Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to debate the hon. member's motion. In the words of her motion the hon. member for Vancouver East is asking that the Government of Canada “set targets for the elimination of poverty and unemployment and should pursue those targets with the same zeal it has demonstrated for targets to reduce the deficit”.
I would like to assure the hon. member and all members of this House that the Government of Canada is responding to the challenges of poverty and unemployment with innovative and effective policies.
I am sure the hon. member realizes that reducing the deficit, as Canadians say we should do, is helping to create a stable economic environment for private sector growth which in turn helps create jobs and reduce poverty.
The Minister of Finance has made it clear that future dividends from deficit reduction will be distributed to reduce the national debt, to reduce the tax burden and to invest in new programs.
We know that too many people are unemployed and struggle to make ends meet. We are sensitive to the plight of Canadians who are doing their best to provide for their families. In this regard we do have a number of effective programs that are designed to move on in the right direction toward reducing points of unemployment.
That being said, I believe it is important to stress that shared responsibility is the key to helping people return to the labour force and alleviate poverty. The Government of Canada cannot shoulder this responsibility on its own. Provinces, businesses, individuals, the labour movement, community agencies, everyone needs to contribute.
We emphasized shared responsibility once again in last fall's Speech from the Throne. We are prepared to work with the provinces and territories to develop a Canada-wide mentorship program. We are prepared to work with the private sector to better forecast the number and types of jobs available in the future and then jointly develop a plan to ensure that young Canadians are qualified to fill those jobs.
On poverty we are already working with the provinces on the national child benefit system.
Let me first address the issue of unemployment. The government's contribution is to help by setting the right fiscal environment, supporting learning, making available up to date information and facilitating sectoral based partnerships. Our strength is in giving Canadians more options to pursue employment. I am thinking of the ways in which we promote labour mobility so workers can take advantage of job opportunities across the country.
Hon. members will be familiar with the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. That is the philosophy behind the formation of sectoral councils that bring together employers, workers, educators and governments to address human resource needs before they become problems. These initiatives are showing concrete results.
Some 370,000 new jobs were added to the economy in 1997 and the unemployment rate declined steadily in 1997. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Canada is expected to have the fastest growth among G-7 countries in 1998. Since this government was first elected there are over one million more Canadians working.
I believe our new employment insurance program is designed to get unemployed workers back into the labour force. As part of the new employment insurance we are investing $800 million more in active employment measures for a total investment of $2.2 billion by fiscal year 2000-01. As well we have a $300 million transitional jobs fund designed to create 40,000 permanent jobs and productive partnerships in areas of high unemployment.
All members of this House are concerned about the high rate of youth unemployment. Again in co-operation with our partners the government is tackling that challenge with renewed vigour. Our youth employment strategy builds on some $2 billion in Government of Canada programs. It helps Canada's young people make the often difficult transition from school to work and land that all important first job.
For example, perhaps the hon. member has heard of the youth employment strategy project in Vancouver where this past spring a number of young people created a healthy living space for both seniors and youths. For over six months the group constructed a rooftop garden at the Vancouver General's Banfield Pavilion which is a long term care facility for seniors. As well they designed a rooftop garden at VanCity Place for Youth. When the project was completed, several participants began providing horticultural therapy for residents at the Banfield Pavilion.
In the future we will increase funding and expand programs under the youth employment strategy. Since a sound education is crucial in today's knowledge based economy, we will ensure that post-secondary education is accessible and affordable. For those young people who lack education and have inadequate skills, we will assist them by further developing community based programs.
Of course in a changing economic environment it is essential that we all upgrade our skills and think in terms of lifelong learning.
The hon. member's motion also calls for the elimination of poverty. The initiatives I have just mentioned, which result in sustainable employment are the most effective way to eliminate poverty.
The government is also addressing the horrendous problem of child poverty. For the member to continue to suggest that this government has not made this a priority, the fact is it has been made a priority. The provinces are now working with our government very closely in order to deal with this blight on our society. We are determined to do everything possible to eliminate it.
In the February 1997 budget the Government of Canada committed $850 million to create an enriched child tax benefit. The new investment will give much needed support to 1.4 million Canadian families and will help more than 2.5 million children. In June the Minister of Human Resources Development and his provincial and territorial counterparts reached agreement to establish a national child benefit system.
In the Speech from the Throne we promised to at least double the $850 million investment over the course of our current mandate. This will bring the total Government of Canada investment in the well-being of our children to almost $7 billion per year.
The government's commitment to provide more income support for low income families will enable our provincial and territorial partners to redirect savings in social assistance. Those savings can go into complementary programs and services with the goal of helping welfare parents become employed. This is the basis for the national child benefit system.
Building on this collaboration last January, we agreed to work with the provinces and territories to develop the national children's agenda. This will be a broad, comprehensive strategy to address the developmental needs of Canada's children.
As part of the agenda the Speech from the Throne announced three new federal initiatives. In addition to the national child benefit system, we will develop indicators to measure and report on children's readiness to learn. We will expand the aboriginal head start program for First Nations children on reserves and we will establish centres of excellence for children's well-being to help us better understand children's needs.
In closing, I would say to the hon. member that there is no magic means of eliminating poverty and unemployment. What is needed are concerted efforts from all concerned, including members of this House. I encourage the hon. member and her party to work with the government on constructive ideas to meet these challenges. In that manner we will be serving all Canadians.