the hon. member does not understand but 96 per cent of Canadians are in favour of what we are doing".
The minister was quite right. I do not understand, but not necessarily what he thinks I do not understand. I cannot understand how a minister can interpret in such a shameful demagogic way the results of a poll. Here are the facts. The Decima poll, to which the minister was referring, revealed that 96 per cent of Canadians feel that the time has come to reform social security programs. Some 53 per cent support major changes, while 26 per cent are in favour of a comprehensive reform.
How can the minister distort the facts in such a way and accuse me of not understanding anything? This is a mystery which, I am sure, only the minister can penetrate.
Let me repeat again the results of that poll, just to make sure the minister understands: 96 per cent of Canadians feel that a reform of social programs is necessary. This is not at all the same as saying that 96 per cent of Canadians support the government's approach, far from it!
I also want to tell the minister something he surely knows already: Canadians do not agree at all with the proposal, as introduced by the government. The same poll indicated that 19 per cent of Quebecers strongly supported the idea of a two-tiered UI system, while 56 per cent somewhat agreed with it. This is a far cry from the 96 per cent degree of support of Quebecers that the minister claims.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to remind the minister that women's groups, including the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, which alone represents over 80 groups, condemn the proposed changes to the UI system, because they feel these changes are discriminatory. Would the Minister of Human Resources Development go so far as to claim that all these women did not understand anything either?