Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak on this bill and have an opportunity to correct the record. I feel it necessary also to reflect on the comments of my colleague opposite. At some point all discussion has taken place. Canadians expect government to get on with the business of doing business. I do not think closure in this case is an unacceptable measure.
Some questions have been raised about why the government is funding employment measures through the employment insurance fund. It is important that people recognize that these are active measures that help Canadians prepare for, find and keep jobs. These measures are a long term investment in the reduction of unemployment which I believe are a legitimate way to spend contributions collected from employers and employees.
The federal government is mindful of the responsibility it has to safeguard the EI fund. Therefore there are some legitimate eligibility requirements. There is access to the fund. Ceilings to the fund will be put in place, and checks and balances to make sure there is an accountability framework to ensure monitoring of the results. Some of the consolidated revenue fund moneys will be available for groups or individuals who may not be eligible for EI funded measures such as youth and aboriginals.
There are two other areas I will speak on, the issues that have been raised with regard to the new employment insurance system, and how it will impact on women and low income parents. A great deal of misinformation has been spread on this issue.
Let us set the record straight and get some facts on the table. Mothers and low income people will benefit from the employment insurance system the government is proposing to put in place. Employment insurance is much more inclusive than the old system. Under EI, all part time work will now be insured, which is a major boost to women who comprise nearly 70 per cent of the part time workforce.
For the first time about 270,000 women who hold down part time jobs of fewer than 15 hours each will have their work insured. Under EI all the hours count toward a claim. Consider women who work at several jobs, perhaps three jobs of 13 hours a week each. Their take home pay would be based on 39 to 40 hours. They will be fully insured if they suddenly become sick or they take parental leave or should they lose one or two of those jobs. For those women who just work 13 or 14 hours a week that income is critical to the
success and the livelihood of their family. They too if they lose that job will have EI benefits. That family will continue to have a source of income while she goes out and looks for a second job.
EI provides opportunities for women to increase their work by lifting that 15 hour glass ceiling. Some people want to work more than the 15 hours but some employers restrict part time workers to fewer than 15 hours to avoid having to pay premiums. That is not acceptable.
EI provides special help for mothers and low income parents. It recognizes the importance of providing income protection to women who are raising families. The family income supplement for low income families with children will raise weekly benefits up to 80 per cent of average earnings. By the year 2001 when EI is fully implemented, they will receive 12 per cent more than they do today.
The changes which I am going to discuss next are as a result of one of the backbenchers who has made a difference here in the House, the member for Etobicoke-Lakeshore. She brought in several worthwhile amendments at the committee stage and she should be commended for her work on that front.
Because of the amendments of the member for Etobicoke-Lakeshore the intensity rule will not apply to 108,000 women who receive the family income supplement and have a history of past use. The intensity rule reduces the benefit rate by 1 per cent for every 20 weeks of regular benefits claimed over the past five years.
Because of the amendment of the member for Etobicoke-Lakeshore single parent families, most of whom are headed by women, with incomes below $26,000 will receive an average of 13 per cent more benefits under EI. More women will be able to continue working while on claim. All claimants will be able to take temporary work and earn at least $50 a week without reducing their benefits. We provide that encouragement to people to add to their family income.
Women who earn $2,000 or less a year will have any premiums they pay refunded through the income tax system which is another important change.
EI will mean that more mothers and low income families will be eligible for employment benefits to help get them back into the workforce. I am constantly faced with cases in my riding where people cannot get back in. They do not have access to those opportunities because they were not receiving in the past.
Women who return to work after caring for children will have access to EI special employment benefits if they have collected parental benefits or maternity leave in the past five years. Under EI women who have exhausted an EI claim within the past three years will be eligible for help through these active employment benefits. About 45 per cent of social assistance recipients currently in Canada will meet these eligibility requirements. These will make a difference for people. EI's employment benefits will help low income Canadians and women re-entering the workforce to acquire the skills that they need to find work.
Jobs for Canadians is the fundamental objective of our federal job strategy. We campaigned on jobs and growth. We are trying to create an environment where businesses can go out and create jobs, where people can get themselves skilled so they can be the best employees and they can find meaningful work.
These employment benefit measures that we are talking about have been field tested with great success. They are proven to help women who have been unemployed for long periods to get back into the workforce and increase their earnings. The best social security system we have in this country is a job. These tools will help women to boost their earnings. They will contribute to their job stability and blaze new trails in non-traditional occupations.
For example, the targeted wage subsidies to employers can help level the playing field for people facing disadvantages in the workforce, like women. Studies show that this approach does work. It can mean an increase of $5,000 a year on average in earnings. Of course child care support will be available for women receiving employment benefits. That is something I welcome as great news.
One of the things we talked about was the employment benefits and how this new system will help people get jobs. About 400,000 unemployed workers each year may qualify for new employment insurance benefits, things like these wage subsidies or self-employment assistance, things that have been tested and proven to help people get back to work.
Part II of Bill C-12 sets out the basic principles for these employment benefits and measures but they will be highly flexible. They will be easy to use. They will be easy to adapt to an individual's needs and circumstances. They will focus first and last on getting results no matter how they are delivered.
That is something all members of Parliament face every day in their constituencies. Some remarks from people are: "I am just falling through this system. I just missed this eligibility requirement. If only I had this, then I could take this program. I am taking a program that is completely unspecific to what I want to do in the future but it is the only thing I am qualified for and my family needs this income".
These EI changes will make a difference to them. The old programs as I have implied are rigid, inefficient or just do not work. They will be eliminated. Instead, we will have a simpler set of tools designed to work at a grassroots level.
Importantly, and I think constituents are looking for this kind of co-operation, we are putting the old turf wars behind us and concentrating together with the provincial governments on getting Canadians back to work. Bill C-12 commits the Government of Canada to work in concert with provincial and territorial governments in delivering employment benefits to Canadians.
New partnerships in delivery arrangements will match employment measures to local labour market needs and will eliminate the overlap and confusion over delivery by different levels of government. That will mean more effective help for unemployed Canadians. Is that not what we are here for?
Bill C-12 also sets the foundation for a better, more effective national employment service, the information and advisory service that currently helps about two million Canadians a year. A stronger, automated job information and labour exchange will tell people where the jobs are. More effective job search services will help insurance claimants return to work as quickly as possible.
This is the kind of employment insurance system Canadians want and it is the kind of system they need. It is more active. It will get results. It is what Canadians have been asking us for. It is an affordable, stronger, modernized system that focuses on jobs. It will do a better job of helping Canadians. It will help to keep Canadians working. Surely that is the fundamental objective of the federal government's jobs strategy and something all of us should be committed to.
I urge my colleagues to pass this bill with great speed.