House of Commons Hansard #153 of the 35th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was taxes.

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Religious FreedomAdjournment Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Bloc

Francine Lalonde Bloc Mercier, QC

Madam Speaker, yesterday, February 14, I put a question to the Prime Minister. I reminded him that the tenors of the federal government keep on repeating, hoping to convince Quebecers, that we do not need to reform the constitution, since federalism is flexible and in constant flux.

Then, I said to the Prime Minister something like: "If you want to be taken seriously, why do you refuse to recognize Quebec 's jurisdiction, requested time and time again, in the area of manpower training". There is a consensus among all Quebec parties in this regard. A consensus to which even the president of the Conseil du patronat, a well known federalist, subscribes.

Not only Quebecers share that opinion. The president of the Canadian manufacturers' association said recently: "Why is it that the federal government does not let the provinces exercise this responsibility?" There are powerful economic arguments in favour of it. Manpower training has to be geared to the job market.

The Prime Minister, instead of answering my question, said-and I can repeat it, since it is on the public record-"I know very well that she would remain a separatist even if we resolved the workforce issue." Of course.

However, what I find disturbing-and I cannot help but say it here-is that the Prime Minister is basically saying that he could not care less about what happens to young people, women and all those who need this efficient manpower training, because it is managed by the manpower agency we, in Quebec, have set up and which is not a government body. It is made up of representatives from the private sector, labour unions, municipalities, and of course, a few representatives from the Quebec government. It is an institution which should be recognized, if only the federal government cared about all those Quebecers who need manpower training.

The fact is that even if the federal government agreed to it, I would still be a sovereignist. But I will tell you one thing, it is because there have been so many situations like this one that many people like me know now that there is only one option for Quebecers, and that is sovereignty.

Religious FreedomAdjournment Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Etobicoke—Lakeshore Ontario

Liberal

Jean Augustine LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister

Madam Speaker, I will address myself directly to the question and not debate whether the member is or is not going to remain a federalist.

Let me reassure the hon. member that the situation of young people in Canada is an issue that concerns us all. Contrary to the member's claims in her previous questions, there is no conclusive data demonstrating that unemployment insurance changes contained in the 1994 budget have had an impact on provincial social assistance caseloads.

What the hon. member ignores is that new unemployment insurance claims and the number of UI claims exhausted have both been decreasing since the government came into power. What is more, strong employment growth and job creation in 1994 have been the most significant factors contributing to these decreases, bringing new UI claims down by 10 per cent.

The latest labour market data also offer hope. In January 1995 the unemployment rate for 15 to 24-year old Canadian workers decreased by 3.4 percentage points over the January 1994 rate. Employment is up by over 114,000 in Quebec alone since the government came into power, including 16,000 new jobs in January 1995.

In response to my hon. colleague's concerns about the UI fund, she should remember that UI pays for itself through the premiums of employers and workers and that there is still a debt of $3.7 billion in the account accumulated over the past recession.

As employment continues to grow in the coming year, that debt may well be repaid, providing more room to reduce premiums while still giving unemployed people the assistance they need to get back to work.

I hope this answer is one the member can agree with.

Religious FreedomAdjournment Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)

Pursuant to Standing Order 38(5), the motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted.

Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6.48 p.m.)