Debates of Feb. 17th, 2000

Human Resources Development

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec, 318 Canada jobs fund projects were approved in 43 ridings, that is, an average of six per riding, excluding Anjou—Rivière-des-Prairies, which received 54.

Why is it so difficult for members to obtain documents pertaining to their files when there are so few? Could I have an answer?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, let me say again, as I have said on a number of occasions in the House and at committee, that I have heard the messages from members of parliament. I have asked my department to look at all the grants and contributions to see if indeed they can put the information together in a way that will be useful to members of parliament. We are working on that undertaking and I will provide the information when it is available.

[Paul Forseth, Reform, New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are not asking about whether or not the HRDC grants were good. We can get to that later. What we are asking about is what criteria was used to approve the grants given in 1999. The rules required 10% unemployment or more in 1997. The riding of Brant clearly did not qualify.

Under what criteria did the human resources minister approve Canada jobs fund grants in her riding?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, again I want to make it clear that I did not personally approve projects in my riding after becoming minister.

I want to say that under the Canada jobs fund the economic region in which my riding falls had an unemployment rate of 10.3% and it qualified for these projects.

[Paul Forseth, Reform, New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are not buying these answers. Surely the HRDC minister has a requirement to follow department rules about grants, yet she approved two grants just last November, knowing full well that her area did not qualify. There were no pockets of unemployment. The offence is very clear.

The question remains, under what authority did the human resources minister approve those 1999 grants for her riding? Maybe a special deal with the Minister of Finance?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians are not buying is that this party stands in the House day after day and says “Transitional jobs funds, Canada jobs funds, get rid of them. We do not want them”, while at the same time individual members, like the member for Nanaimo—Cowichan, the member for Kootenay—Columbia and the member for Skeena, write to support their individual constituents who are the beneficiaries of these very important programs.

Canadians know that this party cannot have it both ways.

[Stéphan Tremblay, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources Development has passed severe judgment on the administration of her predecessor in that portfolio, in describing his administration as fit for the Middle Ages.

That judgment notwithstanding, and despite all that has been said or written on the matter, the Minister for International Trade remains imperturbable.

Can the minister tell this House whether he feels implicated by the very harsh judgment by his colleague of his administration of the department of Human Resources Development?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member may ask his second question.

[Stéphan Tremblay, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when in Paris, the Minister for International Trade announced that he would answer press questions once he returned to Ottawa. He changed his mind, of his own accord surely, once he got back here.

Yesterday, the minister said he had made the decision, on his own, not to answer questions by parliamentarians on his time at Human Resources Development Canada.

Is he capable, on his own, of changing his mind and, on his honour and by his own decision, of appearing before the committee?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Calgary—Nose Hill.

[Diane Ablonczy, Reform, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we have a very serious matter on our hands today because the Minister of Human Resources Development has stood in the House and said that her riding qualified for CJF grants because it had an unemployment rate of 10.3%. However, I hold in my hand the statistics from her very own department for Brant, which show that in no month for the operative year was unemployment at 10.3%. In fact, the average for that year was 8.4%.

I invite the minister to explain this very clear discrepancy.

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, the riding of Brant qualified for Canada jobs funds as a result of being part of the Niagara economic region which had an unemployment rate of 10.3%.

These programs have made a difference in my community, and I remind the opposition members that there were times when they came to my riding and they spoke about how difficult the times were there. They challenged me as a member of parliament to stand and do something for my community.

We have done that and I am very proud of it.

[Diane Ablonczy, Reform, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I suggest to the minister that her pride is sadly misplaced because she cannot and has not produced justification for putting money into her riding. She brings forward figures which are not supported either by Statistics Canada or by her own department.

I think it is very important that this minister restore some credibility to what she is saying and explain and produce the documents that she is basing her allegations on because clearly something is not adding up.

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, we see time and time again the inability of the Reform Party to understand these programs, to understand the audit, to mix messages and mix information.

I have made it very clear that in the context of the Canada jobs fund my riding was eligible as a result of being part of the Niagara economic region which had an unemployment rate of 10.3%.

I would ask hon. members opposite to take the time to get either a technical briefing or read the material that has been made available on these programs and on the internal audit.

Parental Insurance

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec is working on a parental insurance plan, which has received widespread support from all quarters in Quebec. Quebec is claiming its share of the $300 million that the federal government wants to invest in a similar, Canada-wide program. The Minister of Human Resources Development left the door open to an agreement in this regard.

Could the minister tell us when she intends to grant the Government of Quebec's request, so that Quebec can go ahead with its plan for 2001?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the House that we entered into negotiations with the Government of Quebec on this issue in 1997. Indeed they left the table. We felt we had made a fair offer and they chose to leave the table. That offer is still on the table.

As for our responsibilities and interests now, we indicated in the Speech from the Throne that we are going to focus on parental benefits, to expand them and make them more accessible and flexible. That is where my attention is turned.

Immigration

[Lynn Myers, Liberal, Waterloo—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the province of Ontario is concerned that the federal government is not expediting the immigration process to help fill the need for cancer radiologists.

Can the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration explain to the House exactly what is going on?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I first learned about this situation from the newspaper. I got the facts and I picked up the phone and called Cancer Care Ontario because I was concerned that we in immigration could do our part to ensure that Ontario had the human resources necessary to deliver cancer care to people. I did not play politics like Mike Harris; I picked up the phone.

This problem is the result of the cuts that he made to the program. Notwithstanding that, all he had to do, all the minister of health had to do and all the minister of citizenship and immigration for Ontario had to do was to call to ask for my help. I would have done everything I could. They did not call and I was very—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Okanagan—Coquihalla.

Human Resources Development

[Jim Hart, Reform, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the member for Hamilton Mountain said that Duchess Foods never went to HRDC. She said that Duchess Foods never asked for a grant and that, in fact, Duchess Foods never asked for anything at all.

Why did the minister of HRDC give $370,000 in a grant to move jobs, not create jobs, but to move jobs from Hamilton Mountain, a short distance down the road, to the minister's riding? Why did she do that?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, indeed Duchess Foods was looking for expanded property. They worked with the economic development officials in the city of Hamilton and could find no suitable properties. They looked farther afield and indeed came to the riding of Brant. We were glad to welcome them and additional jobs have been created.

[Jim Hart, Reform, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt it was a business decision, but the member for Hamilton Mountain did say that Duchess Foods did not go to HRDC. In fact, they never asked for any money whatsoever.

If Duchess Foods did not ask for any money, why did the minister give $370,000 to Duchess Foods? Was it not just to enhance the minister's own political career?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, as is the intention of the program, we wanted to ensure that members of the community in my riding had opportunities for work that did not exist before. The men and women who had not been able to find employment because of particular circumstances had the opportunity to have the dignity of a job.

In this particular context, there were several community partners, including the federation of agriculture, that were looking for value added opportunities in the agricultural area for our community. They supported us as did others in this investment.