Mr. Speaker, I join in this debate on the motion of the Minister of Human Resources Development because it is one which will deeply affect the people of my riding and deeply affect all Canadians.
Etobicoke-Lakeshore has fallen on hard times recently. Many of our industries have packed up and left town leaving empty plants and office spaces and many unemployed people in their wake.
We have people capable of providing highly technical knowledge but with little infrastructure for support. The youth in my riding are facing an ever bleak future and it seems that no matter what their training is there are no jobs for them. There are many seniors in Etobicoke-Lakeshore who are living on the edge of poverty and they are all concerned about the quality of life they will have in their remaining days.
My constituents and all Canadians are in a state of despair. They are having a hard time not only finding but keeping their jobs. Many who have jobs are underemployed or work only part time and intermittently.
During the campaign I promised and I committed according to the red book. I committed together with all the members of the Liberal Party who were campaigning at the time that we would invest in people; that we would help individuals to make better choices for themselves and for their families; and, that we would help individuals to establish new ways of participating in a social and economic structure that would make a difference for them.
We talked about rebuilding the security system, offering employment, offering hope, creating a more productive economy through better use of human resources, their skills, their talents and their abilities. We also spoke about education reforms, about our young people and the way in which we would have to prepare our young for the future ahead of them.
This despair is felt; and this minister's commitment to a review of the system is exactly what we need to do. We want to ensure that our children are well trained and educated and we want jobs for ourselves and for our future.
We recognize the contribution of senior Canadians. They spent their lives working to make a better place to live. They contributed to the development and funding of social programs. They should be able to live in security and enjoy retirement. The Canada pension plan, old age security, and guaranteed income supplement are meant to contribute to their security. These programs are no longer working as they were meant to.
By the year 2020 it is predicted that 20 per cent of our population will be seniors. Maybe many hon. members will be in that category. If we do not work on these programs now there will be no support for those Canadians then.
There is really one course of action. That is to involve Canadians in a full review of the system, a review that includes unemployment insurance, social assistance, training, education, looking at our young people, looking at our children and families or single and lone parent families, and all those who are presently experiencing difficulty in the system.
We must involve all Canadians in this dialogue. We must involve as many Canadians as possible because these programs affect each and every one of us from the cradle to the grave. We each have an interest, a shared concern in the system, because we are all stakeholders. This is why we have embarked on this.
The hon. members of the Official Opposition would have us believe that what we are about to do is what the Tories did: slash, burn, and cut and somehow walk away from the realities of the lives of the people we are here to serve.
The Liberal Party founded most of today's social programs. These programs were designed for a different time but they were based on the same values which we hold dear today. They were based on the beliefs that each and every Canadian has a right to live with dignity, that each and every Canadian should be able to earn his or her own living. They were based on the knowledge that we do not all have equal opportunities in life and that we should work to ensure a certain standard of living for all. That includes unemployment insurance for those encountering difficulties in the workplace, social assistance for those facing poverty, and a pension plan for those in their senior years.
We want to protect those values. We want to ensure those values continue to exist in our social security system. We can only do so with a comprehensive review such as the minister has proposed.
I commend him for this ambitious plan and encourage all members of this House to work and to work steadfastly to ensure that we provide the environment and the kind of security that is needed in our country.
I extend my own support and pledge I will do everything in my capacity to ensure that the residents of Etobicoke-Lakeshore and all Canadians participate in this endeavour.
We have recommitted through the red book that this must be done to ensure that our commitment is met.